Faced with the failure of Congress to complete one of its most fundamental tasks, Sen. Mazie Hirono told Civil Beat hours before the shutdown that it would have grave consequences across the nation, and especially in Hawaii where tens of thousands of federal employees are slated to stop working 鈥� and stop getting paid 鈥� as of Tuesday. In a state where tourism is the largest industry, people will not be able to visit sites such as the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor or any of the state鈥檚 national parks.

Sitting in her Senate office, Hirono seemed pragmatic in the face of governmental paralysis and congressional dysfunction. Shutting down the federal government isn鈥檛 why she came to Congress, she acknowledged. Rather than pace the floors until the midnight deadline, she said she would meet with fellow Democrats to resolve the budget crisis and vote on the Senate floor.

鈥淚 just keep plugging away,鈥� she said, hoping that Republicans will put an end to the crisis.

In other words, she’ll keep doing her job.

Barring a sudden turnaround, most federal employees will not be able to say the same on Tuesday morning.

Earlier in the day, civilian defense workers who are responsible for maintaining vehicles and maintaining the water and power systems at military bases, watched and waited.

鈥淚 think people are hoping cooler heads will prevail and a deal will get done,鈥� Robert Lillis, the president of the machinists union said hours before the midnight deadline.

As the union representative for 3,000 civilian workers, Lillis said he couldn鈥檛 fathom why Congress hadn鈥檛 yet reached a deal. 鈥淧eople who are mature know they can鈥檛 get everything you want. You have to compromise.鈥�

But there was little sign of that.

As expected, the Senate on Monday afternoon rejected a proposal that passed the Republican House on Sunday, stripping it of a provision that would delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act for a year. President Barack Obama and the leaders of the Democratic-controlled Senate have long said that the measure would be rejected and that there is no reason why negotiations, and the government鈥檚 ability to fully function should be held hostage to anti-Obamacare sentiment. Republicans in the House have not yet accepted to separate the two issues.

Republican efforts to reduce the full arrival of the Affordable Care Act to a basic requirement that all individuals get health insurance met with the Senate鈥檚 refusal to accept any delay in the start of “Obamacare.” They sent the measure back to the House.

With the shutdown kicking in, Lillis said his union members will report to work today to find out who will be deemed 鈥渆ssential,鈥� and thus work, and who will be furloughed.

Those not considered crucial to the nation will have just four hours to collect their belongings and leave their place of employment. They will be paid for those four hours.

And so begins their time in limbo.

The shutdown is also slated to affect the offices of Hawaii鈥檚 delegation in Washington, D.C.

Members of Congress will continue to receive their salaries paid, but their staffs will not.

Members of Hawaii鈥檚 congressional delegation say they will be staying in the nation鈥檚 capital during the shutdown. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa will close her Washington, D.C. and Hawaii offices, her Chief of Staff Rod Tanonaka said in a statement to Civil Beat.

鈥淲e hope that any shutdown will be brief, and that we will be able to get back to the business of serving our district soon. In the event of a protracted shutdown, we will reexamine our staffing needs and possibly recall staff to provide services to those who rely on our office for assistance,鈥� the statement said.

But for now, all of Hanabusa鈥檚 staff will be furloughed except for her legislative director, press secretary, and assistant.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will have minimal staffing, but her phone lines will remain open. She posted frequently asked questions and answers about the shutdown on her .

Hirono鈥檚 senior staff will continue working, although they will not be paid.

A spokesperson for Sen. Brian Schatz also said only senior staff will continue working and the neither the Hawaii or Washington, D.C. office will be able to take constituent calls or respond to inquiries. “With great disappointment, we announce that all constituent service work is legally prohibited from taking place and will be temporarily suspended,” his office said in a statement Tuesday morning.

While the civilian workers and others in Hawaii who are affected by the shutdown were making preparations, Congress appeared to be focused on making sure that people know who to blame, and on applying pressure on the other side to bend.

While members of both parties pointed fingers at the other side, Hawaii’s delegation is made up exclusively of Democrats. So after the House refused to accept a spending bill without delaying health care reform, Hanabusa issued a statement, 鈥淗ouse Republicans had another opportunity to join with Democrats to pass a clean spending bill and prevent a government shutdown.

Referring to what she sees as Republicans鈥� inability to rein in their tea party wing, she said, 鈥淯nfortunately, they continue to allow a small, extreme segment of their caucus to call the shots and pursue dangerous political posturing that will affect the livelihoods of Hawaii residents and Americans across the country. It is unconscionable that they are holding the U.S. and our economy hostage to feed their obsession with dismantling the Affordable Care Act and embarrassing President Obama.鈥�

“The American people are frustrated 鈥� I don鈥檛 blame them 鈥� and they want leadership,” she said, adding that she wants to see House Speaker John Boehner 鈥渟tand up to the reckless few in his party and do what鈥檚 right for our nation by bringing a clean spending bill to the floor.鈥�

In a subsequent statement to Civil Beat after the shutdown, Hanabusa declared this “an embarrassing day for Congress.”

Hirono highlighted the stakes. “Republicans accomplished two things tonight, both bad. They have manufactured a crisis over Obamacare and shut down the government. And they have shown to the American people how far they are willing to go with their anti-compromise ideology, taking paychecks away from thousands of workers, families and businesses in Hawaii and millions more across the country. The country is being held hostage by a few dozen hardliners in the House who seem to be incapable of compromise. This is sad, and frankly stupid, considering the many other challenges our country faces.”

Sen. Schatz’s office issued a statement in which he also blamed the opposing party. 鈥淒espite knowing that a government shutdown would hurt seniors, veterans, families, and dedicated public servants, as well as put our economic well-being at risk,” Schatz said, “House Republicans have stubbornly refused to agree to fund the federal government.鈥�

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard suggested that some of Republican criticisms related to Obamacare might be worthy of further discussion, but that a shutdown was the wrong path for them to take. 鈥淚 am deeply disappointed by the political rhetoric and games that have been played over the past week. Valid concerns and issues have been raised, but are issues that should be debated and solved without holding our government hostage, with countless people in Hawaii and across the nation feeling the brunt of the painful impacts.”

