Shutdown worsens historic blizzard that killed tens of thousands of South Dakota cattle
KNBN-TV
Rapid City and many other parts of South Dakota recorded record snowfall totals for the entire month of October in just three days over the weekend.
An unusually early and enormous snowstorm over the weekend caught South Dakota ranchers and farmers unprepared, killing tens of thousands of cattle and ravaging the state's $7 billion industry — an industry left without assistance because of the federal government shutdown.
As many as 75,000 cattle have perished since the storm slammed the western part of the state Thursday through Saturday with snowfall that set records for the entire month of October in just three days, state and industry officials said.
Across the state, snow totals averaged 30 inches, with some isolated areas recording almost 5 feet,The Weather Channel reported.
The South Dakota Stock Growers Association estimated that 15 percent to 20 percent of all cattle were killed in some parts of the state. Some ranchers reported that they lost half or more of their herds.
The storm was accompanied by hurricane-force wind gusts, especially Friday night, which drove some herds seeking shelter miles from their ranches. A trail of carcasses left a gruesome sight, said Martha Wierzbicki, emergency management director for Butte County, in the northwestern corner of the state.
Parts of South Dakota are in cleanup mode after a strong winter storm pounded some areas. Kirsten Swanson of NBC station KNBN reports.
"They're in the fence line, laying alongside the roads," Wierzbicki told The Rapid City Journal. "It's really sickening."
Ranchers have no one to ask for help or reimbursement. That's because Congress has yet to pass a new farm bill, which subsidizes agricultural producers.
And even if there were a farm bill, the government shutdown means nothing could be done under one anyway.
State Agriculture Secretary Lucas Lentsch called the early-season blizzard "devastating to our producers," saying his agency was trying to figure out a response.
In the meantime, he said, the best farmers and ranchers can do is meticulously document their losses, with detailed photos, for use when and if claims can be processed.
The most immediate concern is proper disposal of the dead livestock, which state law says must be burned, buried or rendered within 36 hours — for the health not only of surviving herds but also for people.
"That can be a significant source of disease spread, so we want to make sure those carcasses are burned, buried or rendered as quickly as possible," Dustin Oedekoven, South Dakota's state veterinarian, told the Journal.
But the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association warned that the effects would be felt for years afterward. Not only were tens of thousands of calves killed, but so were thousands more cows that would have delivered calves next year.
And the stress of the storm will leave its mark on surviving herds, the South Dakota State University Agricultural Extension Service said, leaving the remaining cattle vulnerable to ruinous diseases with names like infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine respiratory syncytial virus and bovine viral diarrhea virus.
Most of the diseases have incubation periods of a week or two, so those problems can't yet be assessed, the extension said.
"This is absolutely, totally devastating," Steve Schell, a rancher in Caputa, near Mount Rushmore, told the Rapid City newspaper. "This is horrendous. I mean the death loss of these cows in this county is unbelievable."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/10/09/eleanor-holmes-norton-confronts-obama-on-d-c-budget-bill/?print=1
Eleanor Holmes Norton confronts Obama on D.C. budget bill
By Ed O'Keefe,
Updated 9:30 p.m.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) had what some colleagues called "a heated exchange" and what she described as "a conversation" with President Obama during a White House meeting Wednesday afternoon regarding the District's budget constraints as a result of the partial government shutdown.
Norton attended the meeting in the White House East Room with nearly 200 House Democrats and was one of a handful given the opportunity to ask the president a question. When she was called upon, Norton pressed Obama to support a House-passed bill that would permit the District to use its locally raised tax funds to maintain operations until Dec. 15.
Democrats, including Obama, have held fast in opposition to such piecemeal funding bills, saying Republicans must come to a deal to fund the entire government, not just favored segments.
Making her point, Norton spoke over the president and refused to yield the microphone, according to a lawmaker who attended the event. The lawmaker described Norton as "strident," "self-absorbed" and "parochial" in her exchange with Obama.
But Obama held firm to his belief that Republicans should work to reopen the entire federal government and not pass stand-alone spending measures, said the lawmaker, who asked not to be identified in order to speak frankly and maintain relationships with colleagues.
Norton confirmed in an interview that she pressed Obama to support the bill and that she doesn't care whether some colleagues felt uncomfortable about the exchange.
"I wasn’t picking a fight with the president, I think the people of the District would expect me to have a conversation with him rather than just asking a question," Norton said.
While most lawmakers might not interrupt Obama as he answered their question, Norton said she was compelled to interject when Obama suggested in his response to her that the budget crunch facing the District is similar to how other congressional districts are adjusting during the shutdown.
"That demanded that I give a response," she said. "Obviously we’re the only District in the United States. We’re uniquely in this position."
Norton insisted she meant no disrespect towards the president. "He’s a big boy and I’m a big girl," she said.
When the meeting ended, Norton said "I went up to him and we had a wonderful conversation, it was very collegial,. And I told him that I’m just trying to make sure that the District isn’t brought to its knees."
Addressing a crowd at a gala event for the D.C. Vote nonprofit Wednesday night, Norton said: "I had to take issue with the president today,"
She said she had to remind Obama that the District is seeking to spend local funds during the shutdown, not federal funds.
