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US shutdown halts Barack Obama's Malaysia trip
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Obama accused Republicans of demanding ransom over Obamacare
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US budget row
President Barack Obama has called off his trip to Malaysia to tackle the US government shutdown, the office of Malaysia's PM Najib Razak has said.
Secretary of State John Kerry will represent him next week instead, the office said.
The US government has partially shut down after the two houses of Congress failed to agree a new budget.
More than 700,000 federal employees face unpaid leave, and national parks, museums and many buildings are closed.
Mr Obama earlier vowed not to allow Republicans to undermine his signature healthcare legislation as a condition to restart the US government.
"They demanded ransom," Mr Obama said.
Four-nation trip
Mr Najib's office said Mr Obama had called the prime minister on Wednesday to inform him that Mr Kerry would address an entrepreneurship conference in Kuala Lumpur on 11 October in his place.
Mr Obama's visit would have been the first by a US president to Malaysia since Lyndon B Johnson in 1966.
What does shutdown mean for two million federal employees, agencies and tourist destinations?
Mr Obama had been scheduled to begin a four-nation Asian trip on Saturday to boost economic ties.
It would also have taken in Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.
There has been no confirmation yet of what Mr Obama intends to do with the rest of the itinerary.
This is the third time in three years Mr Obama has called off Asian trips.
In 2010, a vote on health care and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill forced separate cancellations.
'Hyper-partisan speeches'
The US government ceased operations deemed non-essential at midnight on Tuesday, when the previous budget expired.
National parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums are closed, pension and veterans' benefit cheques will be delayed, and visa and passport applications will go unprocessed.
However, members of the military will be paid.
Continue reading the main story
"They've shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans," Mr Obama said.
The White House rejected a Republican plan to fund only a few portions of the government - national parks, veterans' programmes and the budget of the District of Columbia.
The Republicans have called for more negotiations.
A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner called the White House's position "unsustainably hypocritical".
Rory Cooper, a spokesman for Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, accused Mr Obama of "hyper-partisan speeches".
An opinion poll released on Tuesday suggested the American public was inclined to fault the Republican strategy.
Engineers with the US Navy talk to the BBC about what they will do during a shutdown: Make skis
An estimated 72% of voters oppose Congress shutting down the federal government in order to block the health law, according a poll by Quinnipiac University.
The healthcare law passed in 2010, was subsequently validated by the US Supreme Court, and was a major issue in the 2012 presidential election.
The next key deadline in the US is 17 October, when the government reaches the limit at which it can borrow money to pay its bills, the so-called debt ceiling.
House Republicans have demanded a series of policy concessions - including on the health law and on financial and environmental regulations - in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24351460
Previous
Next
Obama accused Republicans of demanding ransom over Obamacare
Continue reading the main story
US budget row
President Barack Obama has called off his trip to Malaysia to tackle the US government shutdown, the office of Malaysia's PM Najib Razak has said.
Secretary of State John Kerry will represent him next week instead, the office said.
The US government has partially shut down after the two houses of Congress failed to agree a new budget.
More than 700,000 federal employees face unpaid leave, and national parks, museums and many buildings are closed.
Mr Obama earlier vowed not to allow Republicans to undermine his signature healthcare legislation as a condition to restart the US government.
"They demanded ransom," Mr Obama said.
Four-nation trip
Mr Najib's office said Mr Obama had called the prime minister on Wednesday to inform him that Mr Kerry would address an entrepreneurship conference in Kuala Lumpur on 11 October in his place.
Mr Obama's visit would have been the first by a US president to Malaysia since Lyndon B Johnson in 1966.
What does shutdown mean for two million federal employees, agencies and tourist destinations?
Mr Obama had been scheduled to begin a four-nation Asian trip on Saturday to boost economic ties.
It would also have taken in Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.
There has been no confirmation yet of what Mr Obama intends to do with the rest of the itinerary.
This is the third time in three years Mr Obama has called off Asian trips.
In 2010, a vote on health care and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill forced separate cancellations.
'Hyper-partisan speeches'
The US government ceased operations deemed non-essential at midnight on Tuesday, when the previous budget expired.
National parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums are closed, pension and veterans' benefit cheques will be delayed, and visa and passport applications will go unprocessed.
However, members of the military will be paid.
Continue reading the main story
- State department will be able to operate for limited time
- Department of defence will continue military operations
- Department of education will still distribute $22bn (£13.6bn) to public schools, but staffing is expected to be severely hit
- Department of energy - 12,700 staff expected to be sent home, with 1,113 remaining to oversee nuclear arsenal
- Department of health and human services expected to send home more than half of staff
- The Federal Reserve, dept of homeland security, and justice dept will see little or no disruption
- US Postal Services continue as normal
- Smithsonian institutions, museums, zoos and many national parks will close
"They've shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans," Mr Obama said.
The White House rejected a Republican plan to fund only a few portions of the government - national parks, veterans' programmes and the budget of the District of Columbia.
The Republicans have called for more negotiations.
A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner called the White House's position "unsustainably hypocritical".
Rory Cooper, a spokesman for Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, accused Mr Obama of "hyper-partisan speeches".
An opinion poll released on Tuesday suggested the American public was inclined to fault the Republican strategy.
Engineers with the US Navy talk to the BBC about what they will do during a shutdown: Make skis
An estimated 72% of voters oppose Congress shutting down the federal government in order to block the health law, according a poll by Quinnipiac University.
The healthcare law passed in 2010, was subsequently validated by the US Supreme Court, and was a major issue in the 2012 presidential election.
The next key deadline in the US is 17 October, when the government reaches the limit at which it can borrow money to pay its bills, the so-called debt ceiling.
House Republicans have demanded a series of policy concessions - including on the health law and on financial and environmental regulations - in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24351460
