The N FEDERAL SHUTDOWN CONTUES Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 16, 1995 - 9 People wondering how shutdown would affect them mI Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON -What if the gov- ernment shuts down and no one notices? That thought apparently occurred to quite a few Americans yesterday dur- ing the second day of the partial shut- down in the nation's capital. "The media has built this up like it's a hurricane on the way, but it has no impact on us," said Dick Busby, owner of a construction company in Dayton, Texas. "I don't even know anybody who has felt the impact." "It breaks my heart to think I can't go out to the national park at Hot Springs and get a guided tour from a genuine federal employee," said Mary Jane Rebeck, a Little Rock, Ark. businesswoman. Reports of 800,000 "nonessential" government employees being sent home may not have prompted widespread fret- ting about a loss in services, but rather wonderment about why the government' has so many unnecessary people on the payroll. "About 90 percent ofthe callers want to talk about why we had all these'non- essential' workers in the first place," said Tom Isenberg, who hosts a radio talk show in Seattle. In Miami, coffee shop owner Larry Rapaport admitted he was glad he was "not going to Africa tomorrow and need- ing a passport, or turning 65 and need- ing to file for Social Security." But otherwise, most people say they have not been affected by the govern- ment shutdown and are not worried about how long it will last. "I bet if you asked 1,000 people on the street, no one would know what shutting down the government does," Rapaport said. The GrassRoots Researchservice asked 1,000 people by phone about the govern- ment shutdown, and 60 percent of the respondents said they were in favor of it -if it led to a balanced budget. Callers were given three choices. Should Congress and the president do whatever it takes to reach an immediate agreement even if the budget is not balanced, suspend nonessential services until a balanced-budget agreement is reached, or eliminate all nonessential services now. Scott W. Rasmussen, president of the Charlotte, N.C., polling company, said 36 percent chose the first option of doing whatever it takes to reach agree- ment now. Meanwhile, 35 percent fa- vored suspending nonessential services to reach a balanced budget agreement, while 25 percent said nonessential sbr- vices should simply be eliminated. A small percentage were undecided. AP PF Capitol Hill police officer Travis Smith walks through the empty Statutary Hall in the Capitol yesterday as the partial shutdown of the federal government continued. Hundreds of thousands of government workers got another day off, closing the Library of Congress, national monuments and many other federal offices. Chton s action may win cnses in public's eye Both sides forgot escape hatch' in budget battle Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON - Two days into the great budget standoffof 1995, Presi- dent Clinton has emerged a clear politi- cal winner over Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich - in the short run, at least. "Look at how worried they look!" a Clinton aide crowed yesterday morn- ing as the furrowed visages of Gingrich and Dole appeared on television. A CNN/USA Today poll found that the public blames the Republicans for the deadlock more than Clinton by a wide margin of 49 percent to 26 per- cent, with 19 percent blaming both sides. Republicans acknowledged that the President has bested them in the tactical battle for public opinion this week. But they said they are confident they can turn the tide-ifthey can change the focus of the debate from the government shut- down to budget-balancing plans. "We can't win a fight over 24-hour (spending) resolutions," lamented GOP strategist Eddie Mahe. "Clinton just goes into the White House press room and beats us every time.... But once we pass a balanced budget, the burden will be on him." White House aides, on the other hand, News Anaysis were gleeful. "We're tryingnotto gloat," said one senior Clinton adviser, "but he has hit everything just right this week." In the view of the President's politi- cal handlers, the budget battle is not just about whether Clinton will accept Re- publican spending cuts: It's a chance to show their sometimes-irresolute Presi- dent drawing a line in the sand and fighting for something he believes in. Clinton aides said that he accom- plishedthat by relentlessly warning that the GOP spending plan would damage Medicare and other popular programs.. The CNN/USA Today poll gives some support to that theory: Asked whom they trusted to cut the budget while maintaining necessary programs, 49 percent named the Democrats and 36 percent the Republicans - a reversal from the beginning of the year. Republican leaders, meanwhile, hope to change the question - by demand- ing that Clinton accept or veto their proposal to balance the budget in seven years. Clinton already has said that he would veto the bill because of its cuts in Medicare and education spending. The Washington Post WASHINGTON - In their rush to- ward confrontation over the budget,. the White House and Congress