WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in nearly two decades, the federal government staggered into a partial shutdown Monday at midnight after congressional Republicans stubbornly demanded changes in the nation’s health care law as the price for essential federal funding and President Barack Obama and Democrats adamantly refused. As Congress gridlocked, Obama said a […]
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Posted inMaine
Most of shutdown’s effects will be slow to reach Maine
LEWISTON — At the stroke of midnight Monday, the federal government partially shut down because Congress failed to agree on essential funding. By early Tuesday, the blame game was on. In a statement issued midday, Gov. Paul LePage called the shutdown the “result of failure of leadership in Washington, D.C.,” and assured Mainers the shutdown […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Tourists to bear most of the brunt of a government shutdown
WASHINGTON — A government shutdown would have far-reaching consequences for some, but minimal impact on others. Mail would be delivered. Social Security and Medicare benefits would continue to flow. But vacationers would be turned away from national parks and Smithsonian museums. Low-to-moderate income borrowers and first-time homebuyers seeking government-backed mortgages could face delays. A look […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
House GOP’s renewed call for health-care delay moves government closer to shutdown
WASHINGTON — Washington marched toward its first federal shutdown in 17 years on Saturday after House Speaker John Boehner bowed again to the right wing of his party and agreed to continue a relentless assault on President Barack Obama’s 2010 health-care law. Late Saturday, the House was poised to vote on a bill to keep […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Acadia would close during foliage season if federal government shuts down
PORTLAND (AP) — A government shutdown could close Acadia National during prime foliage season. It would be the second time in less than six months that congressional wrangling would threaten tourism. Park officials announced in March that the Park Loop Road would open in May, a month later than their usual openings because of a […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Strategy by Sens. Cruz, Lee to starve ‘Obamacare’ of money infuriates some fellow Republicans
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ted Cruz and Mike Lee stand as the Senate’s dynamic duo for conservatives, crusading against President Barack Obama’s health care law while infuriating many congressional Republicans with a tactic they consider futile, self-serving and detrimental to the party’s political hopes in 2014. Cruz, the Texan who’s been anything but a wait-your-turn freshman, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Republicans at odds as ‘Obamacare’ showdown nears
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans struggled to tamp down a family feud Thursday as they approached a politically charged showdown with the White House that combines the threat of a government shutdown, a possible first-ever federal default and the GOP’s bid to repeal the nation’s three-year-old health care law. One day after conceding that the […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
80 House members: Government shutdown better than ‘Obamacare’
A letter from 80 Republicans asked Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to resist any spending bills that would accommodate the new health care law, which is nearing a critical stage of signing up millions of Americans for health coverage. Because it’s virtually certain that President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate would reject such demands, leaders […]