Attention will be brought back quickly if a gov't stoppage occurs. SilverDoctors doesn't see the Republicans stopping The Bernank even temporarily...there are too many voting senior citizens who have nothing else, and will be in an instant rage if Social Security payments are even temporarily stopped.
Things may get interesting soon, as the US Gov't is rapidly approaching the debt limit.
From the HeraldTribune
The possibility of a government shutdown that disrupts everything from Social Security checks to pay for soldiers overseas is growing more and more likely, Republicans in Congress say.
Florida Republicans say negotiations with Democrats in the U.S. Senate have gone so badly that they are now resigned to a shutdown happening.
"I see that it is more and more likely that there is going to be a government shutdown," said U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, a Republican who represents most of Charlotte County. "I don't see how we can avoid it."
Earlier this month Congress approved a temporary three-week spending bill that will expire after Congress returns from its spring recess. After that, Rooney, R-Palm Beach County, said there will be no more continuing resolutions to fund the government.
Rooney said he worries that a shutdown will be far worse than than what happened in the 1990s when Congress hit a similar impasse over the budget. Rooney said those shutdowns mostly resulted in non-essential services being closed, such as museums. But this time, Rooney said, Social Security and military pay will be affected.
In a separate interview on Friday, U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, said he, too, thinks Congress is headed for a government shutdown. He said Republicans are not going to pass any more temporary spending bills without bigger spending cuts to the federal budget.
But as certain as Rooney and Ross are that the federal government is heading for a shutdown, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is certain it will not.
The Democratic U.S. senator said during a stop in Sarasota last week that cooler heads will prevail and stop the government from shutting down.
"A government shut down is dire and that is why I think it's going to be avoided," Nelson said.
