Senator Harry Reid’s strident refusal to negotiate with the House on the temporary spending bill has shut the government down. For the first time in 17 years, much of the government is, now, closed.
The Washington Post reports,
The U.S. government began to shut down for the first time in 17 years early Tuesday, after a Congress bitterly divided over President Obama’s signature health-care initiative failed to reach agreement to fund federal agencies.
Hours before a midnight deadline, the Republican House passed its third proposal in two weeks to fund the government for a matter of weeks. Like the previous plans, the new one sought to undermine the Affordable Care Act, this time by delaying enforcement of the “individual mandate,” a cornerstone of the law that requires all Americans to obtain health insurance.
The Washington Post, also, has a look at the the facilities that will be open and the services that would remain available during a government shutdown.
Good news! The IRS is closed.