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), accepting an award at the event, described the scene at the White House: "I thought you were going to hit him or something," he cracked after Norton introduced him.
The exchange with Obama came just hours after Norton and Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray confronted Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and pressed him to support the House bill.
“I’m on your side, don’t screw it up, okay? Don’t screw it up,” Reid told Gray.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-09/house-democrats-emerge-obama-meeting
House Democrats Emerge From Obama Meeting
And anyone hoping that a quick, evening solution would emerge today will need to roll over their hopes for one more day.
"We aren't going to solve the long-term challenges in a week," said Rep. Tom Price of Georgia. "So if there's a solution to this ... it's a negotiated agreement to have a short-term debt-limit extension that gives the time to be able to solve the long-term challenges."
The particulars of this short-term proposal are in flux, as there are ongoing discussions within the conference regarding which provisions -- if any -- should be attached. Some members are pushing for commensurate spending cuts, though such a figure could be difficult to calculate. Others are advocating the inclusion of one, or multiple, mini-funding bills that have been passed through the House. A clutch of conservatives, meanwhile, are asking for language that would prioritize Treasury payments.
"We'd prefer a long-term deal," said Rep. Steve Scalise, chairman of the Republican Study Committee. "But if we need to do something short-term, we should have the corresponding reforms."
Still, with the debt-ceiling deadline looming next week, and markets warily watching Congress's every move, some GOP lawmakers are against attaching anything "objectionable" for fear the Senate would reject it. In fact, some conservatives are quietly whipping support for something being called the "four-plus-four" plan, which would simultaneously pass "clean" four-week versions of a continuing resolution and debt-limit increase. The proposal, which would establish binding guidelines for talks between House Republicans and the White House and Senate Democrats, is intriguing to some Republican lawmakers.
"If it was a month-long, and it held the president's feet to the fire to negotiate, I think that's something people would be willing to take a look at," said Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona.
But this proposal -- which is also attractive to some members because it would also reopen the government -- stands little chance of gaining majority support among Republicans, many of whom refuse to pass any clean debt-ceiling increase because of the precedent it would set. Several conservative members, speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to offend their colleagues, flat-out dismissed the idea.
"That's never gonna happen," said one GOP lawmaker.
Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team have been meeting this week with rank-and-file members to build consensus and keep everyone on the same page. One of those members, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about the strategy of the conference, said the short-term extension has emerged as the "clear front-runner" and said he's hoping for a vote by week's end.
The hang-up, he said, is deciding exactly how long the extension should last – and which provisions could be included without starting another ping-pong match with the Senate.
Senior Republican aides cautioned that nothing has been settled ahead of GOP leadership's visit to the White House on Thursday. But with the Oct. 17 deadline drawing close, and Obama already ruling out negotiations with Republicans prior to the passage of a debt-limit extension, some kind of short-term deal appears to be a foregone conclusion – even if the details are far from finalized.
If Obama won't negotiate until after the debt-ceiling is raised, "then it's our responsibility to make sure that we don't default," said Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan. "And I think we're up to that."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-09/us-debt-x-date-just-one-week-away-least-continuity-fed-retained
Boehner to Obama: There will be no unconditional Republican surrender
POSTED AT 8:41 PM ON OCTOBER 8, 2013 BY ALLAHPUNDIT
Indeed not. The surrender, when it comes, will definitely be conditional. At least enough so that Boehner can claim some sort of fig-leaf “victory.”
His point here is simple: Contra O’s demands earlier this afternoon, the House isn’t going to pass a clean CR or a clean debt-ceiling hike — not even short ones, which Obama hinted today might be enough to bring him to the bargaining table. But wait — if the (new) goal of the shutdown is to get O to negotiate and he’s now publicly agreeing to negotiate once the shutdown’s over, doesn’t that mean it’s in the GOP’s interest for the shutdown to end? Well, no, not if you think (a) that Obama’s unlikely to agree to anything meaningful without some fiscal pain to force him to and (b) that he’ll cave sooner or later and start talking to the GOP even if the shutdown’s still in effect. That’s clearly what Boehner thinks, and his candor in saying so is an amusing counter-taunt to O daring him yesterday to bring a clean CR to the House floor for a vote.
President Obama and I sat down in 2011 and had a serious negotiation.
And while the president today suggested that I walked away from the deal, I would have to remind him that I was in the Oval Office along with the majority leader, Eric Cantor, when we in fact had an agreement that two days later the president walked away from.
But there was, in fact, another negotiation in 2011 that resulted in, really, the largest deficit reduction bill that we’ve seen here in the last 30 years. But in 2010, when Democrats controlled the Congress and President Obama was in the White House, what happened was, a group of moderate Democrats in the House wouldn’t agree to raise the debt limit without a negotiation.
So there was a negotiation then amongst Democrats over raising the debt ceiling.
The long and short of it is, there is going to be a negotiation here.
