Pentagon warns of US government shutdown effects

Pentagon officials have warned of the consequences of the first government shutdown in the US over the last 17 years as hundreds of thousands of civilian employees have been furloughed.

According to US military officials, about half of the Pentagon’s 800,000 civilian employees were placed on unpaid leave Tuesday after Republicans and Democrats in US Congress failed to reach a deal on a spending bill.

“This dark cloud of uncertainty… affects our missions around the world. It affects our allies questioning our commitment,” US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Large functions of the US government shut down on Tuesday after the Democratic-led Senate voted to reject the latest proposal by the Republican-led House of Representatives that would temporarily fund the government in return for a one-year delay of President Barack Obama’s controversial healthcare plan known as Obamacare.

As the US government shutdown is heading for its second day, both Republicans and Democrats warned Tuesday that it could last for weeks.

On Tuesday, President Obama strongly criticized Republicans for the shutdown, saying they should not hold the entire economy “hostage” over “an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans.”

Meanwhile, US Congress faces a mid-October deadline in order to raise the federal government’s debt limit.

The White House has said Congress should raise the debt ceiling without conditions and has refused to negotiate with lawmakers about how to do it.

As congressional Republicans and Democrats refuse to compromise on a budget deal, concerns have been raised that the US government shutdown could grow to encompass a possible default by the Treasury if US lawmakers fail to agree on a deal to raise the debt ceiling.