WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans and Democrats hit an impasse Sunday over spending in their last-ditch struggle to avoid an economy-jarring default in just four days and end a partial government shutdown that’s entering its third week. After inconclusive talks between President Barack Obama and House Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority […]
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Budget default looming
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats in Congress lumbered through a day of political maneuvering Saturday while a threatened default by the Treasury crept uncomfortably closer and a partial government shutdown neared the end of its second week. “We haven’t done anything yet” by way of compromise, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after Senate leaders […]
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G-20 finance officials express urgent need for U.S. to resolve its budget stalemate
WASHINGTON (AP) — World finance officials said Friday the United States needs to take urgent action to address its budget problems that are creating economic uncertainties for the global economy. Finance ministers and central bank leaders for the Group of 20 major economies wrapped up two days of discussions in Washington with a joint statement […]
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Still shut down: Obama, GOP try to negotiate way out of impasse without appearing to negotiate
WASHINGTON (AP) — With time running short, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner accelerated efforts Friday to prevent the U.S. Treasury from default and end a partial government shutdown that stretched into an 11th day. The latest impacts: New aircraft grounded, military chaplains silenced and a crab harvest jeopardized in the Bering Sea. […]
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Political observers see civil emergency as a way for LePage to deal with shutdown
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage’s longtime political antagonists, including the state employees union and Democratic legislative leaders, called his declaration of a civil emergency a nuclear option power grab, but some more detached political observers in Maine described it as an act of strong leadership ahead of a looming catastrophe. LePage has been widely criticized […]
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LePage says civil emergency meant to help state employees
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday defended his proclamation of a civil emergency and said he intended to use his broadened authority for the benefit of state employees. “It is my goal, solely, to get money in state employees’ pockets as quickly as possible,” he told reporters after meeting with legislative leaders. On Wednesday […]
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House GOP leaders seek short-term debt extension
WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner told Republican lawmakers Thursday he will give President Barack Obama a proposal extending the government’s ability to borrow money through Nov. 22 — but only if he agrees to negotiate over ending the partial government shutdown and a longer-term increase in the debt ceiling. “It gets us down the […]
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Maine governor proclaims civil emergency
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Wednesday declared a state of “civil emergency” in an effort to minimize the financial impact on state operations of the federal government shutdown. With the proclamation, LePage has taken the authority to circumvent state laws or rules if he determines they “prevent, hinder and delay effective management of the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
VA furloughs as many as 40 workers in Maine
AUGUSTA — The federal government shutdown’s effect on Maine continued to spread Tuesday with the announcement that the Department of Veterans Affairs has closed all local offices of the Veterans Benefits Administration to the public. U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree, both Democrats from Maine, said Tuesday morning that nearly 10,000 VA workers were […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
DHHS lays off 56 employees, closes disability benefits office because of federal government shutdown
AUGUSTA — All employees at a disability services office in Winthrop and four more in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services were laid off Monday as a result of the federal government shutdown, Gov. Paul LePage announced Monday evening. The 52 employees at the DHHS Disability Determination Office in Winthrop make Social Security […]