Still, one thing was not as bad as it could have been for Hawaii. Members of the military will continue to be paid on time 鈥� rather than receive their compensation only after the end of the shutdown 鈥� because both chambers passed a measure specifying just that on Monday night.

Politico that the measure would also ensure that civilian employees of the Defense Department and Pentagon contractors continue to be paid 鈥� as long as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel determines that they 鈥渁re providing support to members of the Armed Forces.鈥�

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It wasn鈥檛 supposed to actually happen. It was supposed to be something that will happen unless a cranky central character overcomes his inner-curmudgeon and develops something akin to empathy.

But in today鈥檚 dysfunctional Washington, empathy hardly plays a decisive role. So barring a last-minute resolution of the politician-manufactured shutdown showdown, large swaths of America will get scrooged 鈥� and Hawaii will feel that pain on many levels.

According to information released by Sen. Mazie Hirono on Friday, a shutdown could delay the processing of new Social Security and veteran鈥檚 benefit applications.

Nearly half of the 18,937 civilian employees who work for the Department of Defense in Hawaii would be furloughed, while the rest would work but not get paid until after the end of the shutdown.

Another 60,856 service members would remain on duty but also wouldn鈥檛 be paid if the shutdown lasts more than 10 days. About 25,000 federal employees in Hawaii could be furloughed if their work is deemed non-essential.

The International Associations of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1998 represents some of the federal workers who are waiting to find out whether or not they will be affected by a shutdown. In fact, they have already been furloughed for six days this year.

鈥淭here鈥檚 concern, a lot of concern,鈥� said Robert Lillis, president of Machinists Union Local 1998. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 no deal, they鈥檒l be watching Monday Night football wondering, come Tuesday, 鈥榃ill I have a job? How long am I going to be out for?鈥�

Lillis ticked off some coping strategies. 鈥淵ou cut back, don鈥檛 go to dinner, buy cheaper food.鈥�

There鈥檚 not much else they can do, he explained. 鈥淲hat other jobs are out there? It鈥檚 an employers market. Good paying jobs are hard to find right now. You kind of put up with it.鈥�

Beyond the current potential shutdown, civilian defense workers could face additional furloughs next year or even lose their jobs altogether due to the effects of expanding sequestration cuts, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

Similar uncertainties extend beyond defense workers to a wide range of federally funded programs. Federal grants to a broad range of Hawaii state agencies, for everything from law enforcement to environmental cleanup to education, could face cuts if sequestration is left in place.

Take law enforcement. Julie Ebato, administrator of the state Attorney鈥檚 General鈥檚 Crime Prevention & Justice Assistance Division, told Civil Beat that federal grants the department receives are slated to be reduced by 4 percent per year for the next decade if sequestration remains in place.

That鈥檚 going to mean cuts to the $2 million that the Attorney General receives to help counties pay for victims assistance services. Another $1 million that goes to police departments and the courts to prevent violence against women 鈥� including domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking 鈥� could also face the ax. And there will be additional cuts to grants that support things like drug treatment for people being released from state prisons.

It鈥檚 tough on workers, said Lillis.

For employees who still await word about whether they鈥檒l be able to return to work, the uncertainty is wearing them down.

Lance Kamada, who is the union liaison for AFL-CIO Community Services, a joint venture between labor and the United Way, sees the impact. He runs a make-shift food pantry in his office in Honolulu.

In a filing cabinet in his office there are cans of food. 鈥淲e serve vegetables, pork and beans, chili,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e try to provide a balanced meal, and not so much processed meats, but we don鈥檛 have a refrigerator.鈥�

The furloughed workers don鈥檛 talk much when they stop by. They鈥檙e grateful for the food, he said. But they鈥檙e solemn.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e pretty much worked their whole lives. They鈥檙e proud. You know how local people are, 鈥楴o. No. I鈥檓 OK. Help someone else.鈥�”

Except now, they鈥檙e forced to come ask for help.

And Lillis said the origin of their hardship doesn鈥檛 help.

鈥淚t鈥檚 more frustrating because this is a man-made crisis,鈥� Lillis said. 鈥淭he parties can鈥檛 get along so the workers suffer through no fault of their own.鈥�

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This is a sensitive issue for Hawaii. The number of food stamp recipients here has nearly doubled over the last six years. In raw numbers, that is a jump from 89,646 people in June 2007 to 189,855 in June 2013, according to the Hawaii Department of Human Services.

The growth in the number of people who rely on food stamps throughout the country has drawn renewed attention from congressional Republicans who are working to slash the program sharply. Under a House bill passed last week, which will now head to the Democratic Senate, federal spending on food stamps would be cut by $39 billion over the next decade, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

What is at stake in Hawaii is whether approximately 4,000 households on food stamps 鈥� that’s about 8 percent of all recipients in the islands 鈥� will lose financial help that covers basic food costs. Hawaii has some of the most expensive food in the nation.

Most conservatives readily acknowledge that the state of the economy over the last decade has led to heavier dependence on food stamps. But what they say bothers them is changes in the program that broadened parameters for exactly who could access such funds. Their goal, they say, is to roll back the parameters that define who can receive such aid.

How Access Changed

Hawaii is a prime example of how people with higher incomes and money in the bank have been able to gain access to food stamps over the last decade. (The average household on food stamps receives $427-a-month here.)

Part of the reason for the growth, Human Services department spokeswoman Kayla Rosenfeld acknowledged, is that the state made a number of changes in October 2010 that permitted more people to qualify.

For one thing, the state allowed people who make up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level to access food benefits, up from the maximum 130 percent of the poverty line. In other words, a family of three with an income of $43,920 a year, can now get food stamps. In the old days, families of the same size could only have qualified if they earned less than $28,548.