thought of virtually everything - except the escape hatch. "You don't get into fights like this unless you have an exit strategy, and neither side has one," said Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) referring to the budget impasse between President Clinton and the Republican-led Congress that has forced the government to shut down for lack of money to fund its operations. Partly by design, partly by accident, each side has cut off the other's avenue of escape. Just last night, Republicans decided to pass a new temporary spending mea- sure to keep the government funded, clean of all provisions unacceptable to the White House, save one: the demand that the President accept a seven-year balanced budget based on Congressional Budget Office economic forecasts. Re- publicans do not have the votes to pass a spending bill without that provision and the White House cannot accept that demand. So, they stand, poised over a shuttered government, attempting to shout, maneuver and bludgeon each other into submission. In earlier years, even the most intrac- table impasses between Presidents and lawmakers were resolved by compro- mise and deal-cutting. More often than not, one side would withdraw after claiming to have made a point. In the case of spending disputes, it was rela- tively easy to split the difference. Some- times other concessions were made, such as promising hearings or appoint- ing study commissions. On rare occa- sions, "summits" were called to settle the disputes at the highest levels. That kind of business-as-usual ap- proach, however, is out of vogue in the new GOP-controlled Congress, which interpreted its election last fall as a mandate for fundamental change in the way government conducts its business, including the goal to force a balanced budget over the next seven years. The new climate tests not only the will of the president but the dexterity of his leading Republican rival, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. Dole made his mark in Congress as a master deal- maker who rivaled Houdini in his abil- ity to escape disasters. Now he marches in step with those who have shunned this method of governance, attempting as best he can to look thoroughly com- fortable in the new role. "The differencehere is that a balanced budget is at the core of who we are as Republican members of Congress.... It's a question of resolve and our resolve is strong as steel," said House Republi- can Conference Chairman John A. Boehner, (R-Ohio). Almost from the start, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and other GOP leaders, cheered on by the party's large freshman class, made it clear they would use hardball tactics to force Clinton to deal with the budget and other legisla- tive issues on their terms. In retrospect, Clinton, dogged by his reputation as a waffler, may have had no choice but to draw a firm line and dig in behind it. In any case,. he did so and is encouraged to keep on doing so by polls showing that most Americans approve. Republican leaders (from left) Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohlo), Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Sen. Pete Domenicl (R-N.M.) meet to work out budget details. SHUTDOWN Continued from Page 1 Brandt said the shutdown would not have a large impact on most indi- viduals. "It's really not a shutdown. It's a curtailing of government ser- vices," he said. "It's non-essential personnel who have been temporarily furloughed. "They have said probably anyone who has been furloughed will end up getting paid anyway. That has been past practice." WhileRivers said she believes fed- eral employees should receive back pay, she has problems with the politics in- volved. "It seems highly irresponsible to make a political point by sending everyone home, when in fact we are going to pay them," Rivers said. As for an end, Brandt said: "It's re- ally up to the President. I would expect by the end of this week Congress will send another continuing resolution to keep the government running." Rivers placed the blame on Con- YELLOW CA gress, and said she expects to work up until Thanksgiving and after the holi- day to seek a resolution. "We have been told to expect to stay in this week- end," she said. "I'm hoping that reason will prevail." Associate Vice President for Gov- ernment Relations Thomas Butts, the University's lobbyist in Washington, said the shutdown is only an inconve- nience for the University. He said the greatest impact would be on grant ap- plications. "In terms of operational impact, a day or two doesn't have much direct impact," Butts said. "The longer it goes, the more disruptive it is likely to be to the University. The world is not going to come to an end ask we know it. "I have been doing this for 14 years, and we've had 10 of these exercises during that time. This one could run a little longer." PERSONALIZED GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS Career opportunities at J.P. Morgan Interviews for niversity of i ichigan business seniors will be held on fi dnesda, January 17, 1996 for positions in Equity Research Investment Banking Please submit cover letter and resume by .londa, November 20, 1995 to: I T(" qk TFNkvs i