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Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Government shuts down After Congress fails to reach a fiscal consensus, government enters shutdown By Jack Casey the daily cardinal
james lanser/the daily cardinal
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, addresses Legislative Affairs members and discusses ideas for new safety initiatives.
City official talks civic engagement, safety initiatives on campus By Tamar Myers the daily cardinal
Ald. Michael Verveer, District 4, is no stranger to campus governance, he told students at an Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee meeting Monday. “When people ask me what I majored in, I say student government,” Verveer joked. While earning his undergraduate degree, Verveer spent four years with student governance, including a stint as president. Now invited back to familiar ground, Verveer took the chance to discuss campus safety and educate students about ways to engage with city issues, including with the city capital and operating budgets currently in the works. Verveer encouraged committee members to press Mayor Paul Soglin about the importance of the Downtown Safety Initiative, which funds a ramped up police presence in the downtown area on weekends. Former Police Chief Noble Ray asked for $100,000 to fund DSI in the city’s proposed operating budget. Although Verveer said he “won’t be surprised” if the amount is approved, he plans to offer a budget amendment if it is not. “I know how critical [the
DSI] is to the safety and wellbeing of everybody that’s out downtown weekend nights,” Verveer said. In light of recent increases in some types of crime, Verveer also briefed committee members on campus safety, saying that it is “at the forefront of the city’s thoughts.” Verveer said he will take measures such as continuing an ongoing push to install pedestrian lights in downtown and campus areas to deter crime. He also stressed the importance of installing more security cameras downtown. On Sept. 23, Verveer proposed a unanimously passed amendment to the capital budget that increased the amount allocated to security cameras. The current budget now devotes $70,000 to the cameras, which Verveer said are vital both in investigating crimes and deterring them. Although it is important to address crime issues, Verveer said it is also important to note Madison does well in terms of safety. For instance, crimes such as home invasions are almost always due to the involved individuals engaging in drug dealing. “Overall we have a very safe community here, a very safe campus,” Verveer said.
Deadlock and a failure to compromise permeated through the U.S. Congress and into Tuesday morning as the Republican-dominated House pushing its agenda to defund the Affordable Care Act and the Democrat-dominated Senate acting in support of President Barack Obama’s directives missed their midnight deadline and forced the federal government into its first shutdown in 17 years. The shutdown, which will put approximately 800,000
federal workers on temporary leave, appeared imminent after neither house of Congress seemed ready to compromise on passing a federal budget to start the new fiscal year by Oct. 1. As the deadline for a new budget approached, House Republicans chose to pursue a defunding of the ACA, something they have repeatedly tried to do since the law was passed, in what David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called a “last ditch effort.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., acting in conjunction with Obama’s directives, refused to accept the defunding provision and set up what turned out to be a cycle of refusals from both Congressional houses where Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the House would attach the provision only to have the Senate strip the House’s provision
soon after receiving it. The cycle ran throughout Monday and eventually spilled past the midnight deadline. The fallout and inability to pass a budgetary consensus will now have widespread implications throughout the nation, with government workers from national park employees to food inspectors being put on furlough, according to Canon. He added the shutdown will have the greatest effect in Washington D.C. where an estimate puts the total daily economic loss at $200 million and that the shutdown will greatly hamper federal legal proceedings until Congress can negotiate a deal. However, Congress and Obama pushed a provision through late Monday that would maintain pay for U.S. troops during the shutdown. Republicans in support of defunding the ACA said they
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Affordable Care Act exchanges go live By Jack Casey the daily cardinal
After a turbulent three years, the Affordable Care Act, which has been an annoyance to Republicans, the center of a Supreme Court case and one of the central tenants of President Barack Obama’s tenure, will move to its next step Tuesday as Wisconsin citizens and students will have their first opportunity
to log into the online exchange and explore their health care coverage options. The online marketplace, referred to as an exchange, will be federally run after Gov. Scott Walker opted out of pursuing a separate state-run option. Exchanges will allow people to buy mandated health coverage and will have a standardized list of available health care packages
and subsidies for which people from different income brackets could qualify. The ACA, a complex set of health care requirements that span hospitals, agencies and insurance providers, has already affected students nationwide by allowing individuals under the age of 26 to stay
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While the federal exchange in Wisconsin will officially go online Tuesday, citizens interested in buying mandated coverage do not need to rush to buy their coverage plans, according to health care professionals. The following are important dates health care consumers should consider when planning their choices:
Oct. 1:
Dec. 15:
The first day exchanges open and residents will be allowed to purchase health care coverage
The last day consumers can buy a plan and still be eligible for coverage on the first day of the new year
Jan. 1:
March 31:
The first day coverage purchased on The first day or before Dec. 15 will go into effect. Also exchanges open the date when federal income-based and residents will penalties for not having health care be allowed to purcoverage will begin to be assessed. The chase health care penalties will slowly increase with time. coverage
University community weighs in on ‘I’m Shmacked’ video The I’m Shmacked production company featured the University of WisconsinMadison in a YouTube video filmed during Parent’s Weekend on Sept. 21, which has raised discussion from students and university officials about the drinking cul-
ture depicted in the video. “I’m Shmacked” travels to colleges across the country filming videos about each campus’ unique personality. The video spread rapidly after it was released on Thursday, Sept. 26 and already has over 154,000 YouTube
views. It is the third “I’m Shmacked” video recorded about UW-Madison. Depicted in the film are various scenes of the campus community, Badger fans and even parents tailgating before
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“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”