Community Corner

Who's to Blame for the Federal Government Shutdown?

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical site, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, lakes Allatoona and Lanier and the Chattahoochee River National Rec Area are all affected.

Written by Patch Editors Rebecca Whitnall and Hunt Archbold

As midnight rolled around on the east coast Tuesday morning, Congress had not reached an agreement on spending and the government went into shutdown mode.

Urging Congress to act quickly to pass a continuing resolution to provide a short-term bridge to allow time to pass a budget for the rest of the fiscal year, the director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, Sylvia Burwell, issued a memo Monday to executive departments and agencies instructing them to begin shutting down.

"Unfortunately, we do not have a clear indication that Congress will act in time for the President to sign a Continuing Resolution before the end of the day tomorrow, October 1, 2013. Therefore, agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations," the memo said.

Across the metro Atlanta area, National Park Service facilities were closed on Tuesday, including the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic SiteKennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, facilities at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes Lanier and Allatoona, and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

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Alicia Jackson of Moultrie, Ga., was surprised to find the King Historic Site was shuttered when she stopped by around 10 a.m. on Tuesday. “I wanted to pick up some brochures and pay respect to Dr. King. I’m disappointed,” she said.

study released Monday by the Pew Research Center shows Americans were almost equally divided over who they would blame if the government should shut down. Of those responding, 39 percent said the blame lies with the Republicans while 36 percent blame the Obama administration and 17 percent said both were to blame. A few also said neither was to blame or they didn't know.

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We're wondering if you'll be affected by the federal government shutdown. Will your work be impacted? And do you assign blame to a particular party or person? Let's talk about it in the comments section.


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