The U.S. Government Is Closed for Business: Standoff over Obamacare results in government shutdown. U.S. Capital Photo Credit: Carol Highsmith On September 30, 2013, after several attempts by the House, Senate, and President Barack Obama to reach a deal on the federal budget ceiling and the funding of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, the Senate rejected a Republican bill, forcing a partial shutdown of the government beginning on Oct. 1. The bill, approved earlier by the House, would have funded the government but delayed full implementation of Obamacare and eliminated a tax on medical devices that would cover some costs of the new health care program. As the Oct. 1 deadline approached, Republicans in the House showed no signs of backing down on the bill, despite little public support for the shutdown. In a New York Times/CBS News poll, 87% of respondents said they were frustrated about the potential shutdown and 69% said they would prefer an agreement over the budget and Obamacare over a U.S. default on its debt. On the morning of September 30, Speaker John Boehnersaid on the House floor, "The House has done its work. We passed a bill on Saturday night — sent it to the United States Senate — that would delay Obamacare for one year, and would eliminate permanently the medical device tax that is costing us tens of thousands of jobs that are being shipped overseas." Boehner also said that the health care law "is not ready for prime time." Boehner's intransigence may be a response to pressure from the Tea Party and other conservative groups, which have been lobbying members of Congress and staging "Defund Obamacare" protests for months. That same day, President Obamaurged Congress to agree on a bill. “We are the foundation of the world economy and the world financial system. And our currency is the reserve currency of the world. We don’t mess with that. And we certainly don’t allow domestic policy differences on issues that are unrelated to the budget to endanger not only our economy but the world economy," he said during a public appearance. As the government shut down on October 1, some Americans felt the impact more than others. A partial shutdown meant that unemployment, social security and Medicare benefits would not be interrupted. The mail service would continue. Federal air traffic controllers and airport security screeners would still report to work. However, all national parks and Smithsonian museums would close. People seeking government backed mortgages and loans could see delays. Active military personnel, about 1.4 million people, would stay on duty, but their paychecks would be delayed. Health and safety inspectors would stop workplace inspections except in emergency situations. The impact of the U.S. government shutdown was already being felt by the world's financial markets as stocks fell around the globe on September 30, 2013.