Trump’s federal government shutdown means 420,000 to work without pay

Trump’s federal government shutdown means 420,000 to work without pay

By Lynda Carson - December 22, 2018

It’s official. President Donald J. Trump managed to have it his way, and his chaotic inhumane actions have resulted in another partial federal government shutdown affecting hundreds of thousands of federal employees, and numerous federal agencies across the nation.

As an example, Trump’s federal government shutdown will affect around 1,636 federal employees in Oakland, and reportedly, because the Trump Administration has been abusing federal workers, ‘federal employees’ job satisfaction has taken a nose dive in 2018.

Recently Trump has repeatedly been threatening to shut down the federal government if he cannot get his way with Congress, and that he will take responsibility for a government shutdown if he does not get funding for his racist border wall.

Official Notice Of Federal Government Shutdown:

According to a December 21, 2018 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): “Appropriations provided under the Making Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2019, and for other purposes (P.L. 115-298) expire at 11:59 pm tonight, December 21, 2018. As of December 21st, the only full-year appropriations Acts that have been enacted are the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 115-244) and the Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 115-245). Because legislation providing fiscal year 2019 appropriations for agencies not funded by those bills expires on December 21, 2018, there will be a lapse for such agencies beginning on December 22, 2018. Unfortunately, the Congress has not taken action to pass an acceptable bill. Therefore, agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations.”

“Although we are hopeful that this lapse in appropriations will be of short duration, employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities. We will issue another memorandum reopening government functions once the President has signed a bill providing for appropriations.”

“Agencies should continue to closely monitor developments, and 0MB will provide further guidance as appropriate. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and the work you and your agencies do on behalf of the American people.”

Additionally, special instructions for agencies affected by the lapse in appropriations starting today as a result of Trump’s government shutdown have been issued, as well as a guidance for shutdown furloughs.

The Donald J. Trump federal government shutdown that occurred earlier today on December 22, 2018, means that 420,000 federal employees will have to work without pay until after the federal government shutdown is ended, according to the office of Senator Patrick Leahy.

Below is a list of projected impacts of a Trump government shutdown according to the office of Senator Patrick Leahy.

PROJECTED IMPACTS OF A TRUMP SHUTDOWN

Prepared By Vice Chairman Leahy’s Senate Appropriations Committee Staff

More Than 420,000 Will Be Working Without Pay Including:

• More than 41,000 Federal Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers, Including:

• 2,614 ATF agents;

• 16,742 Bureau of Prisons correctional officers;

• 13,709 FBI agents;

• 3,600 deputy U.S. Marshals; and

• 4,399 DEA agents.

• Up To 88 Percent Of Department of Homeland Security Employees, Including:

• 53,000 TSA Employees;

• 54,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and customs offers;

• 42,000 Coast Guard employees

• As many as 5,000 Forest Service Firefighters

• 3,600 Weather Service Forecasters

More Than 380,000 Will Be Furloughed, Including:

• 86 Percent of Department of Commerce (Approximately 41,000 Staff),

• 96 Percent of NASA (Approximately 16,700 Staff)

• More than 80 Percent of the National Park Service (Approximately16,000 Staff)

• At least 80 Percent of the Forest Service (Approximately 28,800 Staff)

• More than 30 Percent of Dept. of Transportation (Approximately 18,300 Staff)

• 95 Percent of HUD (Approximately 7,100 Staff)

• Approximately 52,000 IRS Staff

Nine Out Of 15 Federal Departments And Dozens Of Agencies Will Close

• The government will shutter the doors of nine federal departments and dozens of agencies during the Trump Shutdown, grinding services to the American people to a halt just three days before Christmas.

  
The Trump Shutdown Is Bad For Business:

• Farmers.  USDA would shutter every local and state farm service center across the U.S.  With the current challenges facing farmers due to the dramatic drop in commodity prices brought on by retaliatory tariffs, many farmers have had to rely on UDSA as their lender of last resort to help pay bills and stay afloat through this winter.  Many farmers are already preparing for the spring planting and banks are not willing to lend to them, leaving USDA as their only hope.  Additionally, with passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, farmers and ranchers will seek information on how the law will affect their operations heading into the planting year.  A shutdown will mean Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff will not be able to answer those questions or assist in signing up producers for new Farm Bill programs.  This is the worst time for a shutdown – when producers begin to make their plans for next year’s planting season.

• Small Businesses.  More than 30 million U.S. small businesses employing 59 million employees would no longer have access to federally-assisted loans and technical assistance, as Small Business Administration guarantees to back loans would freeze.

• Steel and Aluminum Industries.  U.S. companies can petition to avoid tariffs if certain steel and aluminum products are not produced in sufficient quantities or of sufficient quality within the U.S.  A shutdown would halt the already frightfully slow exemption process for these tariffs.

• Homeownership.  The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would see significant delays in loan processing and approvals.  Thousands of people trying to buy a new home or refinance a FHA-insured mortgage would be put on standby.

• Community and Economic Development.  Cities, counties, and states would not be able move forward with new Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects, preventing important local economic investment and job creation.

• Local Businesses near Public Lands.  A shutdown will affect the economies of local communities that depend on national parks for tourism.  The National Park System sees an estimated half a million visitors per day in winter months who spend $19 million per day in nearby park communities – many of those dollars are spent in small businesses such as restaurants, shops, lodges and local outfitters.

• Energy Permitting.  Lease sales and permits for oil, gas, coal and other minerals on Federal lands and waters will be suspended.  Energy development from Federal lands generated nearly $9 billion in FY 2018 for the U.S., states and tribes.

• Justice Delayed.  Civil litigation, payments to victims, and training for state and local law enforcement stop during a shutdown.

The Trump Shutdown Is Bad For Your Health:

• Hungry Kids and Families.  With the trade mitigation, USDA plans to distribute $1.2 billion in commodities through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides supplemental food to soup kitchens, food banks, and pantries.  Help is needed to mitigate this influx of commodities, but a shutdown would really hamper this program.  The Food and Nutrition Service would not be able to purchase commodities or provide the funding for transportation, distribution, or storage.  This could be especially harmful to food banks that receive these commodities at a time when more families rely on their services – the winter and holiday months.

• Clean Drinking Water and Waste Disposal Infrastructure.  Small, remote rural communities would be unable to obtain assistance to construct or expand clean water and sanitary waste disposal systems.  Small rural communities often lack adequate clean drinking water, leading to health and safety issues for residents.

• Keeping Roofs over Families’ Heads.  Payments to roughly 3,000 public housing agencies, which help manage the country’s HUD-assisted housing and supportive services programs for more than 3 million low-income households, would be delayed, reducing critical operations, and delaying routine capital maintenance and emergency repairs.  Failure to maintain this critical affordable housing stock could leave thousands of veterans, elderly, disabled, and working poor Section 8 and public housing residents vulnerable to harmful living conditions, including exposure to lead-based paint hazards and mold.  This would also slow the selection of any new tenants from the thousands of low-income families and individuals currently on Section 8 and public housing waitlists nationwide, many of whom are currently living on the streets or in temporary shelters.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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