The government shutdown is on day 34. A new record will be set this week.
Airline Disruptions
The New York Times reports Staff Shortages at 35 Air Traffic Control Sites Disrupt Travel
The growing problems unfolded just days after the controllers missed their first full paycheck because of the shutdown, after receiving a partial paycheck two weeks ago. The missed pay period appeared to prompt the union representing controllers to take the rare step of endorsing one party’s preferred approach to ending the impasse.
“Congress must pass a clean continuing resolution (CR) to immediately end the government shutdown, ensure that all individuals who have not been paid during this prolonged closure receive their compensation, and then engage in bipartisan negotiations on other pressing issues facing our nation,” Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a statement Friday afternoon.
“The impact is growing over time with more ground delay programs due to staffing,” said Michael McCormick, a professor of air traffic management at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. “But I do not see any signs of organized activity for a slowdown.”
Millions Unpaid
Yahoo!Finance reports Government Shutdown Leaves Millions Unpaid. Here’s How Banks Are Helping
About 1.4 million federal employees have gone without at least one paycheck, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Banks such as Citibank, Capital One, Wells Fargo, and others are encouraging federal employees whose paychecks have been disrupted by the government shutdown to call to request assistance. Impacted employees can contact their bank or credit card issuer by calling the number on the back of their card.
Altered Furlough Notices to 650,000 Employees
The Government Executive reports Employees are receiving renewed furlough notices without pay guarantees.
To maintain clarity between shutdown furloughs and more permanent and planned cost-saving measures, notices are required to go out every 30 days. The current funding lapse entered its 31st day on Friday—and could next week surpass the record-setting, 35-day impasse from 2018-2019—which required a fresh, formal update from agencies letting around 650,000 employees know they should remain at home without working.
The new notices largely included the same boilerplate language as the originals that went out at the outset of the shutdown, those from several agencies viewed by Government Executive showed, with one notable difference: they no longer contained language assuring employees that back pay was guaranteed when the shutdown concluded.
The new notices largely included the same boilerplate language as the originals that went out at the outset of the shutdown, those from several agencies viewed by Government Executive showed, with one notable difference: they no longer contained language assuring employees that back pay was guaranteed when the shutdown concluded.
“The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 provides that employees shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations ends,” read a General Services Administration furlough notice sent on Oct. 1.
“As soon as possible after the appropriations lapse ends, you will be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations, in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 1341(c) and other applicable laws,” read another from the Interior Department.
In both cases, and all others reviewed by Government Executive, that language was removed.
Shortly after the shutdown began, as Government Executive first reported, the Office of Management and Budget deleted from its guidance any reference to the 2019 law or back pay for furloughed federal workers. OMB subsequently released new legal guidance suggesting Congress must take legislative action to authorize back pay.
In federal court this week in a case regarding layoffs, a Justice Department attorney also contradicted the White House’s new argument.
“We’re dealing with a class of employees who are furloughed, who are not working on specific government actions,” said Michael Velchik, the Justice lawyer. “They’re incurring future obligations to the federal taxpayer, who will then have to pay back pay wages for these individuals who are not working.”
The total the government would have to pay employees for not working could reach unprecedented heights next week. The Senate adjourned on Thursday and is not set to reconvene until Monday evening, when no vote to reopen government is scheduled. The House remains on recess indefinitely after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., canceled votes for the seventh consecutive week next week.
Shutdown Record Guaranteed
The record 35-day shutdown from 2018-2019 will be broken this week.
The Senate has no votes scheduled and the House is not even in session.
On October 30, I noted Trump Wants to End the Shutdown, Tells Senate Republicans to Kill the Filibuster
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wants to end the government shutdown by getting rid of the filibuster.
However, there are not enough votes to kill the filibuster even though a rule change would only take 51.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska), John Cornyn (R., Texas) and James Lankford (R., Okla.) have all said no to ending the filibuster.
If all the rest said yes, there would only be 48 votes.
Q: What’s this really about?
A: Democrats extended subsidies to those making up to 400 percent of the poverty level. They want to keep those subsidies.
Although Democrats are OK with funding illegal immigrants, the battle is primarily over subsidies to 24 million (and growing) people.
For more details, please see Q&A: Obamacare Big Price Hikes Coming. What’s the Shutdown Really About?
