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| Veterans breach the barricades as Washington sends its workers home | Veterans breach the barricades as Washington sends its workers home |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| The 92 elderly war veterans who had travelled to Washington from the gulf coast of Mississippi were not going to let a manufactured political row in the United States Congress prevent them from paying tribute to their comrades. | The 92 elderly war veterans who had travelled to Washington from the gulf coast of Mississippi were not going to let a manufactured political row in the United States Congress prevent them from paying tribute to their comrades. |
| They had come thousands of miles in four tour buses, many in wheelchairs, most of them frail, and all of them determined not to be held back by the barriers that closed off the World War II memorial. | They had come thousands of miles in four tour buses, many in wheelchairs, most of them frail, and all of them determined not to be held back by the barriers that closed off the World War II memorial. |
| Who let them past the barriers was unclear. The Stars and Stripes reporter said a congressman distracted a park police officer while other lawmakers and their staff moved the barricades aside. A cheer went up, and the men surged forward in an act of civil disobedience that captured growing public anger towards a dysfunctional Congress. | Who let them past the barriers was unclear. The Stars and Stripes reporter said a congressman distracted a park police officer while other lawmakers and their staff moved the barricades aside. A cheer went up, and the men surged forward in an act of civil disobedience that captured growing public anger towards a dysfunctional Congress. |
| Like all federal monuments, national parks and museums across the US, the World War II memorial was closed on Tuesday, shuttered by the partial closure of government services that stemmed from the failure of Congress to pass a budget resolution by midnight on Monday that would have ensured their continued funding. | Like all federal monuments, national parks and museums across the US, the World War II memorial was closed on Tuesday, shuttered by the partial closure of government services that stemmed from the failure of Congress to pass a budget resolution by midnight on Monday that would have ensured their continued funding. |
| The breaching of the memorial barriers was a symbolic gesture. But for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the government shutdown, blamed by President Obama on a hardline group of Republicans determined to wreck his healthcare reforms by "holding the country to ransom", is much more than a cheap stunt. | The breaching of the memorial barriers was a symbolic gesture. But for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the government shutdown, blamed by President Obama on a hardline group of Republicans determined to wreck his healthcare reforms by "holding the country to ransom", is much more than a cheap stunt. |
| "We don't know how long this is going to last and we've got no idea how we are gonna pay the bills," said Terry Baber, 55, an electrician, who admitted to be "pretty ticked off" as he emerged from the American history museum. Like all Smithsonian institutions in Washington, the museum will be closed for the duration of the shutdown. "I've got a son in college and I've got to pay his room and board. We still have to eat. We still need fuel for our cars," he told the Guardian. | "We don't know how long this is going to last and we've got no idea how we are gonna pay the bills," said Terry Baber, 55, an electrician, who admitted to be "pretty ticked off" as he emerged from the American history museum. Like all Smithsonian institutions in Washington, the museum will be closed for the duration of the shutdown. "I've got a son in college and I've got to pay his room and board. We still have to eat. We still need fuel for our cars," he told the Guardian. |
| By mid-morning, downtown Washington DC had the throng of a busy lunchtime rush, as furloughed workers from all the major government buildings came out onto the streets after closing down their offices. Everywhere from obscure government agencies to the White House was operating on a slimmed-down staff, with all so-called "non-excepted" employees ordered to return home after turning up to work on Tuesday morning. | By mid-morning, downtown Washington DC had the throng of a busy lunchtime rush, as furloughed workers from all the major government buildings came out onto the streets after closing down their offices. Everywhere from obscure government agencies to the White House was operating on a slimmed-down staff, with all so-called "non-excepted" employees ordered to return home after turning up to work on Tuesday morning. |