You’ll cave, buddy, and we both know it. Is that, plus the point at the end of the clip below about unconditional surrender, just Boehner talking tough or does he really believe it? On the one hand, Noam Scheiber’s right that Boehner’s been known to talk a good game before folding: “The reality is that Boehner understands perfectly well that a default would be catastrophic. But because of enormous pressure from his Tea Party wing, Boehner always has to appear to be completely unrelenting up until the very last minute, at which point he relents. If the Treasury Secretary says we will default on October 17, then Boehner has to sound positively Churchillian right up until the evening of October 16, at which point he will finally break it to his troops that they have exhausted all their options.” On the other hand, his colleague at TNR, Nate Cohn, is also right that the polls on this shutdown look better for the GOP than they did during the 1995 shutdown that scared Republicans away from this tactic for nearly 20 years:
The share of voters blaming Republicans exclusively is well beneath 50 percent, suggesting that today’s persuadable voters—the key voters on the road to 50 percent—are angry at both parties. Other questions show broad dissatisfaction with both parties. A majority of voters say they disapprove of Obama’s performance on the budget; a majority of voters even say they’re “angry” with President Obama, as well as congressional Democrats.
That’s not what the polls found in the 1995-1996 shutdown, when nearly half of voters consistently put the blame on the House Republicans. And although President Clinton’s approval rating might have slipped during the shutdown, his approval ratings held near 50 percent—unlike President Obama.
That’s one of the reasons O decided to hold a presser in the first place today, of course. Public disapproval of congressional Republicans is higher than it is for him or congressional Democrats, but the “blame” question is more ambivalent than the White House would like. And Boehner knows it, which may be why he’s more inclined this time than in the past to push his luck with a default.
Nah, who are we kidding? He’ll fold. Exit question: If the new plan to pressure Boehner is to get the Senate to pass a clean debt-ceiling hike first, what will the effect on him be if/when Reid can’t get to 60 votes to make it happen? And even worse, what happens if he can’t get to 60 because some Senate Democrats are voting with the GOP?
POSTED AT 8:41 PM ON OCTOBER 8, 2013 BY ALLAHPUNDIT
President Obama and I sat down in 2011 and had a serious negotiation.
And while the president today suggested that I walked away from the deal, I would have to remind him that I was in the Oval Office along with the majority leader, Eric Cantor, when we in fact had an agreement that two days later the president walked away from.
But there was, in fact, another negotiation in 2011 that resulted in, really, the largest deficit reduction bill that we’ve seen here in the last 30 years. But in 2010, when Democrats controlled the Congress and President Obama was in the White House, what happened was, a group of moderate Democrats in the House wouldn’t agree to raise the debt limit without a negotiation.
So there was a negotiation then amongst Democrats over raising the debt ceiling.
The long and short of it is, there is going to be a negotiation here.
The share of voters blaming Republicans exclusively is well beneath 50 percent, suggesting that today’s persuadable voters—the key voters on the road to 50 percent—are angry at both parties. Other questions show broad dissatisfaction with both parties. A majority of voters say they disapprove of Obama’s performance on the budget; a majority of voters even say they’re “angry” with President Obama, as well as congressional Democrats.
That’s not what the polls found in the 1995-1996 shutdown, when nearly half of voters consistently put the blame on the House Republicans. And although President Clinton’s approval rating might have slipped during the shutdown, his approval ratings held near 50 percent—unlike President Obama.
Extreme Hypocrisy! Obama Orders Federal Workers To “Make Life As Difficult For People As We Can”
Why would the president of the United States try to purposely hurt the American people? Well, in 2013 this is done in order to score political points and force the opposition in to doing what you want them to do. A few days ago, an angry Park Service ranger publicly admitted that he and his fellow rangers have been ordered to “make life as difficult for people as we can” during this government shutdown. That Park Service ranger would never have received such an order unless it came from the very top.
Image: Government shut down.
Apparently the Obama administration plans to cause as much pain as possible until Obama gets everything that he is demanding. In many cases, it is actually going to cost far more money to put up barricades and use guards to keep Americans from visiting open air memorials, driving on roads, and fishing in bodies of water than it would to put up a “closed” sign and simply go home. As you will see from the examples posted below, the Obama administration is being extremely spiteful and vindictive. And the level of hypocrisy that we are now witnessing is hard to fathom. For instance, the National Mall has been totally closed to the public, but the Obama administration is specifically reopening it for a massive pro-immigration rally that will benefit the Democrats politically. The abuse of power that is taking place is absolutely staggering, and the American people need to demand that those that are abusing it be held accountable when all of this is over.
The following are just a few examples of how Obama is using this shutdown to make life as difficult for people as possible…
#1 The Obama administration is doing all it can to keep Americans from even getting a glimpse of Mount Rushmore, but Barack Obama’s chefs have been deemed “essential” and are still preparing his meals.
#2 Small businesses cannot get loans, but the exclusive gyms that are only for members of Congress have been deemed “essential” andremain open.
#3 The National Mall has been closed to the public, but it will be opened for a huge pro-immigration rally being held by Obama supporters.
#4 Last chance cancer treatments for children with cancer have been suspended, but the IRS continues to collect taxes from us.
#5 The NIH has stopped therapy dogs from visiting sick children, but Obama and Congress are still getting paid.
#6 The USDA website has been shut down, but Michelle Obama’sLet’s Move website is still operating.