Also, officially, households where there is no elderly or disabled person cannot receive food stamps if they possess more than $2,000 in assets such as savings. But the state has stopped checking to see if households had too many assets. That allows people into the program who have some means to tap into, rather than relying on governmental help. In addition, a June 2012 General Accounting Office said that the fact that they no longer check assets, such as bank accounts, may have increased the likelihood of fraud.

Those steps by the state took place in 2000 after the Clinton Administration gave states greater discretion in deciding who was eligible for food stamps, said Rachel Sheffield, a policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

“We need to have a safety net,” she said. “But we need to make sure it’s going to people truly in need.”

At its core, the Republican roll-back effort raises the question of whether states like Hawaii went too far in trying to help people during hard times. About 40 states, in all, have made it easier for people to get food stamps. The actual cost of food stamps nationally has quadrupled from $20 billion in Fiscal Year 2000 to $80 billion in Fiscal Year 2012, according to the Heritage Foundation.

The House bill would, among other things, impose a work requirement even in high unemployment areas and in states where there are no jobs programs in place to facilitate employment for food stamp recipients. It would also eliminate steps that states have taken to expand eligibility for the program.

However, opponents of the bill 鈥� including Hawaii’s House delegation 鈥� say the states only modestly expanded the program to include people who barely made too much to qualify for help. Scaling back food assistance for such families would, , knock 4 million people off the program’s rolls in 2014, and the number of people receiving food stamps in a typical month in 2023 would be 14 million fewer than today.

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who voted against the food stamp-limiting measure, said in a statement on Friday, 鈥淭his mean-spirited bill would have devastating impacts on our nation鈥檚 most vulnerable populations … Most [Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program] families with children are working if they are able, but do not earn enough to put food on the table when they have other pressing expenses like rent and medical bills.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who also voted against the bill, said in a statement, 鈥淪NAP is a critical tool to fight hunger in the U.S. … There is no question we must continue to work to address fraud and abuse within the system, but this bill is not the way to do it.鈥�

Beyond the efforts to shrink the food stamps rolls, the actual monthly payments for those who receive them in Hawaii and elsewhere could drop by $29, when a temporary increase built into the 2009 stimulus package runs out at the end of October.

Changes Too Harsh?

It鈥檚 unknown how much of the increase of the caseload in Hawaii and nationally resulted directly from the broader eligibility rules. The state human services department declined to provide an estimate.

But nationally, the GAO report estimated that in fiscal year 2010, 2.6 percent of people who received food stamps would have been disqualified for having too much income by the old standards. And the cost of all those additional people came to about $460 million for the year, the GAO report said.

That price tag 鈥� and the symbolism of people feeding from taxpayer largess 鈥� has helped to make the program a target for Republicans, particularly Tea Party conservatives who bristle at the cost of nearly all welfare programs.

Megan Whittemore, spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told Civil Beat, 鈥淗ouse Republicans are working to restore the integrity of this safety-net program and protect it for those who need it most. We want to help provide jobs and opportunities for those who are able to work in order to get government benefits. By encouraging people to engage in job training or workfare we can help those in the program build the skills and gain the experience they need to become self-sufficient in the future.”

Sheffield, in a policy , wrote that food stamps should be reformed to focus on people 鈥渢ruly in need.鈥�

Who those people are, though, is the question.

Hawaii鈥檚 human services department declined to make anyone available for an interview to discuss the changes in eligibility. Rosenfeld, in an email, said only that the state鈥檚 decision to make it easier to qualify fit with the program鈥檚 mission, which she described as being 鈥渢o provide access to food, a healthful diet and nutrition education to every eligible person” who seeks assistance.

National food stamp advocates note that states like Hawaii began making it easier to get food stamps as more people began struggling at the beginning of the recession. Ellen Vollinger, legal director for the Food Research and Action Center, said in an interview that by loosening eligibility states were able to help 鈥渁 great number of people who were newly needy in the wake of the recession.鈥� With the number of jobs rebounding slowly, she said, many people still need help.

Just having a job brings few guarantees on the food front, she said, noting, 鈥淚鈥檓 sure it鈥檚 true in Hawaii, but many food (banks) on the mainland are finding that many working people just don鈥檛 have enough for food.”

She added that it’s deceiving to say people with higher incomes are getting food stamps. Under the program, the more money people earn means the less they receive in benefits. The GAO report noted that those who qualified because of the broadened standards received on average $81 monthly, compared to $293 for other households. In Hawaii, due to its higher cost of living, the average household on food stamps receives $427-a-month in , according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

And, Volliner said, the criticism that people with slightly higher incomes can now qualify for food stamps ignores the fact that there’s a two-step test to decide whether a household can get assistance. True, people up to 200 percent of the poverty level can now qualify, she said. But those people only qualify if their net income is below the poverty line.

The real difference, she said, comes from people who have to pay a lot for child care or housing, but who make a little more than the old income limit. The change to allow higher income people to pass the first step of the test 鈥渨as a recognition that the old rules were outdated,鈥� she said.

Similarly, she said, the change to stop disqualifying people who have more than $2,000 in assets, including the value of their cars, simply reflects reality. People need to be able to have reliable cars to get to work, she noted, and shouldn’t be disqualified for that.

The liberal Center for Budget & Policy Priorities also argues that the number of food stamp recipients will naturally decline as the economy improves. The center noted that the increase in the number of people on food stamps has slowed in the last year, as the economy gradually recovers. It also noted that the Congressional Budget Office projects the number of people on food stamps as a share of the economy should return to 1995 levels by 2019.

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The nation once again faces the possibility of a federal government shutdown. What could it mean for Hawaii?

Salary payments to members of the military could face delays, which would be a particular problem for soldiers who live from one paycheck to the next. People in need of passports would have to wait longer. Many federal workers 鈥� including those who took forced furloughs because of sequestration budget cuts earlier this year 鈥� could endure more furloughs, which would mean lower annual salaries than they expected.

