The mayor of the District of Columbia is demanding a meeting with President Barack Obama and congressional leaders about the federal government shutdown.
Mayor Vincent Gray said in a statement Tuesday that the shutdown, now in its second week, is having dire consequences in his city.
He said D.C. is the only city in the country where residents are worried that their local government won't be able to provide basic services during the shutdown.
The D.C. Council approved legislation last week allowing the government to tap emergency reserve funds to pay municipal employees to keep them on the job. But the mayor says those funds will soon be depleted, and the city hasn't received authority yet to spend its own local funds for services.
He says public safety also is compromised.
