Video: War veterans rally at Washington war memorial as government shutdown continues That's when more than 300 National Park Service workers who staff and maintain the National Mall were put on temporary unpaid leave. As the crowd entered the memorial plaza, they chanted "You work for us." The Memorial has become a political symbol in the bitter fight between Democrats and Republicans over who is to blame for the shutdown. One protester, Jim Weller, had travelled from Allentown, Pennsylvania, "to stand up for my rights." "My father was a World War Two veteran, shot down in the Philippines in 1945, and for them to shut down this Memorial is absurd," he said. The Park Police officers, who have been guarding the memorial amid protests over their closure, are not being paid during the government shutdown. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans and Democrats continued their impasse on Sunday over spending in their last-ditch struggle to avoid a default in just four days and end a partial government shutdown that enters its third week. After inconclusive talks between Barack Obama and House Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have taken charge in trying to end the crisis. The two negotiators are at loggerheads over Democratic demands to undo the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts to domestic and defence programmes that the Republicans see as crucial to reducing the nation's deficit.