Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 15, 1995 TAG: 9511150058
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
``At this time, I have to tell you we are at an impasse,'' White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta said after several hours of talks with GOP leaders ended without agreement.
With the shutdown less than one day old, however, Republicans moved to shelter certain politically popular programs from disruption.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich said legislation would likely begin moving ``in the next day or two'' to reopen facilities such as Social Security offices, veterans' offices, passport facilities and possibly national parks.
Both sides seemed to be digging in, though, on the overall issue of getting the entire government back into operation.
``Let's say `Yes' to balancing the budget, but let us together say `No' to these deep and unwise cuts in education, technology, the environment, Medicare and Medicaid,'' Clinton said in an assault on the GOP budget priorities.
Gingrich quickly retaliated, saying Clinton was accusing the GOP of ``phony cuts that do not exist.'' He said the president's own balanced-budget proposal would perpetuate deficits forever, and he challenged Clinton to help negotiate a seven-year plan to erase deficits ``without baloney.''
The first effects of the shutdown were felt as the political positioning unfolded, although essential services such as the nation's defense, air traffic control system and prison operations were maintained without interruption.
``Due to the federal government shutdown, the Smithsonian Institution must be closed,'' read signs posted up and down Washington's Mall, home to museums where millions flock annually to gaze at exhibits of art, space exploration, natural history and more.
Some 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal civilian workers in Washington and around the world had a place to go - home from their offices after reporting to work and being told their services were nonessential.
The American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit challenging the administration's handling of the situation, including its definition of essential workers and its authority to require them to work without knowing when they would be paid. A federal judge scheduled a hearing for Thursday.
The inconvenience penetrated even the Senate's private preserve. Republicans gathering for their weekly senators' lunch dined on Domino's pizza - cheese, vegetable and sausage toppings, they said - because the Senate's restaurants were closed.
Senior White House aides met at midday with key lawmakers. They reconvened a few hours later, but that session, like the first, yielded no agreement.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said no further meetings had been set, although staff contacts would continue.
And with the government's routine borrowing authority expiring as well, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said he would take unspecified steps ``to avert the default that will otherwise take place.''
The shutdown was triggered Monday night when Clinton vetoed legislation necessary to maintain regular government spending, saying he did so because it would have raised Medicare premiums. A White House meeting that lasted until midnight failed to resolve the impasse.
Earlier, Clinton vetoed a measure necessary to extend government borrowing authority, citing provisions he said would restrict Rubin's ability to manage the government's finances. Despite the uncertainty, financial markets reacted calmly to the events in Washington.
At the White House, spokesman Mike McCurry replied with an abrupt ``Yes,'' when asked if he thought the government would remain shut down today, and he said the standoff could be lengthy.
``It may be ... because the president has just now told you that those priorities reflected in that budget will not be accepted, and he has point-blank told them that this president is willing to give up his presidency on that proposition rather than accept those budget priorities,'' McCurry said.
At the Capitol, Democrats in both houses sought to pass short-term legislation to reopen the government, but majority Republicans blocked votes on the proposals.
by CNB