ATLANTA (WXIA) -- On the second day of the government shutdown, Congress and the White House drew no closer to resolving the impasse, although President Obama and key congressional leaders held their first meeting to discuss the budget crisis Wednesday afternoon.
Obama met with top four congressional leaders at the White House for a meeting, where leaders reiterated their positions after the meeting: Democrats continue to seek a stopgap funding bill and a debt ceiling increase with no conditions attached, while Republicans continue to mount an effort to seek concessions on the health care law.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Republicans "keep moving the goal post" for reaching a deal. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Democrats "will not negotiate."
While they called the meeting cordial, earlier in the day Obama said he is "exasperated" by the shutdown and blamed Republicans for trying to "extort" a delay or defund of the health care law.
Local effects of federal government shutdown
Monday was an unusually quiet at the Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta due to the early morning federal government shutdown.
Airlift crews were grounded, support staff and aircraft personnel were all sent home from the base leaving it, essentially, inoperable. About 550 of the 700 employees at the base were turned around as they arrived to work on Tuesday.
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And across town at the CDC in Decatur, all non-essential staff was told not to report. Many citizens expressed their concern with the shutdown due to the impending flu season however, a spokesperson from the CDC said the agency has the power to call in workers if Americans encounter imminent health danger.
Backlash from the federal government shutdown was even felt by some of Georgia's smallest citizens -- students at Thrive Christian Academy in Lithonia.
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A teacher from Thrive said the effects of the shutdown hit her on Tuesday morning when she arrived at school to a classroom full of children excited to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial site, which was closed as a result of the shutdown.
Other national parks were closed around the metro area, including: Kennesaw Mountain National Park and Chattahoochee National Park -- some portions of the river were even closed to the public.
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President Obama urged congressional Republicans on Tuesday to re-open the government, saying the longer the shutdown continues, the greater the damage to the economy.
"More families will be hurt," Obama said after meeting with supporters about the program at the heart of the Washington budget dispute, the health care law.
Obama again blamed the GOP for the shutdown that began at midnight Monday, saying some party members are waging an "ideological crusade" against the new health care law.
Obama also warned the Republicans to raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling that comes due later this month, saying that failure to do so would lead to "an economic shutdown."
The president spoke after meeting with people who have signed up for the health care marketplace exchanges that came on line Tuesday. These exchanges are a key to financing the new health care law.
Large swaths of the government closed down at midnight after the Republican House and Democratic Senate failed to agree on a new spending plan for the new fiscal year that began Tuesday.
Most Republicans support a plan that would delay parts of the health care plan by a year. Obama and Democrats say that is a non-starter, and the GOP is trying to use the budget to gut the health care plan.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized Senate Democrats for refusing to negotiate on the two plans, saying they "slammed the door" on re-opening parts of the government. Boehner said, "we hope that Senate Democrats -- and President Obama -- change course and start working with us on behalf of the American people."
While some Republicans try to roll back the health care plan, Obama used his speech to emphasize that "a big part of the Affordable Care Act is now open for business" -- the new market exchanges.
Previously funded, the exchanges are not subject to the shutdown. Obama said they force insurance companies to compete for business, lowering prices for previously uninsured Americans.
Earlier in the morning, the president met with people "who will benefit from the opening of Health Insurance Marketplaces and being able to comparison shop for the health plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act." said the White House.
(USA Today contributed to this report.)
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