Budget Protest In Greece

From WHEC in Rochester, NY:

Local Social Security Office workers will be protesting President Obama's budget proposal on Wednesday.

The workers are concerned that the proposed federal budget and potential government shut down will cut social security jobs.

Thousands of people are expected to participate in the protest, which starts at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Social Security Office on West Ridge Road in Greece [a town in New York].

Shutdown Looms

There are reports that House Speaker John Boehner informed those present at the White House meeting today that he would not support any deal unless he could get enough support to pass it solely among House Republicans. The Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has made the same accusation. In effect, this gives the Tea Party group a veto on any budget deal. If true, this almost guarantees a government shutdown. Indeed, this almost guarantees a long shutdown.

Bad News For Rural America

I have heard an unconfirmed report that Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) has ordered a halt to hearings at temporary remote locations. As an example, an ODAR office might have an area located 100 miles away but the area does not have enough population that Social Security has established a permanent video site. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) goes to the area in person once every two or three months to hold hearings. Apparently, because of budget problems, this is being suspended.

If the report I have heard is accurate, this is bad news for Social Security disability claimants who live in remote areas. They are going to have to travel long distances to their hearings. I suspect that a lot of the people living in sparsely populated areas have Republicans representing them in Congress.

Going Into Overtime

From the Associated Press:

President Barack Obama, showing growing impatience, said Tuesday it would be "inexcusable" for lawmakers to fail to fund the government through the end of the year and cause a shutdown.

"We are closer than we have ever been to an agreement. There is no reason why we should not get an agreement," Obama said following a White House meeting with congressional leaders.

Appearing before reporters at the White House, Obama said that House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were to meet on Capitol Hill later Tuesday to continue negotiations. If that meeting does not produce an agreement, Obama said he would summon the pair back to the White House Wednesday. ...

Obama said he would only accept another short-term funding extension, of two or three days, in order to get a longer-term deal through Congress. But he ruled out a longer extension to allow negotiations to continue.

No Deal

From the Associated Press:

House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that private talks with President Barack Obama failed to produce a deal to avoid a government shutdown and warned that the House Republicans "will not be put in a box" of accepting options they refuse to endorse.

Short of an agreement to cover the rest of the budget year, Boehner said House Republicans want a stopgap bill that would keep the government running for one more week and slash another $12 billion in spending. The White House has shown no interest in that approach.

Friday is the deadline to avoid a shutdown. Boehner's account of the meeting between Obama and top lawmakers of both parties, released in a statement from his office, did nothing to suggest the White House and Congress were closer to reaching a deal.

Levasseur Wins Bracket Challenge

The Social Security News NCAA tournament bracket challenge for 2011 is history. Scott Levasseur won. Congratulations.

Tick, Tick, Tick ...

From the Washington Post:

With the clock ticking towards Friday’s federal budget deadline and President Obama hosting congressional leaders for budget talks at the White House on Tuesday, top administration officials have instructed agency officials to begin sharing details of shutdown contingency plans with top managers. ...

The memo also signals the administration is listening to the guidance of Clinton-era government officials, who have cautioned in recent weeks that any preparations for a shutdown should be communicated in advance to avoid confusion in the ranks.

I Thought They Said They Wouldn't Do That

From the AP:

With budget talks deadlocked, House Republicans readied a week-long bill to cut spending by as much as $12 billion while averting a government shutdown threatened for Friday, officials disclosed Monday night.

The measure also would include enough money to operate the Defense Department through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year, the officials added.

They said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told the rank and file in a closed-door meeting he would seek passage of the bill if it became clear it was necessary to avoid shutting the government down.