The Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system allows recipients of government food stamps to purchase goods using a digital card with a set spending limit, but for a few hours over the weekend, that limit disappeared for many users visiting Walmart stores in Louisiana.
Walmart and local police in Springhill and Mansfield confirmed to CBS affiliate KSLA that officers were called into the stores to help maintain order Saturday as shoppers swept through the aisles at two stores and bought as much as they could carry.
Xerox, which hosts some of the infrastructure used by the EBT card system, told KSLA that a power outage during a routine maintenance test caused the temporary glitch.
Source: CBS News – CBS News: EBT benefit card glitch sparks Walmart shopping sprees in Louisiana
The head of the International Monetary Fund says that a default by the United States on Thursday could send the world into a major recession.
Christine Lagarde said that the default would cause “massive disruption the world over” during an interview for ABC’s Meet The Press.
“If there is that degree of disruption, that lack of certainty, that lack of trust in the US signature, it would mean massive disruption the world over and we would be at risk of tipping yet again into recession,” Lagarde said.
Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, also expressed concern over the situation saying that the U.S. is “days away from a very dangerous moment.”
Multiple finance ministers for European nations told the BBC they don’t expect the U.S. to default but are very uneasy and would like to see the crisis to end soon.
House Republicans have sent a proposal to President Obama that would end the 11 day partial government shutdown and avert a default by raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
The proposal includes changes in Obamacare as part of the end to the impasse. Also, some benefit programs would also see budget cuts.
The President has previously said he will not negotiate with Republicans on federal spending until the government is reopened and the debt ceiling raised without any conditions. The White House had seemed open to negotiation on Thursday until Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appeared at the White House to have a meeting with the President.
“[It’s time to] put this hysterical talk of default behind us and instead start talking about finding solutions to the problems,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.
It may be a temporary victory but the children who play lacrosse in Northern Virginia with the McLean Youth Lacrosse organization are celebrating.
A court case was filed on behalf of the players of that league to reopen Langley Fork Park in McLean, Virginia, which had been shut down by the National Park Service due to the government shutdown. The park is located on federal land but is operated by Fairfax County Park Authority who has funds to continue operating the park.
The crux of the case was that the players paid their fees for use of the park to Fairfax County, not the National Park Service. The judge ruled because the local entity runs all operations of the park, the federal government cannot stop a group that legally paid for use of the park from using facilities.
There will be another hearing on October 18th for a more permanent injunction should the government continue to be shuttered.
Legal observers say while this case does not impact any other parks on federal land that are run by state or private groups, it does set a precedent and it’s likely more cases will be filed in the next few days.
The Obama administration announced that it will allow states to use their own money to reopen some national parks that had been closed in the federal government shutdown.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said they will consider offers from individual states to reopen some parks but they will not relinquish control of the park itself to the states.
The governors of Utah, South Dakota, Arizona and Colorado have made requests to the administration to allow the states to fund park operations. The governors say the closure of the parks has had a unusually large impact on the communities surrounding the parks.
“The current federally mandated closure is decimating the bottom line of bed-and-breakfast business owners and operators in Torrey (Utah), outfitters at Bryce Canyon City and restaurant owners in Moab,” Utah Governor Gary Herbert wrote. He estimated the shutdown has cost Utah $100 million so far.
The National Park Service itself has stated they are losing close to $450,000 a day in revenue from the parks.
As the U.S. comes within a week of hitting the nation’s debt limit nations across the world are beginning to show their anger over the situation.
“What is chilling is that US politicians are willing to engage in a game of brinkmanship that is tantamount to detonating a nuclear device over their economy,” writes the Times of India.
UAE Businessman Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor wrote in the The Arab Times: “”There is something fundamentally wrong with a system that leaves a country without direction, in stagnation, without a budget and potentially without the wherewithal to settle its debts.”
If the U.S. were to default on October 17th, it would have a crushing impact on nations that use the U.S. Dollar as their official currency. The dollar would plummet on the world markets and so third world nations like Zimbabwe who use the dollar will see their country’s overall market power and value dive.
While most world leaders are publicly stating that they believe the U.S. will find a way to raise their debt ceiling and get the nation’s economy moving again, according to multiple news reports privately they’re getting concerned.
House Republican leaders are planning to offer a temporary increase in the nation’s debt ceiling in return for President Obama entering into negotiations for what the lawmakers describe as “pressing problems.”
However, the Republican lawmakers did not offer an end to the government shutdown.
“What we want to do is offer the president today the ability to move a temporary increase in the debt ceiling,” House Speaker John Boehner told reporters after a meeting of House Republicans. He called the deal “good-faith effort on our part to move halfway to what he’s demanded in order to have these conversations begin.”
The deal would extend suspend the debt limit until the Friday before Thanksgiving and creates what economists call a “Hard X date” meaning no “extraordinary measures” can be used by the Treasury Secretary to extend his borrowing authority past that date.
Insiders say the move was aimed to calm the stock markets and the plan seems to be working at stocks were up in early trading.
The head of Veterans Affairs has said he will be holding the checks of veterans and millions of others if the budget impasse is not resolved by November 1st.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said he withhold more than 5.18 million checks worth around $6.25 billion on November 1st. Shinseki told the House Veterans Affairs Committee he wouldn’t be able to pay beneficiaries without a budget.
He said that payments would stop for 364,000 survivors getting special benefits, 500,000 vets and spouses would stop getting pension payments and GI Bill programs will stop for another 500,000 people.
The House of Representatives passed a bill last week to fund the VA but the Senate has not considered the bill.
The Pentagon is entering into an agreement with a private foundation to ensure families of fallen troops are paid survivor benefits that were suspended because of the government shutdown, the U.S. Secretary of Defense said Wednesday.
The government will reimburse the Fisher House Foundation once the shutdown is over, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a written statement.
“I am offended, outraged, and embarrassed that the government shutdown had prevented the Department of Defense from fulfilling this most sacred responsibility in a timely manner,” Hagel said.
“In the days before the shutdown, we warned Congress and the American people that DoD would not have the legal authority to make these payments during a lapse in appropriations.”
The announcement came just after the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to resume paying survivor benefits, which includes a $100,000 payment.
Source: CNN – CNN: Pentagon strikes deal with charity to pay military death benefits
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki issued a dire warning Wednesday about the impact of a prolonged budget impasse, saying millions would see their benefit checks halted if the stalemate is not resolved in the coming weeks.
Shinseki said more than 5.18 million checks worth $6.25 billion could soon be held up.
“I will not be able to pay all these beneficiaries (without a budget),” Shinseki testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
He said that if something is not done by Nov. 1, “I will not be sending checks out.”
Source: FOX News – FOX News: VA chief issues dire warning, says millions of veterans might not get payments
