By Louise Radnofsky
WASHINGTON -- Much of the federal government's work is expected
to continue despite the partial shutdown because the Trump
administration plans to proceed with many operations despite a lack
of official funding.
The Senate rejected a one-month spending bill that would have
averted the shutdown. After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R., Ky.) indicated he would take steps to set up a later
vote on a three-week spending bill, but Senate Democrats are
opposed to it, leaving lawmakers with no path to reopen the
government.
Still, many agencies have made plans to remain open with
existing funds while they last, and critical services will be
exempt from closure.
The State Department will generally continue to operate with
funds that officials can access until they run out, though some
operations could be restricted, the department said. Nearly 90% of
Department of Homeland Security staff would also continue to work
because they are considered essential staff, that agency said.
The Department of Defense published Friday an updated plan
showing many operations would continue, including in Afghanistan
and against al Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Secretary
of Defense Jim Mattis plans to travel to Asia this weekend as
scheduled because, the department said, "the secretary's trip is
necessary for national security and foreign relations."
The Department of Transportation will furlough just over 37% of
its roughly 55,000 employees in the event of a government shutdown.
The department's shutdown plan would idle thousands of workers who
perform tasks not linked to life and safety, including those doing
grant administration and policy-making.
But thousands more workers would remain on the job, including
air traffic controllers, railroad inspectors and workers who
positions are funded by multi-year appropriations or under
contracts that would be unaffected by the lapse in annual
appropriations.
The Federal Aviation Administration's aircraft registry will
close, halting the delivery of new aircraft and the sale of used
ones. But FAA workers in some 25,000 "life and safety excepted
positions" would remain on the job, including air traffic
control.
At the Environmental Protection Agency, employees received an
email Friday from administrator Scott Pruitt informing them to come
to work next week even if the government shuts down. "At this time
EPA has sufficient resources to remain open for a limited amount of
time in the event of a government shutdown," according to the
email.
Several agencies released revisions to their plans that included
an even wider scope of operations than previously indicated. A
detailed picture, including myriad justifications for shutdown
exceptions, had come from hundreds of pages of plans updated by
federal agencies in 2017 and published online.
The director of the White House Office of Management and Budget,
Mick Mulvaney, said Friday that his agency intended a different
shutdown approach from the one taken by the Obama administration in
2013.
"We are going to manage the shutdown differently; we are not
going to weaponize it," said Mr. Mulvaney, who in 2013 was among
congressional Republicans accusing the Democratic president of
closing popular elements of government, such as national monuments,
to turn public opinion against the GOP. Senior administration
officials said Friday night they had sought to apply "flexibility"
to shutdown rules.
Mr. Mulvaney said national parks would remain open, unlike in
2013, though trash collection would be suspended. He said he
believed the parks would be adequately staffed to maintain
security.
Social Security payments are expected to be deposited as 53,000
workers for that agency stay on the job because the payments don't
rely on an annual appropriation and by "necessary implication,"
government lawyers have decided, the administration should make
sure they go out.
The planned Women's March on the National Mall is likely to
proceed, as the National Park Service said it has special
provisions for First Amendment activities that require crowd
control. Meat, poultry and egg inspections are scheduled to
continue because they are considered by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to be essential to safeguarding human life.
And so, too, will the work of special counsel Robert Mueller who
is investigating potential Russian interference in the 2016
election because that doesn't rely on an annual funding.
In December, S&P Global Ratings estimated a fresh shutdown
"could shave approximately 0.2 percentage points, or $6.5 billion,
off of real fourth-quarter GDP growth for each week it drags
on."
President Barack Obama's budget office concluded the impact of
the 16-day shutdown in 2013 was worse than realized -- including a
loss of 6.6 million work days from furloughed employees who were
paid about $2 billion for work not performed.
If the government shuts down again, people who need a new or
replacement Social Security cards will have to wait. The National
Gallery of Art and Smithsonian museums have enough money to stay
open Saturday and Sunday and would close thereafter. Some federally
produced economic reports won't be released.
At the Internal Revenue Service, 43.5% of employees would
continue working, a higher percentage than during the tax agency's
less-busy months. The individual income tax filing season is
scheduled to start Jan. 29.
Criminal investigations would continue, as would tax
collections. But the IRS would halt most audits and wouldn't issue
refunds, according to the agency's shutdown plan. The agency is
also developing regulations to implement the tax law that President
Donald Trump signed in December, but many IRS lawyers aren't
considered essential personnel.
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is planning
to keep five presidential appointees, one administrative judge, two
employees and a computer expert on the job in case of an emergency,
telling everyone else to stay home.
And while payments to physicians treating older people in the
Medicare program will continue, about half of the Department of
Health and Human Services staff would be furloughed, the agency
said. Substance-abuse hotlines, custody of unaccompanied immigrant
children and care for patients currently enrolled at the National
Institutes of Health would continue.
But the NIH would be unable to accept new patients, the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could be unable to
maintain its seasonal flu program, and most Food and Drug
Administration safety activities would have to stop. Senior
administration officials late Friday said flu activities wouldn't
be suspended.
After the shutdown in October 2013, many federal workers now
know the drill: Report to work for four hours of the first working
day of a shutdown to learn whether they are subject to furloughs or
considered exempt, put up "out of office" notices, secure property,
and tie up loose ends for an indefinite period.
And unlike past shutdowns, federal workers can now readily
access detailed guides from the Office of Personnel Management
explaining that in some states they can file for unemployment
compensation while going without paychecks but will have to pay it
back if they are awarded back pay, which Congress authorized in
2013.
At a White House briefing Friday Mr. Mulvaney didn't say whether
he supported giving federal workers, both those furloughed and
those who work during the shutdown, back pay at the eventual end of
the shutdown. Some congressional Democrats said they weren't
confident that Congress could work out a deal to authorize it.
--Laura Meckler, Eli Stokols, Robert Ourlian and Richard Rubin
contributed to this article.
Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 20, 2018 01:58 ET (06:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.