And, among the many other immediate effects, locations that are served by federal employees, such as national parks, could close. The situation is similar to a barely averted shutdown in 2011 that was expected to furlough .

To avoid a partial shutdown of the government, Congress will have to agree on an emergency funding agreement. The prospects for a compromise dimmed Friday when the Republican House tacked an unrelated plan to de-fund Obamacare into its version of a stopgap spending measure. Democrats say that it is a non-starter.

A “shutdown” would not mean that everything closes; “essential” federal workers 鈥� including those who provide national security and who play crucial foreign affairs roles 鈥� would continue working. So would many others.

Who continues to work and who does not all depends on the contingency plans that federal agencies put into place in the next week. But plans for previous shutdowns suggest that mandatory entitlements will continue. Social Security checks and Medicare support will likely continue, as will veterans benefits. The Postal Service, which is self-funded by fees and the cost of stamps, will still deliver the mail.

Under instructions sent out by the Office of Management and Budget, agencies will keep on 鈥渆ssential鈥� personnel. Just who that includes is still being determined.

However, when the government planned for the potential shutdown in 2011 鈥� plans that proved unnecessary thanks to a last-minute budget deal 鈥� it decided to keep military personnel serving in conflicts overseas, air traffic controllers, airport screeners and border patrol agents on duty.

But losing hundreds of thousands of employees, likely for the duration of a shutdown, would have negative effects on a wide range of areas.

Pentagon spokesman Bill Irvin told Civil Beat that the Department of Defense’s plan would be consistent with plans that it prepared for previous threatened shutdowns, although he declined to enumerate what the current plan is.

But speaking to reporters as the nation faced a shutdown in 2011, then-defense Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said all military personnel 鈥� in Hawaii and abroad 鈥� would be required to report to duty, even though their paychecks would be delayed until the government reopened. At the time, Gates acknowledged the difficulty troops might face , 鈥淵ou all know as well as I do, a lot of these young troops live pretty much paycheck to paycheck. And I start to think about the inconvenience that its going to cause these kids and a lot of their families, even half a paycheck delayed can be a problem for them, so I hope they work this whole thing out.鈥�

According to a put out by the Department of Veterans Affairs in preparation for the potential 2011 shutdown, people applying for new compensation or pension benefits would have to wait because the people processing them would be furloughed. Getting approval to take classes or get vocational rehabilitation would also be delayed.

Even dead soldiers could face a troubling limbo because burials at national cemeteries would slow down. A number of VA phone lines, including those used to respond to billing issues, would go unanswered. (However, medical facilities and counseling issues would continue operating. Existing pension, disability and compensation payments would continue to be paid.)

An Aug. 6, 2013 by the Congressional Research Service, which examined two government shutdowns in 1995 and 1996, laid out other possibilities for the next closure.

The report noted that 368 National Park Service sites were closed, costing local communities near national parks an estimated $14.2 million per day in tourism. Officials from the Hawaii Tourism Authority declined to comment Friday about what the local impact might be.

The CRS report also noted that about 20,000 to 30,000 applications for travel visas for foreigners wanting to visit the U.S. went unprocessed each day. The report said 200,000 U.S. applications for passports were not dealt with.

Sen. Brian Schatz laid out what he believes the stakes are, as well as his ardent desire to avoid a shutdown, in a written statement on Friday. 鈥淐ongress must pass a continuing (budget) resolution to prevent the government from shutting down. Without it, hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be furloughed, Social Security and veterans benefits could be stalled. Defense Department cuts from sequestration alone have already cost Hawaii an estimated $42 million because 12,700 employees had to be furloughed in our state.”

The debate to keep the government running is just one of two looming crises facing Congress. Shortly after the stopgap budget issue is resolved one way or the other, Congress will have to take up raising the debt ceiling to keep the nation from reneging on its loans. Basically, before the U.S. government breaches a predefined limit on how much the U.S. Treasury can borrow to meet the government’s obligations, Congress has to approve increasing the limit 鈥� and many of President Obama’s political opponents on the right insist that they will not agree to do so.

A default would have broad consequences that would affect people across the nation, as well as in Hawaii, hurting the economy and raising interest rates, said Honolulu economist Paul Brewbaker.

Where Budget Battles Meet Electoral Politics

The multiple budget showdowns could also have political implications.

With Republicans trying to assuage Tea Party activists by insisting on defunding Obamacare, they risk being blamed again for causing a shutdown, as they were in 1995. Though many conservative commentators these days are once again saying a shutdown would not hurt Republicans, the Atlantic that the 1995 shutdown, driven by Republicans set on weakening a Democratic leader, led to President Bill Clinton’s landslide victory in 1996.

Schatz criticized Republicans in a written statement on Friday for complicating the debate by injecting the defunding of health reform into the budget talks. 鈥淚 will refuse to engage in the process of political gymnastics designed to score small, short-term wins at the expense of the American people. It should be pointed out that anyone who wants to grind the entire government to a halt over the implementation of this law will cause harm to their communities, who use federal funding to provide essential services and programs to constituents in every state and every district.”

While the previous shutdown highlights the ways that an opposition party can hurt itself by overreaching in opposition to a sitting president, there are risks for the Democrats, too. This applies to Hawaii鈥檚 delegation, especially for both Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa as they campaign for the Hawaii Senate seat held by Schatz. Both have repeatedly condemned sequestration budget cuts, and yet both may have to vote in favor of a stopgap funding measure that continues sequestration until Dec. 15, leaving themselves open to charges of hypocrisy.

In March, when the government faced a shutdown, the House had ample votes to pass a spending measure without Hanabusa. That allowed her to vote against the measure, which left sequestration in place, without actually risking a shutdown. It also enabled her to highlight her no vote in campaign emails, telling campaign supporters in one, 鈥淚 voted against the sequester precisely because of the disproportionate impact the mandatory cuts have on Hawaii’s families.鈥�

On Friday, she cited sequestration as one reason for voting against the House stopgap spending measure, saying, 鈥渢he measure reaffirms sequestration and its damaging across-the-board cuts, which have already caused significant problems back home in Hawaii.”

