Obama to be briefed on how US government shutdown affects Iran sanctions

President Barack Obama was to be briefed on Friday on impacts of US government shutdown, including effects of furloughs at Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), which implements government financial sanctions, including sanctions on Iran. The OFAC has had to furlough nearly all its staff due to the lapse in congressional funding, White House press secretary Jay Carney noted during a briefing. Only 11 of 175 full-time employees have been excepted, meaning that the office is unable to sustain its core functions, he said. Among those functions: issuing new sanctions designations against those enabling the governments of Iran and Syria, as well as terrorist organizations, weapons of mass destruction proliferators, narcotics cartels and transnational organized crime groups; investigating and penalizing sanctions violations; issuing licenses to authorize humanitarian and other important activities that might otherwise be barred by sanctions; and issuing new sanctions prohibitions and guidance, Carney said. While this is just one of the items the President will be briefed on, it illustrates the consequences of the Republican shutdown on government missions and workers across the country, Carney said, adding, "It is time for the speaker of the House to bring up the Senate-passed funding bill and just vote".