Government shutdown nears with Trump set to meet congressional leaders

8m ago

Pentagon shutdown plan calls for 334,904 civilian workers to be furloughed

The Defense Department, which the Trump administration has rebranded the Department of War, released its contingency plans for a shutdown over the weekend. The document says 334,904 of the department’s 741,477 civilian workers would be furloughed in the event of a funding lapse — 182,684 civilian workers whose pay comes from sources other than annual appropriations would stay on the job, along with 223,889 who are “necessary to protect life and property.”

The 16-page guidance document notes that the roughly 2 million service members who are “on active duty, including reserve component personnel on Federal active duty, will continue to report for duty and carry out assigned duties.”

It lists activities that are excepted under the Antideficiency Act, the law that bars agencies from spending without approval from Congress, and says employees whose work is not excepted will be furloughed. Employees who continue to work through a shutdown are not paid until Congress approves more funding.

“Civilian personnel, including military technicians, who are not necessary to carry out or support excepted activities, are to be furloughed using lapse in appropriations (often referred to as ‘shutdown’) procedures and guidance provided by the Office of Personnel Management,” the document says. “Only the minimum number of civilian employees necessary to carry out excepted activities will be excepted from furlough.”

By Stefan Becket

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-trump-congress-white-house/#post-update-c8946b46

28m ago

A history of government shutdowns: The 14 times funding has lapsed since 1980

A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to approve funding for federal agencies. Before 1980, agencies largely continued operating during a lapse in funding with the assumption that Congress would act quickly. But in 1980 and 1981, then-Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti authored a series of legal opinions that found government agencies didn’t have the authority to continue running during a gap in funding.

President Ronald Reagan oversaw eight shutdowns during his time in office, the longest of which lasted three days. There were three funding gaps between 1990 and 1995, then none until 2013.

The threat of a government shutdown has become more frequent over the past decade, as Congress has found itself engaged in funding fights that are ultimately resolved with massive, year-long spending packages. The most recent lapse in government funding, in late 2018, caused $3 billion in permanent losses, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are expected to feel the impacts of a shutdown if a deal isn’t reached this time around.

Read about the 14 times the government has shut down since 1980 here.

By Melissa Quinn

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-trump-congress-white-house/#post-update-1420b6a4

Updated 9:42 AM

The state of play in the Senate ahead of the shutdown deadline

Earlier this month, the GOP-controlled House passed a bill known as a continuing resolution that would extend current funding levels for seven weeks and thus avoid a shutdown. But the bill fell short in the Senate, where 60 votes were needed. Republicans control 53 seats in the upper chamber, meaning they need Democratic votes to get the bill over the finish line.

But Senate Democrats appear mostly united in opposing the bill, arguing Republicans should have negotiated with them to find an outcome they could support. Senators are returning to the Capitol on Monday afternoon, where they are set to convene at 3 p.m. to search for a path forward.

Thune told NBC that whether the government shuts down is “totally up to the Democrats,” outlining that “there is a bill sitting at the desk in the Senate right now” that the House passed that would keep the government open. He said the continuing resolution could get another vote this week.

“This decision, in my judgment at this point in time, is up to a handful of Democrats,” Thune said. “We need eight Democrats to pass it through the Senate.”

By Stefan Becket

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-trump-congress-white-house/#post-update-bdcdf62d

Updated 9:42 AM

Congressional leaders set to meet with Trump at White House at 3 p.m.

The top four congressional leaders — Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — are set to meet with the president at the White House around 3 p.m.

The meeting comes as Democrats have for weeks sought to get Republicans to the negotiating table. Schumer told NBC on Sunday that after Mr. Trump canceled a meeting with the leaders last week, he called Thune on Friday and urged him to get the leaders together for a meeting. The New York Democrat called the meeting a “first step,” saying “we need a serious negotiation.”

By Kaia Hubbard

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-trump-congress-white-house/#post-update-060851b3

Updated 9:42 AM

Sen. Amy Klobuchar says “Republicans have created a health care crisis”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, told “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday that “Democrats are united in pushing” for an extension of expiring health insurance subsidies, accusing Republicans of creating a “health care crisis.”

“My constituents, Americans, are standing on a cliff right now with these insurance premium increases that are upon them,” Klobuchar said. “So, Democrats are united in pushing on this and saying, ‘look, let us do something about this crisis before it is too late.”

Klobuchar, a member of Senate Democratic leadership, outlined that without the extension of the health insurance subsidies, premiums could increase by an estimated 75%. And she stressed that addressing the subsidies is a “now thing.”

“It’s not a December thing. It’s not a January thing. It’s not an offramp,” Klobuchar said. “It is something we have to get done now.”

By Kaia Hubbard

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-trump-congress-white-house/#post-update-a9e48a50

Updated 9:42 AM

Trump: “I just don’t know how we are going to solve this issue”

Mr. Trump told CBS News on Sunday that “I just don’t know how we are going to solve this issue.” He indicated that a shutdown is likely unless Democrats back down from their negotiating position.

The president cast the Democrats’ current demands, which have centered on extending Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies, as ill-advised. He said if the Democrats want to discuss health care, they should work with him to prevent undocumented migrants from accessing public benefits.

“The Democrats, incredibly, want to keep their old policies of open borders and we’re not going to have it. We’re not going to allow it,” Mr. Trump said. He added that any possible health care negotiations must address immigration and border-related matters, otherwise, “It’s just not acceptable for us.”

Read more here.

By Robert Costa