#7 A runner has been fined $100 for jogging through Valley Forge National Historical Park, but the military golf course that Obama uses regularly is still open.
#8 The Obama administration has shut down the Grand Canyon, but the new two billion dollar NSA spy center is still spying on all of us.
#9 The federal government has forced an elderly couple out of their home on Lake Mead during this shutdown, but the operations of the Federal Reserve have not been affected at all.
#10 In South Carolina, the Obama administration is actually using Park Service rangers to keep people away from a privately-owned hotel.
#11 In Tennessee, the feds have totally shut down the Foothills Parkway, a major thoroughfare that runs through Blount County. At this point the feds are not even letting people visit the graves of their dead relatives.
#12 The Obama administration has actually removed all of the well pumps along a 184 mile trail that goes from Washington D.C. to Pittsburgh just so that anyone that decides to use the trail will not be able to get any water to drink.
#13 The Obama administration is actually attempting to close 1,100 square miles of ocean off of the coast of Florida. It is going to take a tremendous amount of time, money and energy to keep fishing boats out of that area.
#14 According to one news report, “Gestapo tactics” were used against one tour group made up mostly of senior citizens at Yellowstone National Park…
Pat Vaillancourt went on a trip last week that was intended to showcase some of America’s greatest treasures.Instead, the Salisbury resident said she and others on her tour bus witnessed an ugly spectacle that made her embarrassed, angry and heartbroken for her country.Vaillancourt was one of thousands of people who found themselves in a national park as the federal government shutdown went into effect on Oct. 1. For many hours her tour group, which included senior citizen visitors from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States, were locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard.The tourists were treated harshly by armed park employees, she said, so much so that some of the foreign tourists with limited English skills thought they were under arrest.When finally allowed to leave, the bus was not allowed to halt at all along the 2.5-hour trip out of the park, not even to stop at private bathrooms that were open along the route.
#15 Of course one of the most disturbing abuses of power is how the Obama administration is using barricades and guards to keep military veterans away from open air memorials such as the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial that are normally open to the public 24 hours a day.
It is beyond disgusting for Barack Obama to take these memorials hostage for political gain.
And a lot of military veterans have decided that they are not going to take this slap in the face. In fact, one group is organizing a “Million Veteran March on the Memorials” this weekend. You can find their Facebook page right here. According to their page, a mass protest is being planned for 9 AM this Sunday morning…
“Join fellow Veterans at the war memorials in Washington DC on Sunday October 13th at 9 AM and at memorials across these United States.”
And veterans will not be the only ones in D.C. this weekend. An organization known as “Truckers Ride for the Constitution” will also be there. You can find their Facebook page right here. The truckers are planning a three day strike and protest which will stretch from Friday to Sunday…
“The American people are sick and tired of the corruption that is destroying America! We therefore declare a national protest in support of our nation’s truckers on the weekend of October 11-13, 2013! Truck drivers will not haul freight! Americans can strike in solidarity with truck drivers! Truckers will lead the path to saving our country if every American rides with them!”
Many truckers are even planning to take their trucks right into the heart of Washington D.C. itself.
It will certainly be interesting to see what happens.
Personally, I have never seen anything like what we are witnessing right now. The president of the United States is actually trying to purposely hurt the American people in order to put pressure on Congress. He isn’t even being subtle about it.
Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, you have got to be absolutely disgusted by what Obama is doing. He is showing an astounding lack of respect for the American people.
It is one thing to play hardball with Congress. That is acceptable. It is quite another thing to spitefully abuse the American people in order to get what you want.
What Obama has done goes way over the line. If the American people are not outraged by this, what will it take to wake them up?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/shutdown-leaves-kin-dead-soldiers-burial-funds-article-1.1480080
Shutdown leaves kin of dead soldiers without money for funerals
Five military servicemembers paid the ultimate sacrifice but their families cannot receive the money they need to bury them or support the children left behind because of government shutdown.
Comments (20)BY JOSEPH STRAW AND STEPHEN REX BROWN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013, 10:49 PM
UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2013, 6:53 AM
STEVE RUARK/AP
Families of fallen military servicemembers usually receive a "death gratuity" of $100,000 for interment and expenses within days, but not during government shutdown.
They paid the ultimate price serving their country — but their government can’t spare a cent to cover their funerals.
The stooges on Capitol Hill added insult to tragedy Tuesday when it was revealed that the families of four soldiers and a Marine who were killed in Afghanistan have not received a $100,000 “death gratuity” because of the government shutdown.
The cash is meant to cover interment, flights and other expenses tied to the servicemembers’ ultimate sacrifice. It is usually wired within three days.
Four of the fallen — Sgt. Patrick Hawkins, 25; Pfc. Cody Patterson, 24; Lt. Jennifer Moreno, 25; and Special Agent Joseph Peters, 24 — were killed Sunday by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
Marines carry wounded warrior to helicopter in Afghanistan. Now, the paralysis in Washington has claimed new victims — families of the fallen who would normally get death benefits within three days haven’t gotten a dime.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Collins Jr., 19, died Saturday in Helmand Province. His death is under investigation, the Defense Department said.
“It is upsetting because my husband died for his country, and now his family is left to worry,” Ashley Peters, the wife of Jeremiah Peters, told MSNBC.
