President Barack Obama will make a statement at 12:25 pm (1625 GMT) Tuesday, the White House said, as the US government shut down for the first time in 17 years.
Obama will speak from the White House Rose Garden as some 800,000 federal workers were told to stay home amid a budget impasse in the US Congress.
Obama on government shutdown
On Monday, U.S. President Obama spoke on the prospect of a government shutdown at 4:45 p.m., hours after saying he is “not at all resigned” to the possibility that lawmakers will fail to meet a midnight deadline.
According to CTV news, Online insurance marketplaces at the heart of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul struggled to handle the volume of consumers on Tuesday, the first day of a six-month open enrollment period.
Federal officials working on website problems
Federal officials said they were working to address the website problems as quickly as possible. Callers to the federal call center also reported long wait times.
“We have built a dynamic system and are prepared to make adjustments as needed and improve the consumer experience,” said U.S. Health and Human Services spokeswoman Joanne Peters on Tuesday morning.
Obama’s message to military
According to Swampland Time, President Barack Obama released a video message early Tuesday morning thanking American servicemembers and Defense Department personnel for their service as most of the federal government shutdown began.
The message, taped hours before the shutdown, features the president addressing the impacts of the shutdown on the Defense Department. Active duty military will continue to serve—and will get paid, thanks to a last-minute measure passed by Congress Monday and signed by the president less than two hours before the government shutdown. Many DOD civilians will be furloughed, while others deemed essential will be required to work without pay.
