sgusers的部落格

Source: The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.self storageOct. 01--So the federal government has partially shut down. How did this happen and what does that mean anyhow? Given how vast and complicated the government is, those aren't exactly easy questions to answer.Still, here's a quick FAQ to serve as a sort of primer on the shutdown, along with links to further explainers.Question: Why did the government shut down anyhow?Answer: For quite some time now, the federal government has been funded in small spurts through a series of stopgap funding measures, or continuing resolutions. Basically, Congress sends the government a check every now and again to keep things running. When the government uses up the cash, lawmakers generally send them another check. This time, though, no check came.Question: Why not? Why didn't lawmakers just send along more cash?Answer: Republicans saw the funding measure as a bargaining chip to use to defund or delay the Affordable Care Act. Essentially, they told Democrats they wouldn't fund the government if Democrats didn't agree to defund Obamacare.A funding resolution bounced from House to Senate for days. House Republicans would pass a bill to fund the government and end Obamacare, then Senate Democrats would strip the Obamcare language and send the funding piece back only to have it bounced back again. Finally, House Republicans reworked the deal. Either Democrats could delay the individual health care mandate -- rather the scrapping Obamacare altogether -- or the government would shut down.Democrats, who see the health care law as President Obama's signature domestic policy, called their bluff. At midnight Tuesday, without a deal to secure funding, the government began shutting down.Question: Has the entire federal government shut down?Answer: No. Certain services, understood to be particularly important, are not being shut down. That means that airports are still up and running and so are programs essential to national security. Social Security field offices will be open, too, though there full services may not be available. It's also worth noting that some government workers will still have to turn up for work迷利倉 but they won't get paid until the government is funded again.The Associated Press has a nice round up of what will likely be affected.Question: What about the Affordable Care Act?Answer: Ironically, it's still being rolled out and will continue to be funded. While several government programs have been shut down, the Affordable Care Act is not one of them. President Obama called the launch of the insurance exchanges -- the law's central component -- historic this morning. Meanwhile, The Oregonian is tracking how the state's exchange is being rolled out, glitches and all.Question: Well, what is the impact locally?Answer: For starters, national forests and parks will be closed. About 1,000 employees of the Oregon National Guard will be furloughed. However, the Oregon Military Department will continue to run its security, emergency and aerospace safety operations. Federal courts have enough cash to do business as usual for the next 10 days, but after that it'll be down to essential personnel only. Federal judges and their immediate staffs are safe. Oregon schools are also unaffected.Check back on OregonLive throughout the day as we run down more stories about how this shutdown is affecting Oregonians.Question: How long is this shutdown going to last?Answer: That's really up to lawmakers. They'll have to reach some sort of agreement about what to do next. The New York Times is reporting that there's a certain amount of dissent already brewing in the Republican ranks.Other Resources:-- The Washington Post, USA Today and The Baltimore Sun all have their own takes on a shutdown FAQ feature. Each of them covers slightly different territory.-- Politico: How government shutdowns happen-- Slate: 12 hours of dysfunction, a first-hand account of the shutdown-- The Oregonian: Kurt Schrader says he'll give up congressional pay during shutdown-- The Oregonian: What observers are saying about the shutdown-- The Oregonian: Share your own stories about the shutdown with us-- Ryan KostCopyright: ___ (c)2013 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) at .oregonian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services自存倉