In preparation for a Tea Party shutdown of the federal government, I have created a resource page on how a government shutdown could affect thousands of El Pasoans. If a decision is not reached to pass a budget for the remaining 2011 fiscal year, the government will shut down Friday, April 8, 2011 at midnight.

If a government shutdown occurs, it could have negative affects to the El Paso community. Please be aware that “non-essential” employees would be furloughed and their coinciding services would not be delivered. However, essential services, such as the armed forces, border protection, air traffic controllers, and police and fire departments would continue to operate.

As we learn of new information, we will continue to update this resource page on my website at www.reyes.house.gov.

Business

No new approvals of Small Business Administration (SBA)-guaranteed loans for business working capital, real estate investment or job creation activities would occur.

Inspections of stock brokers, receipt and publication of corporate financial disclosures, and routine oversight of financial markets by Federal agencies would cease.

Agricultural export credit activity and other agricultural trade development and monitoring would cease.

www.comerce.gov, www.treasury.gov www.sba.gov, www.usda.gov

Communities, Cities and Municipalities

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund would suspend its grants and technical assistance to communities across the country, delaying investments that finance businesses and create jobs in distressed neighborhoods.

Department of Commerce grant-making programs for economic development would cease, as would most payments by HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program to State and local governments.

Customer service would be reduced across the federal government.

www.cdfifund.gov, www.hud.gov

Federal Courts

The judicial court system would run for up to two weeks. After two weeks, the courts would continue necessary work without funding, such as settling cases.

www.uscourts.gov

Health Care

Medicare would use funds from its trust funds to continue to pay doctors and hospitals for several weeks.   

The National Institutes for Health would not begin new clinical trials for drugs, devices or others treatments. They would also not admit new patients to its research hospital.

www.medicare.gov, www.hhs.gov

Military

If Congress appropriates funds for pay allowances before midnight Tuesday, April 12^th, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service will have enough time to update the amounts they will send service members to reflect full pay for the first 1/2 of the month.  If  an appropriation is passed after that, service members will receive what they currently see on their LESs and pay advice statements that have gone out or are going out – which is pay for 1-8 April only.

Military retirement pay (unlike military and federal employee salaries) is not funded through the annual appropriations process, and payments to military retirees will continue as scheduled.

All military personnel will continue in a normal duty status regardless of their affiliation with excepted or non-excepted activities. Military personnel will serve without pay until such time as Congress makes appropriated funds available to compensate them for this period of service. Civilian personnel who are engaged in excepted activities will also continue in normal duty status and also will also not be paid until Congress makes appropriated funds available. Civilian employees not engaged in excepted activities will be furloughed, i.e., placed in a non-work, non –pay status.

Military operations in Afghanistan, Libya, and Iraq would continue.

Military hospitals and clinics will continue to operate, but you may want to call ahead or check the William Beaumont website to confirm that routine care appointments are not impacted.  Civilian care under TRICARE will be unaffected.  As Fort Bliss provides more information, we will update this information on my website.

For more information please refer to the 'Department of Defense Shutdown guidance' link below

http://reyes.house.gov/Government_Shutdown_DoD.pdf

Passports and Visas

The State Department would continue with operations, however, issuing passports for travelers and visas for foreigners coming to the U.S. could have significant delays. Emergency consular services would continue.

www.travel.state.gov

Postal Service

Post offices would maintain their regular office hours and mail delivery would continue.

www.usps.com

Social Security

Social Security checks would still be sent to beneficiaries. However, there may be delays with new claims, issuing and reissuing social security cards because many personnel at the social security administration may be furloughed.

www.ssa.gov

Tax Filers     

Those filing paper tax returns would not receive tax refunds from the IRS, and many taxpayers would be unable to receive service from the IRS to help them meet their tax obligations. The 400 walk-in service centers throughout the country would be closed.

www.irs.gov           
               
Unemployment

If the shutdown continues for an extended period, the federal funds that help states pay the costs of their unemployment programs could run out, which would require the state to step in and advance the money to keep their programs running.  Otherwise, benefits would be reduced or stopped. 

www.twc.state.tx.us

Veterans

Most VA services will be available. Please click on the VA’s Veterans’ Field Guide link below to find the full list of what will be available or suspended

www.va.gov/FieldGuide_Flyer_Final_6261.pdf

Welfare

Cash assistance payments would not be affected. Benefits of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families have been authorized through the end of September.

www.hhs.gov

How would a government shutdown affect federal workers?

(U.S. Office of Personnel Management - "Guidance and Information on Furlough")

About 17,000 dedicated and hardworking federal employees (not including military personnel) in the 16th District of Texas would be affected by the government shutdown. Federal employees will be notified whether they will be furloughed.

According to the Obama administration all federal employees must report to work on Monday to assist in the shutdown.

Q: What is a furlough?

According to OPM’s official guidance, “A furlough is the placing of an employee in a temporary non-duty, non-pay status because of lack of work or funds, or other non-disciplinary reasons.”

Q: What is a shutdown furlough and why is one necessary?

A “shutdown furlough” occurs if federal funding runs out. It’s necessary for agencies that no longer have the funds necessary to keep working.

Q: Who’s an “essential” worker? (NOTE: OPM labels employees who work during a shutdown as “excepted employees”):

It’s people working or may continue to do so by law. “Essential/Excepted” employees include people: (1) performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, (2) performing minimal activities as necessary to execute an orderly suspension of agency operations related to non-excepted activities, or (3) performing certain other types of excepted work.

Top agency lawyers and managers are determining who’s considered “essential” and “non-essential.”

Other workers may be “excepted” from the shutdown furlough if their agency or program is covered by appropriations not impacted by the current budget impasse. (Best examples of that are the Federal Highway Administration, which is funded by the federal highway trust fund. The Veterans Health Administration is also handled on a two-year budget cycle.)

Q: How will employees be notified whether they have been designated to be handling "excepted" or "non-excepted" functions?

Each Agency will communicate with its employees whether they’re “essential” or “non-essential.”

Q: May employees volunteer to do their job without pay during a shutdown?

A: No. Unless otherwise authorized by law, an agency may not accept the voluntary services of an employee. (The Anti-Deficiency Act is the law prohibiting voluntary work.)

Q: Can workers take another job during while furloughed?

Even if you’re furloughed, you’re still a federal employee and Executive Branch ethics regarding outside employment still apply. Employees should review those regulations before applying elsewhere.

Q: Will I be paid if I work during a shutdown? If so, when?

Agencies will sort out who gets paid for time worked during a shutdown and those employees will be paid when Congress passes and the president signs a new appropriation or continuing resolution.

Q: Will furloughed/non-essential employees be paid for not working during a shutdown?

Congress will determine whether “non-essential” workers receive pay for the furlough period.

Q: Will an employee continue to be covered under the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program during a shutdown furlough if the agency is unable to make its premium payments on time?

 Yes, the employee’s FEHB coverage will continue even if an agency does not make the premium payments on time.

Q: What effect will a furlough have on other benefits that are paid for through payroll deductions?

It varies. Best thing to do is visit http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/LWOP_eff.asp for more information.

www.opm.gov

For more information, please refer to the Office of Management and Business (OMB) website by clicking here to access links to contingency plans for agencies across the Federal Government.

If you have a question about the government shutdown, please fill out the fields below to submit a question.