| One woman, a chemist at the US environmental agency, was standing by the side of the road with five cardboard boxes filled with office plants. "If we have to be gone for a month, I don't want to return to find them dead," she said. Like thousands of other workers, the woman, in her 50s, said she had been told to record a fresh voicemail message on her office phone, place out-of-office alert on her email, turn off her computer, and go home. | One woman, a chemist at the US environmental agency, was standing by the side of the road with five cardboard boxes filled with office plants. "If we have to be gone for a month, I don't want to return to find them dead," she said. Like thousands of other workers, the woman, in her 50s, said she had been told to record a fresh voicemail message on her office phone, place out-of-office alert on her email, turn off her computer, and go home. |
| Furloughed employees were asked to sign copies of a letter from their human resources departments and ordered not to used any government equipment - including BlackBerrys - during the shutdown. Checking emails or making calls would be a disciplinary offence, they were were told. | Furloughed employees were asked to sign copies of a letter from their human resources departments and ordered not to used any government equipment - including BlackBerrys - during the shutdown. Checking emails or making calls would be a disciplinary offence, they were were told. |
| The mayor of DC, Vincent Gray, declared all city staff as "essential" workers, a legally contentious measure. But it at least kept the city moving, and guarded America's capital from some of the more unpleasant consequences of the last shutdown in the mid-1990s, when trash was not collected and piled up on the street. | The mayor of DC, Vincent Gray, declared all city staff as "essential" workers, a legally contentious measure. But it at least kept the city moving, and guarded America's capital from some of the more unpleasant consequences of the last shutdown in the mid-1990s, when trash was not collected and piled up on the street. |
| Across Washington's National Mall, and outside all of the main public monuments, bewildered-looking tourists had to resort viewing attractions from a distance - and taking photographs from outside. At the Lincoln memorial, barricades were erected, and signs pinned to railings announcing "Because of the federal government shutdown, all national parks are closed". | Across Washington's National Mall, and outside all of the main public monuments, bewildered-looking tourists had to resort viewing attractions from a distance - and taking photographs from outside. At the Lincoln memorial, barricades were erected, and signs pinned to railings announcing "Because of the federal government shutdown, all national parks are closed". |
| The lights at the memorial quite literally went out, leaving the huge edifice of Abraham Lincoln in a dark shadow. Robert Smith, 56, who has manned a stall selling pins and badges to raise funds for veterans beside the memorial for the last 26 years, recalled the last shutdown, under President Clinton in 1996. | The lights at the memorial quite literally went out, leaving the huge edifice of Abraham Lincoln in a dark shadow. Robert Smith, 56, who has manned a stall selling pins and badges to raise funds for veterans beside the memorial for the last 26 years, recalled the last shutdown, under President Clinton in 1996. |
| "It wasn't as bad as this," he said. "They weren't stopping buses coming through as they are now. All of us who do business round here are pretty upset." | "It wasn't as bad as this," he said. "They weren't stopping buses coming through as they are now. All of us who do business round here are pretty upset." |
| Steve Cockerton, 58, from Colchester in the UK, was at the start of a three-day visit to Washington to see the monuments and museums, all of which are now closed. He only discovered there would be very little he could actually see when he read a copy of the Washington Post this morning. "I don't know much about American politics but it seems a little extreme to me – almost punitive," Cockerton, a social worker, said. | Steve Cockerton, 58, from Colchester in the UK, was at the start of a three-day visit to Washington to see the monuments and museums, all of which are now closed. He only discovered there would be very little he could actually see when he read a copy of the Washington Post this morning. "I don't know much about American politics but it seems a little extreme to me – almost punitive," Cockerton, a social worker, said. |
| While visitors seemed perplexed at how the capital of the richest country on earth could grind to a halt, American tourists were seemingly more understanding. "This is about the US constitution – we've had to compromise right from the very beginning," said Linda Skoien, 63, from Wisconsin. "Even that man sitting there understood that," she added, pointing toward Lincoln. | While visitors seemed perplexed at how the capital of the richest country on earth could grind to a halt, American tourists were seemingly more understanding. "This is about the US constitution – we've had to compromise right from the very beginning," said Linda Skoien, 63, from Wisconsin. "Even that man sitting there understood that," she added, pointing toward Lincoln. |
