The impasse in Congress that has shut much of the federal government was no closer to being resolved on Tuesday as the Senate turned down a proposal from House Republicans to enter negotiations. Republicans remained firm in their insistence that Congressional Democrats and President Obama agree to significant rollbacks in the Affordable Care Act, which began open enrollment on Tuesday, even as most government operations ground to a halt. Democrats said they would not be forced into chipping away at the health law as a condition of enacting a budget to keep the government running. Speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, President Obama said he would not give in to unreasonable demands by “one faction, of one party, of one house of Congress in one branch of government.” Read more http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/us/politics/shutdown-debate-congress.html?_r=0
