Washington – Hundreds of thousands of US government defense workers, parkrangers and business regulators could be temporarily out of work ifCongress fails to pass a budget before a midnight Friday deadline.
But the looming government shutdown due to lack of funding — which wouldbe the second in five years — does not mean every office closes its doors.
Vital services will still be provided by law enforcement, immigrationofficers, the central bank, veterans’ hospitals and the military.
During the two-week shutdown in October 2013, around 800,000 workers werefurloughed.
This time, about 850,000 workers, out of a total 3.5 million, could be toldto stay home — without pay — until Congress reaches an agreement, theAmerican Federation of Government Employees estimates.
The following is a rundown of who is and isn’t affected in a governmentshutdown:
– Defense, security and borders –
The 1.5 million uniformed members of the US military, mostly in the DefenseDepartment but also 40,000 with the Department of Homeland Security, willremain at work.
“All military personnel performing active duty will continue in a normalduty status,” the Pentagon ordered Thursday.
But a large number of civilians in both departments, including aboutthree-fourths of the roughly 740,000 civilians who work for the Pentagon,will stay home.
That will slow many operations, and could impact the huge defense privatesector, which depends on Pentagon contracts.
Officials of the Customs and Border Patrol, Immigration and CustomsEnforcement, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services will remain on thejob checking and processing people entering the country by land, sea andair.
– Key government operations –
The White House, Congress, federal courts and the Veterans Administrationwill all continue to operate. The US Postal Service will continue todeliver the mail.
The investigation by special prosecutor Robert Mueller into possiblecollusion between Russians and President Donald Trump’s election campaignwill remain active.
– Washington –
The US capital is funded by the federal budget and will be affected. Trashservices and street cleaning will halt and libraries will close. Butschools and public transport will continue to operate.
– Travel –
The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees air traffic control,will remain at work, and airports will remain open for travellers.
– Parks and museums –
According to tentative plans, national parks and museums will remain open,but some public employees at the parks could be furloughed while privatecontractors, who supply food and other services, will maintain operations.
– Health –
Disease monitoring and prevention will slow. About 61 percent of the staffof the Centers for Disease Control will be furloughed, according to TheWashington Post, and much of the research-focused National Institutes ofHealth will be shuttered.
– Other public services –
Other agencies will largely shut down, including the Internal RevenueService, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Housing andUrban Development, the Department of Education, the Commerce Department,the Labor Department, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
That means people and businesses will not get documents and permissionsprocessed, contractors will have difficulty moving ahead on their projects,and disaster relief will slow. – AFP