Shutdown 'Impacts Army Day-To-Day Operations'

The US Army Chief of Staff has said the government shutdown is significantly harming the Army's day-to-day operations.

General Ray Odierno urged Congress to find a resolution to the funding row that led to the first government shutdown in 17 years.

"It is going to be difficult for us to do anything," Gen Odierno told Reuters in a phone interview from Germany.

"We won't be doing training like we normally would, we won't be travelling, we won't be doing the coordination necessary, only mission-essential tasks.

Gen Ray Odierno urged Congress to act quickly

''The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. Every day that goes by, we are losing manpower, we are losing capability, so in my mind it is important we get this resolved."

Intelligence officials said the shutdown also damages their ability to guard against threats.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Congress that roughly 70% of the civilian workforce has been furloughed, including staff from the CIA and the National Security Agency.

Mr Clapper said that each day the shutdown continues "the jeopardy increases".

The government shutdown is the nation's first in 17 years

The impasse on government funding showed little sign of abating as the shutdown entered its second day.

On Wednesday, Republican members of the House were again pushing a series of smaller spending bills aimed at reopening portions of the government.

The proposed legislation would permit the processing of veterans' claims, reopen national parks and continue pay for National Guard members.

But the White House has said reopening the government on a piecemeal basis is unacceptable and promised to veto anything other than a spending bill that funds the entire government.

Democrats on the Hill also rejected the idea, saying it was unfair to pick winners and losers as federal employees worked without a guarantee of getting paid.

The Martin Luther King Memorial is among sites affected

A White House official said President Barack Obama invited congressional leaders from both parties to meeting later on Wednesday.

The invitation comes as another financial showdown even more critical to the economy looms on the horizon.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told Congress that unless lawmakers act in time, he will run out of money to pay the nation's bills by October 17.

Amid the impasse, Mr Obama scrapped parts of a planned trip to Asia. He called off stops in Malaysia and the Philippines, but still plans to travel to regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei.

The shutdown that began on Tuesday has left federal government functions in limbo from coast to coast.

Many citizens are anxious about their future

National parks such as Yellowstone and Alcatraz Island have been shuttered and government websites have gone dark.

As many as 800,000 workers are taking unpaid leave.

Some have rebelled against the shutdown - on Tuesday, a group of veterans pushed past barricades at the National World War Two Memorial to get into the site.

Fed-up Americans have taken to Facebook and Twitter to call members of Congress "stupid" or "idiots".

Some blamed Republicans while others blasted Mr Obama or Democrats "who spend our tax dollars like crack addicts".

Funding for much of the government was halted after House Republicans hitched a routine spending bill to their effort to kill or delay the healthcare law, dubbed Obamacare.

The president accused conservatives of holding the government hostage for an ideological crusade.

Republicans, particularly members of the conservative Tea Party, view the Affordable Care Act as a dangerous extension of government power.

Politicians in both parties have suggested the stand-off might last for weeks.

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