White House publishes shutdown plans
As many as 600,000 employees could be furloughed if lawmakers do not extend funding past Friday, according to one estimate.
As the clock runs down on a potential partial government shutdown, the Obama administration is continuing to prepare federal employees for the possibility of furloughs.
The Office of Management and Budget has compiled a list of contingency plans for more than 60 agencies, and will continue to update it as more information comes in. Many of the plans are from April, in the run-up to the first of several near-shutdowns this year. The Office of Personnel Management also has updated its guidance on furloughs.
The shutdown will occur if Congress fails to pass a bill to keep government open after Friday, when the measure that has been funding most agencies for fiscal 2012 runs out. Appropriators reportedly reached a deal on a $900 billion omnibus spending plan for those agencies, but the measure has become entwined in the politics of extending the payroll tax cut, jeopardizing its passage. If lawmakers cannot work out spending for the remainder of the fiscal year, they could pass another short-term extension to keep agencies open.
House Republicans on Thursday appeared to be making some progress on breaking the stalemate. Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., has agreed to reopen the omnibus spending package and rewrite controversial language aimed at reinstating the Bush-era travel ban to Cuba, National Journal reported.
Federal employee groups urged lawmakers to take steps to avoid a shutdown, especially as the holidays near. The National Treasury Employees Union pushed for a short-term funding extension, to allow time to "work out a reasonable compromise on funding and tax bills that do not place the entire burden on the federal workforce in order to protect the richest Americans." A House-passed plan would finance the payroll tax holiday extension partly by freezing civilian federal employees' salaries for an additional year and requiring government workers to contribute more to their pensions.
The Washington Post estimates as many as 600,000 federal employees could be furloughed if Congress fails to act on the spending bills. The departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Justice and Transportation, along with a handful of independent agencies, would not be affected because they have already secured appropriations for all of fiscal 2012.
Below is our initial tally of employees who could be furloughed, by agency, based on the plans published by OMB. We will update it as we get more information.
Defense: Military personnel are not subjected to furlough. The minimum number of civilian employees will be exempt from furlough, but no numbers are provided in the plan. Contractors will continue, but new contracts will not be executed.
Education: Department would furlough 94 percent of its staff during the first week, or 4,379 employees. After one week, employees would be phased in "only as necessary to conduct other excepted activities."
Energy: 9,974 employees furloughed.
Environmental Protection Agency: 15,957 employees furloughed. General Services Administration: 11,299 employees furloughed.
Health and Human Services: 36,023 employees furloughed (47 percent of the staff).
Homeland Security: 36,952 employees furloughed.
Interior: Out of 70,600 employees, roughly 53,500 would be furloughed, adding an additional 2,800 after the first two or three days once shutdown activities are completed.
Labor: 13,329 employees will be furloughed. Office of Personnel Management: Will furlough the "vast majority" of employees; plan does not include a specific number. Postal Regulatory Commission: All employees will be furloughed with the exception of five presidentially appointed commissioners and three information technology/facilities support staff.
Small Business Administration: 2,097 employees will be furloughed. Social Security Administration: 20,708 employees furloughed.
Treasury: 1,279 employees furloughed.