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Tourist attractions close as US budget row rumbles on

News
Gary Noakes
22 January 2018

Many tourist attractions in the US remain closed on Monday after the country’s government failed to agree a budget for the current financial year.

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The smoke has impacted New York, in particular (Credit: iStock)

Wrangling in the US Senate over the 2018 budget means that funds for many government-run attractions including museums and monuments have been blocked and staff temporarily put on unpaid leave.

Among the attractions affected is the Statue of Liberty, which was closed on Sunday. New York City officials were due to dip into local government funds to pay for it open on Monday, according to the BBC.

Congress should have approved the US budget by October 1, the start of the government financial year, but failed to meet this deadline and a temporary extension to last year’s budget has now expired.