Any compromise measure that arises in the next week will likely leave the sequestration cuts in place and fund Obamacare. As Roll Call , with some House Republicans likely to vote against a compromise because of Obamacare, House Democrats may have to join with moderate Republicans to vote for a package to keep the government running. That could place great pressure on Hanabusa to vote for a budget that maintains sequestration this time.

Asked by Civil Beat whether Hanabusa would vote for a temporary spending bill that would leave sequestration cuts in place, if it would prevent a shutdown, Hanabusa spokesman Richard Rapoza said the answer would depend on the details of the proposal. In an email to Civil Beat, Rapoza said Hanabusa would consider the level of funding in the continuing resolution 鈥渁nd whether it constitutes a compromise that ends Congress鈥� kicking the can down the road and putting our economy at risk with every self-imposed crisis.鈥�

鈥淚t’s misleading to look at the question as black or white,鈥� Rapoza added, 鈥渙r to assume that the details are unimportant.”

Schatz has also railed against sequestration, saying in one that sequestration should never have been created.

But he may be forced, as he was in March, to vote for a funding measure that keeps sequestration cuts in place.

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Last week, federal magistrate Judge William McCurine Jr. in San Diego found probable cause to believe Aniruddha Sherbow committed the crime. He denied bail for Sherbow and ordered that he be sent to Washington, D.C.

Sherbow has not yet been transferred, C.C. Gwathmey, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshal’s office, said on Friday. She was unable to give specifics on the transfer due to security reasons.

Sherbow, who has pleaded not guilty, has been in custody since his arrest in Mexico on Aug. 27.

Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., said no court date has been set.

Sherbow was Aug. 30 with 鈥渢ransmission of threats in interstate commerce,鈥� a charge that carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. He allegedly sent Gabbard a series of harassing emails 鈥� including the one threatening to decapitate her.

Authorities also say he left a violent, profanity-laced diatribe on her cell phone, in which they say he told Gabbard he鈥檇 track down, beat her face into a pulp and kill her.

Sherbow has allegedly been emailing, calling and otherwise threatening Gabbard since 2011, when she was a Honolulu City Council member. Sherbow has gone public with his threats in recent months, sending copies of the emails to numerous media outlets as well as the FBI and law enforcement officials.

Gabbard has proved to be a popular young congresswoman since taking office in January. She’s become a regular on national television news talk shows and is sought after by local media for interviews and appearances.

She has not publicly commented about Sherbow since moving to Washington, D.C. Her spokeswoman, Heather Fluit, declined comment about the case Thursday night.

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That remains to be seen, but there are signs that the fast-rising attention-grabbing young congresswoman is positioning herself to do so.

On Wednesday, Gabbard announced she鈥檚 part of a new bipartisan group in Congress that aims to not only break gridlock in the nation鈥檚 capital, but also to look for long-term solutions to complex issues, rather than simply reacting to crisis after crisis.

Gabbard, 32, was introduced as the co-chair of the Future Caucus at the panel discussion that marked its formal launch on Wednesday. The idea: Bring together members of Congress who are under 40 to work in a bipartisan way to solve problems.

The Future Caucus plans to address long-term issues that might be of particular concern to young people, including technology, protecting the environment, improving education, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, and positioning the U.S. to compete in the global marketplace.

Whether they succeed or not may not be clear before the congressional youth movement grows old.

And what exactly their efforts might mean for Hawaii are unclear, Gabbard acknowledged in a comment to Civil Beat following the panel discussion in the Rayburn House Office Building. She specifically said that the caucus’s innovative ideas might help to improve technology and services on the neighbor islands.

More broadly, the new group’s goals might seem politically ambitious. But uniting the country and making Washington work once again has long been a hallmark promise of ambitious national politicians. After all, George W. Bush and Barack Obama both used their rhetoric to spearhead their initial presidential campaigns 鈥� and they both largely failed to create much of a healthy, functional bipartisan environment.

But despite the practical challenges of bringing politicians of many stripes together in a constructive environment, a leading role in the Future Caucus could prove to be a smart move for a young politician who is aiming higher.

In the short term, Congress is heading into a month of what are likely to be fierce and partisan budget battles that carry with them the possibility of defaulting on the national debt. Politicians who brand themselves to bipartisanship and forward-looking solutions could insulate themselves from potential public fury with a do-nothing Congress, should it surface.

Wednesday鈥檚 announcement also gave Gabbard yet another opportunity to step onto the national stage with appearances on programs like the Morning Joe on MSNBC to discuss the new caucus.

Beyond that, getting things done in Washington often comes down to dialogue and deal-making that is often built upon relationships that are strong enough to withstand partisan pressures. Being a part of a movement of kindred young politicians 鈥� who want to stick around and leave a mark 鈥� could lay the groundwork for just those sorts of relationships.

Addressing skepticism about such a small group’s capacity to have an impact, Gabbard noted that this would not be the first small group to profoundly influence Congress. She also noted that the Future Caucus would have a strong practical and common-sense bent.

On an individual level, Gabbard is in some ways following in the footsteps of another young Hawaii native and military veteran who was elected to serve in the nation鈥檚 capital where he developed constructive bipartisan political relationships, helped to get a lot done, and stayed around for several political lifetimes: Dan Inouye.

Indeed, in a speech at the event Gabbard invoked Inouye and the retired Sen. Daniel Akaka, saying that, 鈥淭he previous generation lamented the relationships that allowed them to do so much, had been lost.鈥� Inouye had a constructive, long-running political and personal friendship with Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska.

What鈥檚 been lost, Gabbard explained, is the sense of aloha, which she explained to the audience, means respecting others.

