Agencies Release Contingency Plans as Government Shutdown Looms
Government agencies released their contingency plans for operations in the event of a shutdown (here), with federal funding set to expire at the end of Sept. 30 unless Congress passes and President Obama signs an appropriations bill. As with the federal government shutdown that occurred in October 2013, many federal employees performing border functions affecting imports and exports would stay on the job, including the majority of CBP officers.
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Senate leadership is acting quickly to pass a “clean” continuing resolution and move it over to the House, where the clean bill option has produced an outcry among far-right conservatives. Some lawmakers, however, suggest the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, a frequent adversary of the far-right Republican caucus, will pave the way for easier passage in that chamber, according to news reports (here). Boehner abruptly announced his resignation on Sept. 25.
Should Congress and the Obama administration fail to avert a shutdown, it would still be business as usual for the majority of CBP employees, most of whom have been designated law enforcement officers or “necessary for the protection of life and property.” Of the agency’s 59,592 employees, a total of 53,357 would continue to work, according to the Department of Homeland Security contingency plan (here). Though the plan is light on detail, CBP continued to perform all front-line functions during the last federal government shutdown in 2013 (see 13100212), including overtime operations and protest processing (see 13100416). However, technicians and mission support personnel were not allowed to work, impacting post-release document processing, and agency morale took a hit as CBP officers were made to work without pay (see 1502110067).
Similarly, most Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Transportation Security Administration employees would remain at work, said the DHS contingency plan. Some 50,998 TSA employees out of a total of 58,913 have been designated as exempt. Out of 18,663 current ICE employees, a total of 15,028 would work during the shutdown.
Other agencies with a front-line role in government trade operations would also see some of those functions exempted from furloughs, though only a skeleton staff would remain. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (here) says a “minimum number of employees” would stay on that are “necessary to coordinate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to monitor and conduct activities related to the importation of products that create a substantial and immediate threat to human safety.” According to the contingency plan of the Department of Health and Human Services (here), a total of 1,010 FDA staff would remain on the job to “inspect regulated products and manufacturers, conduct sample analysis on products and review imports offered for entry into the U.S.,” including admissibility decisions.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service would continue inspections of meat, poultry and egg products, including verifications that exports meet foreign country import requirements, according to its plan (here). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service would continue import and export-related activities, many of which are funded by user fees, but export certification “would be reduced, if not halted,” port border crossings would be slowed, and “trade issues affecting U.S. exports and foreign imports would not be addressed,” which could cause a “loss of commodities in transit because phytosanitary issues may not be resolved in a timely manner,” it said (here). At the same time, “foreign imports to the U.S. may be affected.” Clearance of imports regulated by the Agriculture Department was relatively unaffected by the 2013 shutdown, according to reports at the time (see 13101002).
Contingency plans from the State and Defense Departments were silent on whether export licensing would continue despite the shutdown. The Commerce Department’s contingency plan (here) for the Bureau of Industry and Security lists many BIS employees as exempt from furloughs, though the agency stopped issuing export licenses during the last shutdown in 2013 (see 13100414).
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., moved ahead with the clean continuing resolution bill in recent days following the defeat of a stopgap measure that would bar funding for Planned Parenthood (see 1509240065). The Senate will vote on a procedural motion to advance the clean bill on Sept. 28, the office of Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a release. Senate leadership is set to use HR-719 (here) as a vehicle.