THE TWELFTH DAY OF STASIS

As the partial federal shutdown stretched into a twelfth day, deadlocked White House and GOP negotiators took their time returning to the bargaining table. With many of the key players still on Christmas vacation, Congressional staff members met to discuss a schedule for further negotiations that should include a Friday meeting between President Clinton and congressional leaders. The Office of Management and Budget announced that 760,000 federal employees furloughed by the impasse will receive checks for days worked in the week prior to the December 16 shutdown, but will not be paid again until after a budget agreement is reached.