It wasn鈥檛 the first time Gabbard has spoken about congressional dysfunction since she arrived in January. She made in July when she said in a speech that she was 鈥渧ery, very frustrated鈥� about Congress鈥檚 inaction. On Wednesday, she recounted a story that epitomized what she sees as the problem, the reluctance of members to dialogue with politicians from the other party. Shortly after joining Congress, Gabbard said, she was going around chatting with others on the House floor and then spoke to a Republican colleague. For that, she recounted, she was admonished 鈥� 鈥淒on鈥檛 you know you鈥檙e not supposed to talk to him?鈥欌��

Despite such sentiment, that Gabbard said she and Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock, the other co-chair of the Future Caucus, became friendly while working out together.

Reality could, of course, get in the way of such youthful bipartisan goodwill. After all, the two parties do fundamentally disagree on some very basic issues. And then there’s the way that divisive campaigning can facilitate fundraising, not to mention the redrawn congressional districts that often create highly partisan districts that leaves representatives with little or no incentive to collaborate with their political opponents.

Gabbard previously preached bipartisanship, as a member of another congressional caucus called No Labels.

There is no doubt that such talk plays well, but Neal Milner, a political science professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has major doubts. 鈥淕iven the way Congress is working right now, working for bipartisanship is unlikely to be successful and in fact can limit the participants’ influence in the respective political parties in Congress,” he said.

鈥淥n key issues, the bi-partisans will get tremendous pressure to vote with their party and will likely to succumb to that pressure. So is the futures caucus a shibai? No. Is it likely to be an unsuccessful effort? Yes,鈥� Milner said.

Asked on the panel, why they think they might be able to overcome the gridlock, Steven Olikara, co-founder and president of the Millennial Action Project, which helped organize the caucus, highlighted the backgrounds of the two co-chairs: Schock, a Republican and the first Millennial in the House, and Gabbard, the youngest woman in Congress and a Democrat.

Other members currently in the group are Democratic Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Joseph Kennedy (Mass.) and Patrick Murphy (Fla.), along with Republican Rep. Todd Young (Ind.).

Addressing what is similar for all representatives, regardless of their party affiliation, Gabbard said, is that when they are back home they all hear many of the same concerns, and to address them, there is a universal incentive to work across the aisle.

If the Future Caucus succeeds, forces that see little hope of getting innovative ideas through Congress would have members to work with, said Schock, 31. That in turn, Gabbard said, could facilitate the development and implementation of fresh ideas to improve education and technology in areas where there are population hubs near water, places like the neighbor islands.

On the long-shot chance that this group really does succeed where presidents and countless other politicians have failed, and restores bipartisanship to the nation鈥檚 capital, the future might really belong to its movement鈥檚 leader.

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On Friday, Schatz responded with moral indignation after the administration said the Syrian government had used chemical weapons on its own citizens, and seemed to embrace President Barack Obama’s threat of military action.

“The President and his national security team have provided strong evidence that the Assad regime is responsible for the recent horrific chemical weapons attack against innocent Syrian civilians,” Schatz said in a statement. “We must send a clear message that the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent and will not be tolerated by the United States or the international community.”

By Sunday, however, Schatz had released a second, more circumspect statement. Though his aides strongly disputed the notion Tuesday that the senator had changed his position, the second statement was decidedly different in tone from the first. Gone was a call for “sending a message.”

鈥淐ongress must weigh in,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd this decision should spur an important debate, allowing us to review the facts. Most importantly, this assures the country that the gravity of taking military action is weighed fully before decisions are made.鈥�

Schatz never explicitly backed a military strike, and he did say Congress should be involved in any decision to go to war. But his statements are in contrast to the response of other members of Hawaii’s delegation who are wary of a military strike.

On Friday, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa said the United States , a long-term strategy and international support for a Syria attack.

“Though intelligence has been presented by the Obama administration, I am not convinced that it serves the purpose of justifying military force or other intervention in Syria. This is an issue that deserves a rigorous and transparent debate about its ends and its means,” said Hanabusa.

The congresswoman noted that the faulty intelligence about weapons of mass destruction that drew the U.S. into the war in Iraq serves as a warning sign about Syria and future conflicts.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also expressed serious reservations about another potential U.S.-led war in the Middle East and Central Asia, and asked that Congress be involved in any decision.

“Right now, we do not have enough facts about all facets of what is occurring on the ground, the factions involved in this civil war, and what the unintended consequences would be for U.S. military involvement,” she said Friday.

On Monday, Gabbard’s office announced that the congresswoman, a military veteran, would return early to Washington to participate in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the situation in Syria Wednesday. Secretary of State John Kerry will testify, something he spent hours doing with a Senate committee Tuesday.

鈥淭he importance of this debate and the process of seeking Congressional approval for a military intervention is critical,鈥� Gabbard said in a statement. 鈥淚t is an opportunity for the American people and their representatives to review the facts and evidence, and understand what the endgame and next steps would be for any type of U.S. military intervention. This is a very big decision with tremendous impacts here at home, in Syria, and the Middle East region.鈥�

It is not clear where Sen. Mazie Hirono stands on Syria. She is traveling in Asia this week, and Congress was not scheduled to end its summer recess until Sept. 9.

Weary of War

Schatz’s shifting of positions is similar to that of the president, who laid out an argument for a limited strike on Syria but later said he would first seek congressional approval. Since then, the administration has been heavily lobbying the senators and representatives who are in Washington this week.

But there is a political dimension to Schatz’s switch as well. Hanabusa, who is challenging Schatz in the 2014 Democratic primary, is staking out a position on Syria that echoes that of her mentor, the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, on Iraq.

Inouye, a decorated war veteran, opposed the 2003 U.S. attack on Saddam Hussein. Former Rep. Ed Case supported the war, and his political opponents 鈥� including Hanabusa and Hirono 鈥� later used it against him in campaigns.

To University of Hawaii at Manoa political science professor Neal Milner, Schatz’s shift reflects a difficult issue with seemingly dire consequences, all within the context of the high-profile race between Schatz and Hanabusa.

On one hand, Milner said there鈥檚 an inclination to support a president of the same party. However, Hawaii, like the rest of the nation, seems tired of war, he said. And there is a political campaign going on.