“My husband always said if something happened to him we would be taken care of,” added Peters, whose 20-month-old son now doesn’t have a dad.
The Daily News spotlights five military families who are victims of political posturing related to the government shutdown.
All “nonessential” government operations ground to a halt last week, and 800,000 federal employees were furloughed, after Congress and President Obama could not agree on legislation to fund the government beginning Oct. 1.
House Republicans insisted that any bill contain language delaying or defunding the President’s health care reform law.
Legislation was enacted toward the end of last week to ensure that the troops would continue to get paid.
But the law did not authorize “any payments to family members of service members, and therefore cannot be used to legally justify the payment of survivor benefits,” a Pentagon official told the Daily News.
AP
Lt. Jennifer Moreno, 25. Moreno, of San Diego, was on her first deployment to Afghanistan. She courageously volunteered for a dangerous assignment that required she interact with Afghan women to collect intelligence.
“If the department was allowed to make death gratuity payments at any point during shutdown, they would’ve been paid, with great relief.”
Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday seized on the denial of survivor benefits to blame each other.
“Their families have already suffered an unbearable loss. But now the families of these fallen soldiers are being denied death benefits . . . because of this shameful and embarrassing government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.
AP
Sgt. Patrick Hawkins, 25. Hawkins, of Carlisle, Pa., was an Army Ranger on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan. He was killed as he tried to aid a wounded fellow Ranger.
“There are no words to describe this situation — that America could fail the families of our fallen heroes. But the first word that comes to mind is appalling.”
Sen. John McCain (D-Ariz.) said, “I’m ashamed. I’m embarrassed. All of us should be!”
Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) introduced legislation to right the awful wrong, and Speaker John Boehner said the House would act to restore the benefits Wednesday.
Although lawmakers expressed shock, Pentagon Controller Robert Hale warned two weeks ago that the death benefits would be a casualty of a shutdown.
Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Collins Jr., 19. Collins, of Milwaukee, was an intelligence analyst who joined the Marines in June 2012. His death was under investigation.
“This is ghoulish, but it’s the law, not policy. Remember that,” Hale said on Sept. 27. For now, the “death gratuity” will be paid whenever the government resumes full operations.
The ineptitude of Congress stood in contrast to the humble heroism of the soldiers.
Hawkins, an Army Ranger from Carlisle, Pa. was on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan. He “was a brave and incredibly talented Ranger,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Ellis.
Pfc. Cody Patterson, 24. Patterson, of Corvallis, Ore., was on his second deployment to Afghanistan. His commander said he had “a limitless future.” He was hailed as a “poster child for the Ranger Regiment.”
“He was moving to the aid of a wounded Ranger when he was killed. His actions that night were in keeping with the epitome of the Ranger Creed: ‘I will never leave a fallen comrade.’ ”
Patterson, of Corvallis, Ore., was hailed as a Ranger “poster child.”
“He was courageous and dedicated and lost his life while fighting tenaciously against our nation’s enemies,” Ellis said.
AP
Special Agent Joseph Peters, 24. Peters, of Springfield, Mo. had served two previous deployments in Iraq. He was on his first tour of Afghanistan. He served as a Human Intelligence Collector and is survived by a wife and 20-month-old son.
A neighbor of Patterson’s in Oregon told the Daily News the fallen fighter was “a great man who always wanted to be a soldier.”
Moreno, of San Diego, was a member of a cultural support team — a risky assignment required her to gather intelligence by interacting with Afghan women.
Peters, of Springfield, Mo., also gathered intelligence and had completed two previous tours of duty in Iraq.
Few details were available about Collins, who comes from Milwaukee. The Marines said only that he served as an intelligence analyst and died “while supporting combat operations.”
JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AP
A Marine carry team unloads the transfer case containing the remains of Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremiah M. Collins Jr. of Milwaukee, Wis. Collins' family will have to wait for the shutdown to end to receive money for his burial.
An Army spokesman said 15 relatives of the four fallen soldiers will be present when the soldiers’ flag-draped coffins arrive at Dover Air Force Base, Del. It wasn’t immediately clear if relatives of the Marine will be present, too.
Several charities stepped forward Tuesday to pledge financial aid so the relatives can travel to Delaware. It was not clear if the families would accept the aid, or pay their own way.
In addition to the $100,000 death benefit, each of the families is in line to receive a $400,000 life insurance payment. Those payments typically take up 30 days to process, said to Ami Neiberger-Miller, of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a support group.
PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP
Sen. Harry Reid called the situation “appalling.”
Families will also receive a monthly survivor benefit stipend that is determined by the base pay of the person killed in action.
Astoundingly, while the payments to the families are delayed, and the rest of America is making do without federal services, the gyms on Capitol Hill remain open.
At the House gym, the flat-screen televisions are powered up, the treadmills are available, and the water’s fine in the swimming pool.
And, of course, members of Congress, unlike furloughed federal employees, are still collecting pay.
Sharon Collins, mother of fallen G.I. Jeremiah Collins, said Tuesday she felt betrayed.
Lawmakers defended their perks, saying the gyms are unstaffed and are not being maintained.
