U.S. shutdown drags on, House votes to pay furloughed workers
- 11 years ago
House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle agreed on Saturday to retroactively pay 800,000 furloughed federal workers -- once the government reopens.
"The nays are zero, the bill is passed without objection. The motion to reconsider is laid upon the table."
But there was no end in sight to the shutdown itself, now in its fifth day.
House Republicans refuse to pass a funding bill -- or raise the debt ceiling - unless a deal also derails President Obama's signature healthcare law, often referred to as Obamacare.
Republicans blame the White House, saying President Obama refuses to compromise.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
SOUNDBITE: HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER ERIC CANTOR SAYING:
"It doesn't make any sense if the President has an ax to grind with the opposing party, why he would want to put the American people in the middle of that and force the pain on them."
Obama and fellow Democrats vow that they'll make no such concessions.
In hi
"The nays are zero, the bill is passed without objection. The motion to reconsider is laid upon the table."
But there was no end in sight to the shutdown itself, now in its fifth day.
House Republicans refuse to pass a funding bill -- or raise the debt ceiling - unless a deal also derails President Obama's signature healthcare law, often referred to as Obamacare.
Republicans blame the White House, saying President Obama refuses to compromise.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
SOUNDBITE: HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER ERIC CANTOR SAYING:
"It doesn't make any sense if the President has an ax to grind with the opposing party, why he would want to put the American people in the middle of that and force the pain on them."
Obama and fellow Democrats vow that they'll make no such concessions.
In hi