US Congress takes no steps to end shutdown

WASHINGTON - The US government partial shutdown was set to stretch deep into next week after legislators failed on Thursday to make a breakthrough in the row over President Donald Trump's demand for a US-Mexico border wall.

After convening for just a few minutes following the official Christmas break, a still nearly empty Senate adjourned, deciding to renew budget deliberations only next Wednesday, the last day of the current Republican-controlled Congress.

That would take the government shutdown, already on its sixth day, into Jan 12.

Both sides have dug in, with Democrats refusing to provide $5 billion for Trump's border wall project and the president insisting he will not fully fund the government unless he gets the money.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders accused Democrats of "openly choosing to keep our government closed to protect illegal immigrants rather than the American people".

She said Trump "will not sign a proposal that does not first prioritize our country's safety and security".

As long as the wall debate holds up approval of a wider spending bill, about 800,000 federal employees are not getting salaries and nonessential parts of the government are unable to function.

Julie Burr, a 49-year-old government contractor identified as an administrative assistant at the Department of Transportation in Kansas City, Missouri, tweeted that she will get "no pay for any days that this shutdown goes on."

"I am a single mom in a panic mode. Picking up extra shifts at my 2nd job but won't pay the rent!" Burr wrote with hashtag ShutdownStories.

Trump made clear he does not intend to give way first.

In a tweet on Thursday, he once more accused Democrats of wanting to encourage illegal immigrants, "an Open Southern Border and the large scale crime that comes with such stupidity!"

"Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking, Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country," he said in another tweet, also lambasting "Democrat obstruction of the needed Wall."

Opponents, including some in his Republican party, accuse the president of exaggerating the danger from illegal immigration for his own political gain.

"No end in sight to the President's government shutdown," Dick Durbin, a senior Democratic senator, said on social media.

"He's taken our government hostage over his outrageous demand for a $5 billion border wall that would be both wasteful and ineffective."

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday, 47 percent of US citizens hold the president responsible for the shutdown, the third time for this year, while 33 percent blame Democrats in Congress. Seven percent of Americans blame congressional Republicans.

Partial government shutdowns are not an unusual weapon in Washington budget negotiations, where party divides make cooperation a rarity.

But the rancor has spiraled and is set to go even higher after Jan 3 when the Democrats take over the House of Representatives, following their midterm election victory.

The mess has contributed to worries over the outlook for the US economy in 2019, following a surging 2018 performance.

Afp - Xinhua

(China Daily 12/29/2018 page8)