“It’s getting to be a pretty rank place,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said of the Senate gym — though his statement could have applied to all of Capitol Hill.
Members Of Congress Seen Partying, Drinking On Capitol Hill All Week During Shutdown
Bartenders close to the capitol have told local reporters that members of Congress are keeping themselves busy during the government shutdown by partying and drinking, and generally having a great big knees up.
“I don’t think the public would be happy to know that they are actually enjoying this time.” one bartender at Hawk and Dove bar on Pennsylvania Avenue told WUSA9 News.
The barman added that members of Congress have been “cutting loose” all week, and started off with a party on the first night of the shutdown.
“There was a private party upstairs with a few Congress people and senators here that night.” the bartender stated.
WUSA9 also spoke to another bartender from a separate establishment who verified that members of Congress had been dropping into his bar all week, including on the day of the shutdown.
The bar manager, who wished to remain anonymous, stated “There were congressmen, there were lobbyists and staffers…we stayed pretty busy. They were definitely eating and passing the time before the vote.”
The news station also published a photo (see screenshot above) of House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer posing for a picture with actress Selma Hayek in a bar on the second night of the shutdown.
Last week on the night of the shutdown, several reporters indicated that members of Congress were drinking before and after the vote.
With The US Debt X-Date Just One Week Away, At Least Continuity At The Fed Is Preserved
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For all expectations of a big jump in US futures overnight on the largely priced in Janet Yellen nomination announcement which is due at 3 pm today, the move so far has been very much contained, as expected, with a modest 90 minute halflife, as the markets' prevailing concern continues to be whether the debt ceiling negotiation will be concluded by the October 17 deadline or if it would stretch further forcing the government to prioritize payments. There is however some hope with Bloomberg reporting that some possible paths out of the debt impasse are starting to emerge with less than a week before U.S. borrowing authority lapses after Obama said he could accept a short-term debt-limit increase without policy conditions that set the terms for future talks. Whether this materializes or just leads to more empty posturing and televized press conferences is unclear, although as Politico reports, the stakes for republicans are getting increasingly nebulous with some saying they are "losing" the fight, while the core GDP constituency is actually liking the government shutdown.
Looking at global markets, as RanSquawk reports, in Early European trade stocks were seen in minor positive territory across the board amid Italian and Spanish bond syndications which is expected to draw in a respectable level of demand, with FTSE MIB and IBEX 35 leading the way for European equities. In addition there is more of a risk on sentiment as equities begin to pare back some of yesterday's lows. However, they still remain short of the highs reached on Monday.
In terms of overnight news, one of the most crucial developments has been the news that the White House have said that President Obama is set to announce Janet Yellen as the next Fed chair later today. T-notes initially saw upside following this news, however, this move was later pared. Fixed income markets have been seen higher across the board as UK Gilts provide direction for the market following a weaker than expected release for production figures and a larger than expected UK trade deficit. The news resulted in 6-week lows in UK 10yr yields with bund futures rising in sympathy.
Courtesy of the government shutdown, today the only events on the docket are the MBA mortgage apps at 7 am, and the FOMC Minutes release for the "no Taper" decision meeting at 2 pm Eastern.
Overnight news bulletin from Bloomberg and Ran
- The White House said US President Obama is to announce the nomination of Janet Yellen as next Fed Chair on Wednesday and that Obama is to hold an event at the White House at 1400CDT/2000BST to announce the Fed nomination.
- Alcoa kicked off the latest earnings season after the closing bell on Wall Street yesterday and reported Q3 Adj. EPS USD 0.11 vs. Exp. USD 0.05 (of which $0.09 was due to restructuring addbacks), while also reaffirming forecast for 2013 global aluminium demand.
- ECB's Asmussen says the ECB still has room to move on interest rates, the ECB has a whole array of nonstandard measures available.
- Treasury yields from 5Y to 10Y fall by 1bps-2bps as Obama opened the door to talks with Republicans on topics ranging from health care to entitlement programs if they end the impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling.
- Maturing Coupon Issues, Key Dates After Oct. 17
- Obama will nominate Janet Yellen as chairman of the Federal Reserve, which would put the world’s most powerful central bank in the hands of a key architect of its unprecedented stimulus program
- Yellen’s nomination raises the odds of prolonged U.S. stimulus that could strengthen the yen and damage the Japanese economy, said Koichi Hamada, an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
- Obama poured cold water on calls for him to invoke the Constitution’s 14th Amendment to skirt Congressional approval for issuing new debt, as both political scholars and legal experts said such a crisis-aversion plan would be risky and potentially illegal
- Week’s auctions continue with $21b 10Y notes; yield 2.63% in WI trading, drew 2.946% in September
- Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors LP was told $1.8b and an admission of wrongdoing by the hedge fund firm would be the price tag for resolving securities-fraud charges, people familiar with the matter said
- Sovereign yields mostly lower, peripheral spreads widen. Nikkei rises 1.03%, leading most Asian markets higher; European stocks mostly lower, S&P 500 futures gain. WTI crude, copper, gold rise
Asian Headlines
BoJ Minutes from the September 4th-5th meeting said Japan is expected to continue moderate recovery and that members agreed that Japan's virtuous cycle of production, income and spending is working steadily.
