Quotes on the shutdown

[The Rabbi]

Please post quotations from Obama and other Democrats on the shutdown from before it happened. Recall that Dems were predicting the sequester would cause the Second Great Depression if it went through. I think we'll see the shutdown doesn't do much either, except teach America they dont need a bloated inefficient government.

I want a memorial of all these statements so we can point to them when the libs here claim the shutdown was Democrat strategy all along.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dem terrorists gonna sneak in an' kill ever'body...

Government shutdown 'extremely damaging' to U.S. intelligence operations
October 2nd, 2013 : Sen. Lindsey Graham slams Republicans, Democrats, and Obama for shutdown; Shutdown "seriously damages" some intelligence efforts, Director of National Intelligence says; The danger "will be insidious," DNI James Clapper warns; The intelligence community has furloughed about 70% of employees, he says

The government shutdown is "extremely damaging" to U.S. intelligence operations, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Wednesday. Clapper noted that he has worked in the intelligence field for 50 years, and "never seen anything like this." The shutdown "seriously damages our ability to protect the safety and security of this nation," he told a Senate panel. The law allows intelligence agencies to hold on to the employees needed to protect against "imminent threat to life or property," he noted. Following that guide, approximately 70% of employees were furloughed, he said. "We do not consider any of our employees 'non-essential,'" and officials had to make "very painful choices" about who would be furloughed, he added.

The shutdown affects the ability of the intelligence community to support the military, diplomats, and policy makers, Clapper explained. "Damage will accumulate over time," and the danger "will be insidious," he warned. And with intelligence workers facing financial struggles, particularly after already suffering through furloughs due to sequestration, "This is a dreamland for foreign intelligence services to recruit," Clapper said. Intelligence services are setting up counseling to help employees handle financial issues, he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, took the opportunity to assail both Republicans and Democrats, including the president, over the situation. "I think it's irresponsible for all of us to let it continue, but where the hell is the commander-in-chief?" he said. "If you really told him that, that our nation is less safe and every day that goes by we're being less capable of detecting potential terror attacks against the homeland, ... why aren't the members of the House and the Senate in the White House right now to try to solve this problem?" "For the president of the United States, for our House Democrats to not negotiate is not responsible. For our Republican Party not to try to find a way to end this mess is irresponsible," he added.

At around the same time, President Barack Obama invited congressional leaders to the White House later Wednesday to discuss reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling. The shutdown came after Congress did not pass a budget. The holdup: House Republicans insist on provisions to defund, derail or otherwise chip away at the Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Government shutdown 'extremely damaging' to intelligence operations - CNN.com

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Shutdown could affect embassy security, Mideast aid
October 2nd, 2013 ~ Compared to other U.S. government agencies, the State Department has been relatively lucky.

Because many of its accounts are appropriated more than a year at a time, there is money in most to keep almost all employees at work and all offices and overseas posts open for the near future. But it isn't business as usual. Although U.S. embassies and consulates overseas remain open now, officials say an extended government shutdown will delay augmenting embassy security abroad. Diplomatic security agents scheduled for specialized training before heading to new assignments overseas must wait because the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia is closed.

More urgently, new security enhancements and upgrade projects at U.S. facilities around the world are delayed because contracts for new construction, major renovations and new leases cannot be issued. These are the same enhancements recommended by the Accountability Review Board that followed the deadly terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year. The State Department is also warning "vital missions" would be affected if the shutdown continues, including military aid for key allies in the Middle East and funding for security in some of the most volatile parts of the world. "Every day that the government is shut down, we have to take a look at the numbers and we have to take a hard look at competing priorities and our programs around the world," Deputy State Department Spokesman Marie Harf said Wednesday. "Every day that this goes on longer, there will be things that we can't do."

Annual funding the United States provides to militaries of other countries, including Israel, will be delayed until a continuing resolution is passed to keep the government running, Harf said. "Security assistance funding for Israel is provided early in the fiscal year and the absence of new funding could disrupt critical ongoing military assistance programs," a State Department official said. "This funding typically is provided in early-to-mid November, and thus a protracted lapse could result in a delay in Israel receiving needed funds." With the crisis in Syria threatening to destabilize its neighbors, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon could all see a delay in military aid and funding for education and training, as would countries struggling to rebuild after the Arab Spring, like Tunisia and Yemen.

Although the Obama administration is currently reviewing its aid to Egypt, that funding would not be available for use during a protracted shutdown. Moreover, the U.S. contribution to the peacekeeping mission in the Sinai between Egypt and Israel, where extremists linked to al Qaeda are gaining a foothold, will be delayed given the lapse in appropriated funding. U.S. contributions to peacekeeping missions around the world would also suffer, including in Somalia, where the United States is trying to help government forces combat al-Shabaab militants, who are believed to have been behind the deadly attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi.