Both Schatz and Hanabusa are also courting progressives, a key source not only for votes but for voter outreach in next year’s primary. Milner said, 鈥淭he progressive wing has a long memory when it comes to what it considers bad votes on military matters.鈥� Progressives, after all, backed Sen. Daniel Akaka in his defeat of Case in the 2006 Senate primary, at least partly because of Akaka鈥檚 opposition to the Iraq war, Milner said.

Schatz’s chief of staff, Andy Winer, emphasized that Schatz never called for a military response.

“A 鈥榗lear response鈥� does not necessarily mean a military response,鈥� Winer said. 鈥淚f he supported a military response, he would have said so directly.鈥�

Questioned about what a 鈥渃lear response鈥� meant, Winer said in a separate email that it could 鈥渋nclude but not be limited to a no-fly zone, an embargo, a joint action by the UN, etcetera. It does not necessarily mean a military attack, but that could be one possibility among others to consider,” Winer said.

Asked to describe Schatz’s position, he said, “now that the President has agreed to Congressional review, he’s going to review the intelligence and the Administration’s plan and determine whether or not he supports military involvement.”

Nevertheless, on Tuesday, a Hanabusa spokesman seemed to be drawing a contrast with Schatz, saying she has been steadfast in her opposition to a military response. Without speaking in the context of the campaign, spokesman Richard Rapoza said in a statement, 鈥淐ongresswoman Hanabusa has been consistent in her opposition to President Obama鈥檚 proposed intervention in Syria.”

“She remains convinced that U.S. military involvement in Syria lacks a solid legal basis, a clear long-term strategy, and vital international support,鈥� said Rapoza.

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Aniruddha Sherbow, 43, was being held in San Diego in connection with the threat on the congresswoman鈥檚 life.

The FBI said the self-described writer and philosopher, who once lived in Lahaina, was arrested for making threats against Gabbard via email. Sherbow, who was detained in Tijuana, Mexico where he has been living, faces charges for 鈥渢ransmission of threats in interstate commerce,” the FBI said.

Honolulu FBI Special Agent Tom Simon said in an email, 鈥淭he FBI hopes that this arrest gives Representative Gabbard some peace of mind and a greater feeling of safety as she represents the people of Hawaii in Congress.鈥�

Sherbow is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Diego on Friday morning.

On Aug. 2, law enforcement officials and the media, including Civil Beat, received an email saying: 鈥淚, Aniruddha Sherbow, with the Divine as my witness, do hereby solemnly vow to find Tulsi Gabbard, wheresoever she may be, and to sever her head from her body.鈥�

It was one of a string of emails believed to be from Sherbow in which he had grown increasingly more hostile toward Gabbard.

In 2011, Gabbard, then a Honolulu City Council member, filed for a temporary restraining order against Sherbow.

In a support letter aimed at convincing the court to keep Sherbow away from her, Gabbard describes various communications with him, starting on Feb. 3, 2011 when she says he called and text-messaged her from several different phone numbers. Gabbard noted the inherent vulnerability of political figures due to the widely available information about them and their many public engagements, and she reminded the court of how bad things could turn out.

鈥淭he Arizona shooting involving U.S representative Gabrielle Giffords is a possible example of what can occur when public officials are left exposed and unprotected from irrational and dangerous persons,鈥� Gabbard wrote in that 2011 letter.

Judge Maura M. Okamoto granted Gabbard a three-year temporary restraining order against Sherbow that prohibited him from calling, texting or contacting Gabbard, even through social media sites. It also required him to hand over any guns and ammunition that he possessed.

Sherbow鈥檚 obsession with Gabbard goes back at least two and a half years, and it has included harassing phone calls and text messages that evolved, after the issuance of the restraining order, into increasingly bizarre rant-filled emails that culminated in the early August death threat.

But in the messages 鈥� which have been emailed to news organizations, often times including Gabbard among the recipients 鈥� he has repeatedly made vulgar, sexualized and misogynistic references to the young congresswoman.

The picture that emerges from those emails is of a man who felt slighted by Gabbard. He blamed her for his parent鈥檚 declining health and he became increasingly enraged about her refusal to respond to or acknowledge him, despite the fact that she did respond 鈥� by seeking the restraining order.

In the Aug. 2 email, Sherbow wrote, 鈥淚鈥檝e left messages where I鈥檓 practically pleading with her, and I鈥檝e left messages where it鈥檚 probably obvious that I am totally freaking out. She apparently does not give a crap about any of it, for there has never been a single response.鈥�

Heather Fluit, Gabbard鈥檚 spokeswoman, declined on Wednesday to comment about the arrest, except to praise the FBI and police in Washington, D.C., who investigated the threats. Outwardly, Gabbard has seemed unaffected by the threats; on Wednesday she posted a photograph of herself on Facebook staring serenely at the ocean and issued a press release calling for more debate before any possible U.S. military attack on Syria.

However her father, state Sen. Mike Gabbard, expressed a sense of relief on Facebook. “The Gabbard ohana sincerely thank all law enforcement at the county/state/federal level for protecting our daughter, and tracking this creep down. We owe you.”

In February 2011, Sherbow showed up at an event for Mike Gabbard, and signed in under the name 鈥淩udy Sherbow,鈥� she wrote in her letter to the court. Four days later, on Feb. 23, Tulsi Gabbard noticed Sherbow in the audience of a City Council meeting at which he testified under a fake name. Gabbard said she recognized the man’s voice from all the messages he had left her. Gabbard contacted the Honolulu Police Department, but the night that she did, Sherbow again called and text-messaged the councilwoman 鈥渃hastising鈥� her for calling the police.

His correspondence, Gabbard wrote, made “comments of a personal nature against me including references to my residence as well as my person.鈥�

“His demeanor has become increasingly hostile and aggressive including profanity and sexual references. The chronology of these incidents has caused me great concern for the safety of myself, my staff as well as my family.鈥�

A month later, Okamoto issued the three-year injunction that also barred Sherbow from being near Gabbard鈥檚 residence or workplace.