BoJ deputy governor Nakaso sees no immediate need to ease policy, commenting that the BoJ has so far successfully curbed the yield rise and lifted inflation expectations.
EU & UK Headlines
UK Manufacturing Production (Aug) M/M -1.2% vs. Exp. 0.4% (Prev. 0.2%)
UK Industrial Production (Aug) M/M -1.1% vs. Exp. 0.4% (Prev. 0.0%, Rev. to 0.1%)
UK Visible Trade Balance GBP/mln (Aug) M/M -9625 vs. Exp. -8850 (Prev. -9853, Rev. -9941)
UK Industrial Production (Aug) M/M -1.1% vs. Exp. 0.4% (Prev. 0.0%, Rev. to 0.1%)
UK Visible Trade Balance GBP/mln (Aug) M/M -9625 vs. Exp. -8850 (Prev. -9853, Rev. -9941)
German Industrial Production SA (Aug) M/M 1.4% vs. Exp. 1.0% (Prev. -1.7%, Rev. to -1.1%)
ECB's Asmussen says the ECB still has room to move on interest rates, the ECB has a whole array of nonstandard measures available. He also said that the central bank is looking at money market rates closely, adding that it can do a number of things if necessary.
Germany sells EUR 3.347bln in 1.0% 2018, 2.0 b/c (Prev. 1.5) and avg. yield of 0.81% (Prev. 1.0%), Retention 16.3% (Prev. 19.22%)
US Headlines
The White House said US President Obama is to announce the nomination of Janet Yellen as next Fed Chair on Wednesday and that Obama is to hold an event at the White House at 1400CDT/2000BST to announce the Fed nomination.
Equities
Stocks recovered from a lower open to trade broadly higher, with financials and utilities benefiting the most from the modest credit spread tightening following somewhat dovish comments from ECB's Asmussen, as well as the fact that Janet Yellen was confirmed as a replacement for Bernanke to lead to Fed.
As a reminder, Alcoa kicked off the latest earnings season after the closing bell on Wall Street yesterday and reported Q3 Adj. EPS USD 0.11 vs. Exp. USD 0.05, while also reaffirming forecast for 2013 global aluminium demand.
FX
The release of weaker than expected macroeconomic data from the UK resulted in broad based GBP weakness, which in turn saw GBP/USD move back below the 21DMA. However even though this managed to support EUR/GBP, EUR/USD also traded lower, as yields on US T-Bills continued to rise given the lack of progress made on resolving the deadlock in Washington.
Commodities
Despite firmer USD, both WTI and Brent crude futures are seen little changed, as market participants look for further clarity on budget/debt ceiling talks in Washington and also await the release of the latest DOE data at 1530BST.
US API US Crude Oil Inventories (Oct 4) W/W 2760K vs. Prev. 4500K.
- Cushing Crude Inventory (Oct 4) W/W -156K vs. Prev. -83K
- Gasoline Inventories (Oct 4) W/W -2800K vs. Prev. 326K
- Distillate Inventory (Oct 4) W/W -1070K vs. Prev. -157K
- Cushing Crude Inventory (Oct 4) W/W -156K vs. Prev. -83K
- Gasoline Inventories (Oct 4) W/W -2800K vs. Prev. 326K
- Distillate Inventory (Oct 4) W/W -1070K vs. Prev. -157K
The White House has said the US is halting all military assistance to Egypt and that they will announce future of Egypt assistance in the coming days.
Iran is preparing to offer to halt near weapons grade enrichment in order to seek sanctions relief, according to an official.
Chinese net gold imports from Hong Kong in August were 110.2 tons vs. 113.2 tons in the previous month.
According to reports, shipments to China fell from Hong Kong in August after some Chinese banks used up their import quotas.
UBS said iron ore may fall to short-term low of USD 70 on seasonal steel output cut and that iron ore risks correction as Australia output gains. UBS also forecasts iron ore averaging at USD 120 in 2013 and USD 110 next year.
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We conclude, as usual, with Jim Reid's take on the recent set of events
Up until yesterday, this shutdown/debt ceiling debate was becoming the most dull and boring potential major financial catastrophe in history. However over the last 12-24 hours the small cracks that have appeared in financial markets over the last week have started to edge open a little bit wider. On the plus side this may start to help concentrate the minds of the politicians a bit more after another day of stalemate and lack of urgency. Our thoughts are that this will get resolved when either the market forces the issue with a big sell-off or when we get closer to an as yet unspecified hard-date as to when the US runs out of money. On the latter, one concrete thing we did learn yesterday is that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will testify to the Senate Finance Committee tomorrow at 8:30am (ET) to discuss the debt ceiling including issues of how hard the 17th of October date is. This meeting may give us some improved clarity as to when 1 minute to midnight is going to be in this crisis. The perception is that it’s actually nearer the end of the month.
