From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Speer.With the government now in partial shutdown as a budget battle wages in Washington,at least for the moment the respective sides seem dug in.Republicans have put forth proposals to reopen small slices of the government and create a negotiating committee,both of which House Speaker John Boehner says the White House is rejecting."My goodness, they won't even sit down and have a discussion about this."At the White House,President Obama accused a small faction of the Republican Party of carrying out an ideological crusade to wipe out his health care initiative.House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for a quick end to the shutdown."This shutdown, while it might be a joy to all of you who're opposed to government,is a luxury our country cannot afford."Around 800,000 government workers were sent home today.Monuments, national parks and the Smithsonian museums in Washington are all closed.About 400,000 civilian defense workers are being furloughed as part of the government shutdown.As NPR's Larry Abramson reports,Congress did pass legislation to ensure uniform members of the military will be paid on time.Uniform service members will report for duty as usual,but the Pentagon says the shutdown will erode readiness,which they say is already a problem due to previous budget cuts.In an address to the defense workforce,President Obama blamed Congress for the fact that about half the civilian workforce will not work and will not be paid."And I know this comes on top of the furloughs that many of you already endured this summer.You and your families deserve better than the dysfunction we’re seeing in Congress."
