Dole Gives Inch; House Wants Mile Senate Action Likely To Go Nowhere As Impact Of Shutdown Spreads

Declaring “enough is enough,” Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole pushed legislation through the Senate Tuesday to put the federal government back in full operation, but defiant House Republican leaders vowed to block the bill until President Clinton signs off on a balanced-budget plan.

“If the president wants to end his shutdown,” said House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, “he can get serious and agree to a balanced budget.”

The Senate action - which would allow federal operations to resume through Jan. 12 while budget talks continue - came amid warnings that if the stalemate continues, the impact will spread. Officials said:

Some 600,000 elderly in 12 states could lose their Meals on Wheels by the end of the week.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will not be able to renew 18,000 housing vouchers this month for low and moderate-income families, which could lead to evictions.

And some 11 states are close to exhausting their federal funds for administering the unemployment insurance program and are planning to close their offices.

Clinton and congressional leaders met again at the White House Tuesday evening for the fourth time in five days to discuss their differing ideas for balancing the budget by 2002. After an hour of talks, Clinton invited the congressional leaders to the White House family quarters to continue their discussion over dinner.

Earlier in the day, Dole, R-Kan., tried to persuade House Republicans to agree to a 10-day stopgap spending bill, but he was rebuffed.

Following a brief session with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and Armey, Dole decided to move the bill through the Senate, which passed it on a voice vote.

After the Senate vote, Gingrich spokesman Tony Blankley said the Senate bill has no chance in the House. “There is no way the Republican leadership would bring this up for a vote,” he said, describing it as a tactical maneuver by the Senate to avoid blame for the shutdown.

The decision by Dole to press ahead despite House opposition highlights the growing split between House and Senate Republicans over the wisdom of using the government shutdown to squeeze Clinton in the budget talks.

The bill would allow the 280,000 furloughed federal employees to return to their jobs. It would pay them and the 480,000 federal employees who are working without pay because they are considered “emergency” workers.

Even the charity that helps strapped federal employees is running out of money. The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA) has distributed tens of thousands of applications for financial help and is processing about 500 requests. Federal employees can apply for one $500 no-interest loan for basic expenses.

“At the rate we are going, our money will be lucky to last for one week,” said Steve Bauer, FEEA executive director. “We are telling people we are a charity, and they can donate to us.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala warned Tuesday that feeding programs for the poor and for elderly shut-ins - including the popular Meals on Wheels - will be in jeopardy soon.

She said about 600,000 elderly participants in feeding programs - both homebound invalids and those who eat at feeding centers - are endangered by the shutdown of services.

Shalala also said that federal matching funds for the Medicaid program - which helps finance health care for 36 million indigent patients, including nursing home residents - will be exhausted by the end of this month if the impasse is not resolved.

In addition, officials said some 24,000 contractors who process Medicare claims are delaying payments to doctors and hospitals. Medicare serves 37 million elderly and disabled Americans.

Besides feeding programs and Medicaid, Shalala said the shut-off of federal funding could adversely affect Head Start children, biomedical research, and community health centers.