| Her friend also said she understood that "this is how government functions from time to time", but was more matter of fact. "I grew up on a farm," she said. "If something needs doing, you just get it done." | Her friend also said she understood that "this is how government functions from time to time", but was more matter of fact. "I grew up on a farm," she said. "If something needs doing, you just get it done." |
| At the US Capitol, trash started to pile up in understaffed cafeterias, and the few remaining visitors were sent scurrying to find open security entrances. | At the US Capitol, trash started to pile up in understaffed cafeterias, and the few remaining visitors were sent scurrying to find open security entrances. |
| Lawmakers, meanwhile, blamed each other for the crisis. A group of prominet House Republicans, led my majority leader Eric Cantor and onetime vice presidential hopeful Paul Ran, held a theatrical press conference in front of a row of empty chairs intended to represent missing Senate Democrats, who earlier rejected calls for formal talks while the GOP continues to hold Obamacare "to ransom". | |
| President Obama held a press conference in the equally theatrical White House Rose Garden to warn that the first shutdown in 17 years threatened lasting damage to the fragile US economy. "As long as I am president I will not give in to reckless demands by the Republican party to deny health insurance to the millions of Americans that cannot afford it, he said. | President Obama held a press conference in the equally theatrical White House Rose Garden to warn that the first shutdown in 17 years threatened lasting damage to the fragile US economy. "As long as I am president I will not give in to reckless demands by the Republican party to deny health insurance to the millions of Americans that cannot afford it, he said. |
| With neither side showing any sign of backing down, the shutdown could continue until 17 October when Republicans hope that a separate deadline to renew government borrowing authority will bend the will of their opponents. | With neither side showing any sign of backing down, the shutdown could continue until 17 October when Republicans hope that a separate deadline to renew government borrowing authority will bend the will of their opponents. |
| In the meantime, members of Congress will continue to be paid, unlike the federal workers locked out of their offices around the US. At 11am on Tuesday, Lori Stanislaus walked out of the Jacob K Javits federal building in lower Manhattan, New York, not knowing when she would return. "I don't know if I'm going to get paid," she said. "We got a letter to give our creditors to show we're furloughed federal employees and please be flexible with us in paying our bills." | In the meantime, members of Congress will continue to be paid, unlike the federal workers locked out of their offices around the US. At 11am on Tuesday, Lori Stanislaus walked out of the Jacob K Javits federal building in lower Manhattan, New York, not knowing when she would return. "I don't know if I'm going to get paid," she said. "We got a letter to give our creditors to show we're furloughed federal employees and please be flexible with us in paying our bills." |
| Stanislaus, 51, works as a human resources officer across three different federal agencies. She has been in the job 11 years and has never been furloughed before. "It's a scary thing," she said. "My husband is unemployed. I am the sole breadwinner for a family of five. So, yeah, I'd say on a scale of one to ten how scary is it? 12." | Stanislaus, 51, works as a human resources officer across three different federal agencies. She has been in the job 11 years and has never been furloughed before. "It's a scary thing," she said. "My husband is unemployed. I am the sole breadwinner for a family of five. So, yeah, I'd say on a scale of one to ten how scary is it? 12." |
| But Stanislaus had a clear idea of who to blame for the shutdown. "The Tea Party assholes that put Obamacare on an appropriations bill need to be shot in the head. The Affordable Care Act is a law already. It's like some last-ditch effort to try to undo what has already been done." | But Stanislaus had a clear idea of who to blame for the shutdown. "The Tea Party assholes that put Obamacare on an appropriations bill need to be shot in the head. The Affordable Care Act is a law already. It's like some last-ditch effort to try to undo what has already been done." |
| Additional reporting by Adam Gabbatt in New York | Additional reporting by Adam Gabbatt in New York |
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