Sherbow told the Hawaii Reporter he was never served with the order. But a district court spokeswoman told Civil Beat that records show Sherbow was served with the order on the day it was issued.

Sherbow described himself in a Feb. 17 message to media outlets, Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the Hawaii state elections office, the Gabbards, and others: 鈥淔or some minimum background about myself, I work as a professional writer, I have a degree in philosophy, and I share a fairly obscure identity with Tulsi, that of being a Western-born white Hindu. It was this last connection, in particular, that made me sit up and take notice when I discovered Tulsi.鈥�

Sherbow lamented that, 鈥淭ulsi was apparently not interested in my writing skills. Instead, I found myself being herded into quite a different track, towards the position I refer to as ‘the designated scumbag.'”

At times, the emails also address politics. One, that was sent to newspaper editors in Hawaii on April 3, chastises Gabbard for voting for a spending bill to keep the government functioning while also, controversially, leaving sequestration budget cuts in place. 鈥淭ulsi made a mistake by voting in favor of this bill. Now many of those who supported her campaign feel betrayed, and will not support her in the future,鈥� he wrote.

In a July 26 email that hid the recipients, Sherbow opined about the controversial domestic surveillance program by the National Security Agency, saying the government should adopt a principle of avoiding policies that 鈥渋mply that the people are the enemy.鈥�

But he spent much of his energy blaming Gabbard for his father鈥檚 poor health and, in a complaint sent to the House Ethics office on June 17, he accused her of sending the FBI to harass him.

On Aug. 2, the message took a violent turn. It was sent to Gabbard, the Washington and New York offices of the FBI, and an array of news outlets, including Civil Beat, The New York Times, ABC and NBC, and Fox News.

“We all have our limits, and I have reached mine,” the email said. “At this point, if you stuck Tulsi鈥檚 head in front of me, I鈥檇 have it off in two seconds flat.鈥�

Nick Grube contributed to this report.

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Since 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service had been funding a study on what happens to African-Americans if they are not treated for syphilis. They were not treated even after drugs like penicillin were widely accessible.

Dr. Schatz wrote the researchers to complain, explained Susan Reverby, a historian at Wellesley College, who has written two books about the Tueskegee Study. “He reads the report, and says, ‘What they hell are you doing,’ basically.”

Dr. Schatz’s role in the Tueskegee study controversy has come up from time to time over the decades, most recently when the senator’s campaign made reference to the story in a Father’s Day email to supporters.

What effect does a father’s heroism have on a son who is running for the U.S. Senate? Civil Beat interviewed both Brian and Irwin Schatz to find out.

In 1972, an Associated Press story sparked enough public outrage to finally put an end to the 40-year-old study. A Freedom of Information Act request by The Wall Street Journal resulted in the discovery of Dr. Schatz’s letter that same year.

A note from one of the researchers that was attached to Schatz’s letter said that the doctor was the only one who had complained about the study’s ethics.

The researcher wrote that she did not intend to respond, and Dr. Schatz said he never got a reply.

Dr. Schatz recounted the story in an email to Civil Beat. “As was my wont, I was glancing through the Archives of Internal Medicine one evening and came across an article entitled, ‘The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis: 30 years of Observation,'” Dr. Schatz wrote.聽“I couldn’t believe what I had read. I had to reread it several times to make sure that I had not misinterpreted it.”

“But the message was unmistakable,” he wrote, “These researchers had deliberately withheld treatment for this group of poor, uneducated, black sharecroppers from Mississippi with late Syphilis in order to document what eventually might happen to them. I became incensed. How could physicians, who were trained first and foremost to do no harm, deliberately withhold curative treatment so they could understand the natural history of Syphilis?”

“I wrote the letter to the main author of the article, not knowing what else to do, to express my outrage, and question the morality of these investigators,” Dr. Schatz added.

In the original complaint letter, made available to Civil Beat by the Wellesley historian, Dr. Schatz wrote, “I am utterly astounded by the fact that physicians allow patients with (sic) potentially fatal disease to remain untreated when effective therapy is available. I assume you feel that the information which is extracted from observation of this untreated group is worth their sacrifice. If this is the case, then I suggest the United States Public Health Service and those physicians associated with it in this study need to re-evaluate their moral judgements in this regard.”

Dr. Schatz expressed surprised in the email interview with Civil Beat that he was the only one to protest. “It demonstrated to me that medical researchers鈥� sensibilities lagged behind those of the communities in which they worked.”

And indeed, Reverby said, the fact that Dr. Schatz had no recourse other than to write a letter illustrates how, at the time, there were no safeguards in place to question the ethics of engaging in tests on humans.

As a result of the controversy surrounding the study, however, Congress created a commission to come up with guidelines around human research. They also required researchers who use human subjects and receive federal funds to get the consent of their subjects. It also mandated that federally funded research using human subjects face a review board.

The doctor, when asked if the incident affected his children, wrote only, “I hope that it had some subsequent impact on their social conscience.”

Brian Schatz, meanwhile, has been reluctant to talk at length about Dr. Schatz’s role, partially because his father 鈥� who went on to serve as chair of the Department of Medicine and head of the residency program at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine 鈥� never made a big deal about his role.

“My father is a very humble man,” Schatz said in an interview with Civil Beat earlier this month. The younger Schatz doesn’t recall if he heard the story growing up over a family dinner or during a father-and-son bonding moment. Perhaps both.

“Whenever he told me the story, it wasn’t about him. He wasn’t the hero in the story. It was more to encourage the right set of values, the importance of living your life for a purpose. And he measures his success by how much of a positive impact he had,” Schatz said.

The senator said that it’s difficult to separate how the letter affected him from the other lessons he learned watching his father raise the family and work at the medical school. “He always taught me to work in the interests of the public good,” Schatz said. “I try my best to do that, but that’s not to say I’m going to succeed always, all the time.”

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