The US House of Representatives late Tuesday rejected three proposals that would have resurrected popular parts of the government that have been shutdown amid a budget impasse, dpa reported.
In a series of votes that required two-thirds, instead of simple majority, support, measures failed that would have kept paying for veteran affairs, national parks and the government of the District of Columbia.
Majority Republicans had required the two-thirds vote for passage so that Democratic support was needed for passage. Democrats in the Senate and the White House had declared earlier Tuesday they would reject piecemeal proposals on the budget, and most House Democrats voted against the measures.
Democratic Representative David Scott charged that the majority Republicans were indulging in another round of political grandstanding, and were trying to use veterans as a "fig leaf" to cover the destructive effect they were having in forcing the government shutdown.