On market pressure, of particular interest yesterday was the sharp rise in T-Bill yields with 1-month climbing 17bps to 0.337% and similar maturity auction clearing at 0.35% - both at the highest levels since October 2008. Indeed, one month T-Bill yields rose above 1-month USD LIBOR for the first since at least 2001. Back in October 2008, 1-month T-Bill yields rose by 39bp to 45bp when the Fed agreed to provide up to $540 billion in loans to money market funds following redemption calls. The T-Bill weakness encouraged the shorter-end of the treasury curve to underperform, including the 2yr which increased 4bp in yield to 0.38%, on a day when the 10yr yield was basically unchanged at 2.63%. While the debt ceiling stalemate has placed plenty of focus on shortterm US rates and the price of US government credit default swap protection, the 10yr yield remains firmly within the 2.60% to 2.65% range that has held over the last two and half weeks even as debt ceiling concerns have escalated. Whether we ultimately see a flight to, or a flight away, from treasuries as the debt ceiling deadline nears is still clearly up for debate.
Partly offsetting some of the market pressure, the Wall Street Journal has broken the news that President Obama is ready to formally nominate Janet Yellen as the next Fed Chair. The President will hold an event at the White House at 3pm USET today to formally announce the Fed Chair nomination, according to a White House statement. The Yellen nomination news has erased some of the market bearishness from yesterday which saw the S&P 500 drop almost 21 points (-1.23%), bringing the index virtually back to May 22nd Bernanke-JEC levels. Though the VIX index rose to a near four month high of 20.25pts, the other “fear-barometer”, gold, fell 0.3%.
Looking at markets this morning, S&P futures are up 0.3%, helped by the Yellen headlines and also by the aftermarket earnings beat from Alcoa (more below). Japan’s TOPIX (+1.0%) is leading the region's equity markets helped by exporters after a 0.5% jump in USDJPY. The BoJ’s September minutes didn’t provide any major surprises. Elsewhere in the region, the Hang Seng (-0.6%) and ASX200 (+0.1%) are off this morning’s opening lows.
Recapping Tuesday's DC dramas, it was generally a day of lots of action but few results. At the leadership level, House Speaker Boehner kicked off the days events with a statement that he, "isn't drawing lines in the sand" and was open to discussions with the President to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. Soon after this he had a call with the President, in which the President reiterated his refusal to negotiate on bills to reopen the government or raise the debt ceiling. Obama held an afternoon press conference in which he reiterated those same points, but some highlighted that there was a hint of compromise when the President said may be willing to negotiate with Republicans if Congress supported a short-term debt limit increase and continuing resolution. Over in the House, yesterday saw Republicans float the idea of forming a super committee with Democrats to resolve differences and get the government reopened, however the Democrats swiftly rejected this idea, citing the failure of the 2011 super committee to achieve any meaningful results. In the Senate, Democrats pushed a plan to raise the debt ceiling without policy restrictions with Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid saying he believed he had the 60 votes necessary to overcome procedural hurdles later in the week, which included 6 Republicans. The Republicans dispute this. Reid is looking for a $1trillion debt ceiling increase that is expected to be sufficient to fund treasury until the end of 2014.
Having said all that, there were a few bright spots across the globe away from the wall of worry in DC. European fixed income had one of its busiest primary issuance days in weeks with new deals pricing across the SSA, financials and corporate sectors. In US primary markets, T-Mobile is set to price the secondlargest high yield deal of the year, raising around $5.6bn (Bloomberg). On a related note, Reuters reported that the recent success of the Verizon recordbreaking bond deal has given US telco AT&T sufficient confidence in bidding for assets, for example Vodafone, and being able to raise the required financing in bond markets (Reuters). So while markets worry about events in Washington, it seems funding markets remain very much open to issuers.
Other positive snippets included Alcoa, who kicked off the US Q3 reporting season overnight with a strong beat on the adjusted EPS (11c vs 5.4c expected) while also managing to top consensus revenue estimates ($5.76bn vs $5.63 expected). The announcement came after the closing bell, but the stock was up 1-3% in aftermarket trading. We also saw a solid EM performance yesterday in the face of the DM sell-off with the MSCI EM equity index closing 0.4% higher. The recent slide in the USD, and expectations that Fed tapering has been delayed at least for a few months, have helped sentiment there.
Turning to the day ahead, apart from the news flow in DC, the FOMC minutes from the September meeting will be the main focus today. The Fedspeak over the last couple of weeks has suggested that it was a close call between tapering or not at the September meeting. MBA mortgage applications will be released today, but it is unlikely that we will get US wholesale inventories data. In Europe, industrial production numbers for the UK and Germany are scheduled today. It’s also worth watching today’s 10yr UST auction.
Hey Fred, CWIX opened a new comment over at http://natesgarageandedge.blogspot.com/ maybe we will see NW drop back in over there.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise that O wants to make the shutdown as painful as possible, one he's an ass, two there is the possibility that no one will notice that the gov't is shutdown and three politicians always cut what the public likes first, they even do it here in local politics, to manipulate the herd.
No surprise the assholes are partying it up either.
Evening Kev - the shutdown is Kabuki and the actions of the politicians reflect just how serious they take this ! And as predicted , look at Obama's approval numbers fall ( 37 percent - down 4 points in a week ! ) The longer this goes on , the worse his numbers will become - not that anyone loves Congress ! One day folks will figure out if we collectively don't approve of both the Legislative members elected or the President elected , we need different alternatives....
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