The United States would also have to delay its funding for partnerships to train and equip counter-terror military units in West and North Africa, where groups tied to al Qaeda are gaining influence. As the United States prepares to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan next year, a protracted shutdown would delay training programs for Afghanistan forces, including education on human rights. Equipment and training for Pakistan's security forces to combat terrorism would also be affected. However, the troops will be paid during the period of a shutdown.

Shutdown could affect embassy security, Mideast aid ? CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs

 

[waltky]

Granny says go ahead an' shut it down - put dem politicians outta work fer a change...

Congress coming back, must act to avoid shutdown
Sep 7,`14 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers are streaming back to Capitol Hill after their summer vacation for an abbreviated September session in which feuding Democratic and Republican leaders promise action to prevent a government shutdown while holding votes aimed at defining the parties for the fall campaign.

Republicans control the House and want to pad their 17-vote majority, so they intend to follow this simple rule: first, do no harm. Last fall, they sparked a partial government shutdown over the implementation of President Barack Obama's health law. Now, Republicans are pressing for drama-free passage of a temporary spending bill to prevent a shutdown at month's end and fund government agencies into mid-December. The Senate is sure to go along if the measure is kept free of objectionable add-ons.

House Republicans also plan votes aimed at drawing attention to legislation they say would boost jobs and energy production. "We're set up to paint a very stark contrast between ourselves and the Democrats who run Washington - if we take advantage of it by getting our work done and getting our message out," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told colleagues in a conference call last week. Boehner said that message - "our closing argument," he called it - would focus on ways to get people back to work and "restore opportunity" for Americans.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., seems most intent on getting endangered incumbents from Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina back campaigning as soon as possible. He is planning to adjourn the Senate by Sept. 23 after dispensing with the spending measure and holding votes - destined to lose - on Democratic planks such as raising the minimum wage and block the flow of unlimited, unregulated campaign cash from the wealthy, including the billionaire Koch brothers.

There are few must-pass items that require cooperation between the feuding House and Senate. Atop the list is the spending measure to keep agencies funded at current levels through mid-December. That would give House and Senate negotiators ample time to work out a trillion-dollar-plus bill during a lame-duck session after Election Day.

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Federal budget crunch idles Guard units across US
September 6, 2014 ~ Many of the nation's citizen-soldiers, whose motto is "Always Ready, Always There," won't be at regular training drills this weekend because of a federal funding shortfall.

Tens of thousands of Army National Guard members from New Hampshire to Hawaii have been idled because of a $101 million gap that has led to drills being postponed and travel being suspended, National Guard spokesman Capt. John Fesler said. Meanwhile, there are efforts underway in Congress to get funding reallocated so drills can be held later this month and so Guard members will get pay they were counting on. Decisions to postpone or cancel drills were being made by state Guard leaders. Among states that announced they put off training exercises are Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Utah. Some, including Alaska, New Jersey, Oregon and Vermont, planned to go ahead as scheduled. Texas authorities said Guard members already on border missions won't be affected by the training delay.

Among reasons for the shortfall are fewer Guard deployments overseas that are funded separately and higher-than-expected attendance for training paid by the Guard. "The National Guard is committed to resolving the issue with least impact to our citizen-soldiers and ensuring they are ready for missions whether at home or overseas," Fesler said. The Ohio National Guard's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst, announced postponement in a video last week. She said drills were being rescheduled to the end of the month in hopes that funding will be available by then. "We're very much aware that this action will be at best an inconvenience for all of you and will have varying degrees of economic impact across the force," Ashenhurst said in the video message. "We're taking this action as a last resort."

Most of the nation's 350,000 Army Guard members are part time, and many have full-time civilian jobs. They get paid for readiness training, earning hundreds of dollars for a weekend of drills depending on their rank. They also get credits that build toward retirement benefits. "When you're a young college student and working hard to make ends meet and trying to serve your country right now, it's not good," said Robbie McGalliard, a 27-year-old artillery gunner in the Georgia National Guard. He would have been at Fort Stewart this weekend firing 105mm howitzer shells in his training, earning about $350. "It takes away an opportunity for us to train and be mission-capable," he said.

The Guards function as reserve armed forces and can be activated by the president for U.S. military action or called out by their governors to help with natural disasters or civil unrest. Ohio Guard members were called last month to help with water purification and delivery during a drinking water emergency in the Toledo area, while Missouri National Guard members went to Ferguson to help deal with violent protests after police shot a black teenager. The Kentucky National Guard had firing practice planned that it will try to get done at the end of the month, said spokesman Lt. Col. Kirk Hilbrecht. "All the ammo, all the food ... you're going to have to re-contract that for another time. Most contractors were able to be flexible," Hilbrecht said. "We were fortunate that we were able to relay things on. Other states may not have been so lucky."

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