For the first time in 17 years, the federal government has shut down. As CalWatchdog.com has previously explained, this doesn’t exactly mean that steel bars have dropped in front of all government buildings. Rather, some programs are temporarily shuttered and non-essential employees go home.
About half of all federal workers are deemed essential and will remain on the job. Also, Congress and President Obama have already agreed on a bill that would continue to pay American troops. If the House has its way, other parts of government like the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Park Service will reopen too. The House plan announced Tuesday would also enable the local government of Washington, D.C., to maintain basic services like garbage pickup.
But that doesn’t mean a shutdown still won’t affect California. The Golden State doesn’t rely as heavily on the federal government for employment as Maryland or Virginia, but the shutdown will still have some effect. After all, California employs 150,762 federal workers, more than any other state. (It remains unclear exactly how many of those employees are being furloughed.)
In addition to federal workers, California also supplies the federal government with plenty of politicians. So where do some of the key players in Washington — those that can actually make a difference dealing with the shutdown — stand?
Of course, they all say that they oppose a government shutdown. But the disagreements occur over how exactly to end the stalemate. House Republicans want Senate Democrats to take part in a conference committee to sort out a compromise that would end the stalemate. The House hopes that they can pass a continuing resolution (CR) that might include some changes to Obamacare, such as a repeal of the medical device tax or the removal of special exemptions for Congress. Democrats demand the immediate passage of a “clean CR,” or a bill that would fund the government without any strings attached. Since they’ve been unable to come to a compromise, the government remains unfunded.
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