United States government shutdown begins as Congress hits dead end We will not negotiate 'at the point of a gun' RAW VISION: The US Senate rejects for a second time an emergency funding bill approved by the House of Representatives that would have made major changes to the Obamacare healthcare law. PT0M50S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2uq5c 620 349 October 1, 2013 - 3:36PM The United States government began a partial shutdown at midnight (2pm today, AEST) for the first time in 17 years, putting as many as 800,000 federal employees out of work, closing national parks and halting some government services after Congress failed to break a partisan deadlock. No further negotiations were immediately planned, raising concerns among some lawmakers that the shutdown could bleed into a fight economists consider even more consequential: how to raise the nation's debt limit to avoid a first-ever default after October 17. ""You don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job, for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway or just because there's a law there you don't like": US President Barack Obama. A partial federal government shutdown could cost the US at least $US300 million ($320 million) a day in lost economic output at the start, according to IHS Inc. That's a fraction of the country's $US15.7 trillion economy, and the impact is likely to grow over time as skittish consumers and businesses stay on the sidelines. US President Barack Obama has reassured US troops they will still get paid on time, despite a government shutdown. Obama earlier signed emergency legislation ensuring that wages will continue for service members. He says ongoing operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere will continue and the US will ensure those in harm's way have what they need. ""The threats to our national security have not changed, and we need you to be ready for any contingency,"" Obama said. The president warned however that many non essential civilian contractors, unlike their colleagues in uniform, won't be paid. Chances of a last-minute deal - seen so often in past fiscal fights - evaporated shortly before midnight as the House stood firm on its call to delay major parts of President Barack Obama's health-care law for a year. Senate Democrats were equally firm in refusing. As the US government sped toward shutdown, lawmakers lobbed dead-end proposals across the Capitol and began blaming each other for failing to come up with a way to fund the government. The House voted 228-201 to pass its third version of a short-term extension of government funding in the past 10 days. Each attempt linked averting a shutdown to major changes to the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and each drew veto threats from US President Barack Obama. About an hour later, the Senate rejected that plan on a 54-46 vote, putting pressure on House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the Republicans. ""They've lost their minds,"" said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. ""They keep trying to do the same thing over and over again."" The House sought a conference committee with the Senate, said a Republican leadership aide on condition of anonymity. Republicans said Democrats were unwilling to negotiate and Democrats said the House was trying to extort policy changes on a plan that would, at most, keep government open through December 15. Hours after talking by phone with President Obama, Boehner urged the House to pass its latest plan. It delays by a year the mandate that uninsured individuals buy health coverage and prevents the government from making contributions to the health care of lawmakers, their staffs and political appointees. ""This is not about me,"" the Ohio Republican said on the House floor. ""And it's not about Republicans here in Congress. It's about fairness for the American people."" Even as Republicans such as Representative Peter King of New York complained about the party's strategy, they were relatively united. On the latest proposal, 12 Republicans voted no; nine Democrats voted for the plan. Obama called Boehner and they spoke for almost 10 minutes, Brendan Buck, a spokesman for the speaker, said in a statement. Obama also spoke to the other top three leaders in Congress, the White House said in a statement. There were few signs of progress toward an agreement. ""You don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job, for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway or just because there's a law there you don't like,"" Obama said at the White House on Monday. ""Time's running out."" The Senate voted 54-46, along party lines, earlier on Monday to reject the House's previous plan, in a move that put pressure on House Republicans, who are insisting on tying changes in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, now known as Obamacare, to a short- term extension of government funding after tonight. Senate Republicans floated the idea to extend by one week the funding deadline to avert a shutdown. Reid said no. Democrats urged Boehner to allow a vote on a spending bill without conditions. ""That's not going to happen,"" Boehner said. Australians seeking a visa to work in the US won't be affected by the American government shutdown, a consular official says. The US Consulate in Sydney, which processes visa applications for Australians wishing to work in the US, announced that a shutdown would not affect consular services, which also operate in Melbourne and Perth. ""For the time being, essential services are going to continue and consular services are certainly considered essential,"" consulate spokesman Dave McGuire said. ""It obviously varies from country to country but here in Australia, we would continue with our staffing as it is."" Bloomberg, Washington Post, AAP, AP