Unclear on concept department, from the Christian Science Monitor, 12 ways the government shut down will hurt you:1. What happens to national defense? As with all government agencies, essential services will continue to be performed, as determined by the heads of the agencies. “Military personnel would continue in a normal duty status,” a Department of Defense memo stated Sept. 23, adding that a “large number” of the Department of Defense’s civilian employees would still be temporarily furloughed. Two types of Defense employees escape furlough: One, if they are “performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property”; and two, those whose jobs are not funded by Congress via annual appropriations. All others face a furlough, which bars them from working, including as a volunteer 2) Will Social Security and Medicare payments still be mailed? Yes, but…. Social Security and Medicare are entitlements, and as such, the spending is mandatory. So checks will still go out. But there could be delays if a lack of funds for worker salaries means a reduced workforce at their respective agencies. Also, new applications are likely not to be processed until the government reopens. In the 1996 shutdown, more than 10,000 Medicare applicants were turned away daily, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB). During the shutdowns of 1995 and 1996, some Social Security employees were allowed to work, which kept benefits flowing to existing Social Security, disability, and black lung beneficiaries, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). But over time, more workers were brought back to process new claims and respond to such as from people who needed Social Security card to work) . 3) Will the Post Office function? Yes. The US Postal Service is self-funded – i.e., not funded by appropriations from the Treasury – and so mail service will continue as usual. 4.) What about my vacation to Yellowstone National Park? Sorry, all the national parks will close during a shutdown. So will all the attractions that are part of the federally funded Smithsonian Institution, including the National Zoo. That would have meant no peek at the new baby panda, but she’s not scheduled for her public debut for about two more months (and one hopes that any shutdown would have ended long before). During the last government shutdown, two periods that totaled 26 days in late 1995 and early 1996, the closure of 368 National Park Service sites meant a loss of 7 million visitors, and a loss of tourism dollars to local communities, the CRS reports. Closure of national museums and monuments meant a loss of 2 million visitors. 5) What will happen to the National Zoo’s baby panda? All the zoo’s animals will still be fed and cared for, just not open to the public. The month-old baby panda is still nursing, but her mother, Mei Xiang, will of course be fed. The fate of Giant Panda Cam – the live video stream that allows obsessive panda-watchers to track mama and baby (while pretending to work) – is still up in the air. Volunteers run the video cameras. As The Washington Post points out, panda addicts will have to make do with the viral video of a baby panda sneezing. 6 Will government workers still get paid? Back to the serious business of a shutdown. Federal workers placed on furlough will not get paid during a shutdown. After past shutdowns, Congress has voted to pay furloughed workers retroactively, but this time employee advocates aren’t so sure, given public (and some legislators’) attitudes toward the federal government. “It’s a very different time and a very different Congress,” Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, told The Washington Post. Essential workers who stay on the job during a shutdown would still get paid, though if the shutdown drags on long enough, their pay could be delayed. I will continue this post later tonight.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 22:48:32 +0000