Most Recent Posts

Among those affected by the chaos of the government shutdown are 9 million low-income women and children who may be worrying where next week's meal is going to come from.

They rely on the government for food assistance through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC.

And according to Douglas Greenaway, president and CEO of the National WIC Association, some of the state programs that serve these women and children may run out of money by next week, while others may have enough funds to offer the food benefits through the end of the month. But across the country, he says, anxiety is rising as both program administrators and participants wonder how long they'll be in limbo.

"When Congress fails to act to fund programs like WIC that serve people in need, it just places vulnerable women and children in very precarious positions," Greenaway tells The Salt.

The Salt

Women And Children Caught In Middle Of Potato War

Months after federal agents raided its Knoxville, Tenn., headquarters over charges that it withheld millions in diesel fuel rebates from customers at its truck stops, Pilot Flying J says it is paying the companies that were cheated.

From Nashville, Blake Farmer of member station WPLN filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"The family-owned company is accused of withholding millions of dollars' worth of diesel rebates. Seven members of the Pilot Flying J sales staff have pleaded guilty to fraud charges, and others have been put on administrative leave during the federal investigation.

"CEO Jimmy Haslam — who also owns the Cleveland Browns — says the shortchanging represents a fractional part of the company's $30 billion in annual sales. He says most has been paid back, with interest. Still, he says the episode has taken a toll.

"'This has been a very humbling, very embarrassing time for myself, for our family and for Pilot Flying J. There's no other way to say it.'"

Updated at 12:24 a.m. ET Sunday

The House voted early Sunday to tie government funding to a one-year delay in implementing Obamacare, sending the dispute back to the Senate, where it is certain to get a frosty reception. The House measure also repeals the Affordable Care Act's tax on medical devices.

But with a government shutdown looming at midnight Monday, the White House said President Obama would veto the House bill, on the unlikely chance it made it through the Senate. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., released a statement rejecting the House plan as "pointless."

House Democrats called the plan a vote to prolong the dispute and close the government down.

"Let us be very clear," Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said on the House floor. "Let us not be full of smoke and mirrors. Tonight the Republican majority will vote to shut the government down."

Those in the Republican majority are hoping to turn that argument on its head.

"We're going to give a stark choice to the president of the United States and the Senate," said Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas. "Do you want to shut down the government, or do you want to force onto the American people a 2,500-page bill that was forced through here so fast, Speaker Pelosi said we have to pass the bill to find out what's in it."

Asked what happens after the Senate inevitably rejects their version of the bill on Monday, a number of House Republicans said they didn't have the next play planned out.

The House also passed a measure that would insure the troops continue to get paid in the event of a shutdown. Democrats ripped into Republicans for what they said was unfair treatment of other government workers, who are not guaranteed back pay if they endure a closure.

"We are the board of directors of that government," said Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland. "I can't believe there's one of us, Mr. Speaker, that would serve on a board of directors and treat a large portion of our employees with such disrespect, with such lack of consideration, with such contempt at times as we treat our civilian employees."

But Republicans defended their measure, which would keep government operations funded through the middle of December.

"This is a bill to keep the government open," said Rep. Rob Woodall of Georgia.

Early in the day, Republicans exiting their closed-door meeting said they were united behind the one-year-delay strategy.

"I think conservatives are winning," said Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas. "Stop Obamacare and not stop the government is what we're hearing from folks at home, so I think leadership's listened."

Republicans insist their proposal doesn't have to lead to a government shutdown, and could even get some Democratic support in the Senate.

That is unlikely. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state weighed in promptly after the proposal was announced:

"By pandering to the Tea Party minority and trying to delay the benefits of health care reform for millions of seniors and families, House Republicans are now actively pushing for a completely unnecessary government shutdown."

On an example of how Reagan and O'Neill would "fight like brothers" but find ways to work it out

[They were at a summit] about a deficit problem which was arising the year after Reagan took office and got his big tax cuts through, and his defense increase ... and the deficits were far beyond what they expected or what they could defend, and they needed Democrats to sign on to some kind of change in Social Security.

... I discovered outside the meeting [that] staffers for the president were passing the word that the Democrats were the ones who were ... urging a cut on Social Security benefits. And I told [O'Neill] ... and said to the president, 'Are you calling for a cut in Social Security or not?' And Reagan said, 'No, I'm not doing it, it's you guys that are doing it.' And the speaker said, 'No, I'm not doing it.'

So they got nowhere in that meeting but there was good chemistry there ... these guys were working together. And before the end of the year, before the big midterm election of '82, the speaker backed the president in raising taxes to make up for the excessive deficits from the year before, and he went on the floor of the House and told the Republican members, 'You're here because of Reagan, you owe him your loyalty,' and Reagan said in his diary that day [that] it was very strange to have Tip on his side on this issue. So this is the pattern: they would fight like brothers, and then they would deal.

On the ways that Reagan was willing to compromise

He was far more of a political figure than we think of. We think of him as a philosopher and the leader of ... the conservative moment. ... He wanted Social Security to be voluntary, he didn't like Medicare, he campaigned against it ... those are all in the history books, on the record. And yet ... when he was governor of California, he signed a pro-choice bill.

... He would compromise. He would compromise on making Social Security the strong program that it is today. He didn't just vote to keep it alive, he voted to keep it strong and keep the revenue flowing into it so there'd be enough money to pay for the retirees benefits. He really did make a decision there. And I got to tell you, I think the difference between him and a true purist is that he would always say, 'I'll fight as hard as I can and then I'll make the best deal I can.' And he did that on spending, on taxing, on defense.

On his own interviewing style

More With Chris Matthews

The Two-Way

In Tense Confrontation, Chris Matthews, RNC Chair Priebus Debate 'Race Card'