I know the national parks are closed for the most part, a number of federal workers are “furloughed” and are not receiving pay, and the US Coast Guard personnel are working (what with them being military) and not getting paid (what with them not being in the Department of Defense), but what else? Let’s start the ball rolling with
Q1: Is the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) affected?
I didn’t get a scheduled call from Social Security last week.
I suspect it would likely be difficult to get a reliable list. In the past, when offices I worked in were subject to furloughs, the fiction was that we were supposed to continue functioning as normal with a skeletal staff (only “essential” employees - the percentage designated as such varies WIDELY from office to office.) Also, priority is given to services directly involving the public.
So, for example, an office will be open, and a member of the public can go in and file an application, request, or whatever. Maybe there will be a longer wait, because only half of the service windows are staffed. But the appearance will be that everything is functioning normally. But then the application or request is transferred to whomever actually does the work on it, and it sits, because those employees are either furloughed or manning the service windows for other furloughed employees. So a backlog builds. And when the furlough ends, you can imagine how thrilled furloughed staff are to work through a backlog they played no part in creating…
Just trying to give an insider’s perspective. Don’t expect any “holidays” from having to pay any money you owe. And the stated intention is that no money flowing OUT to individuals is to be delayed.
I just read a tweet that said a woman was going through airport security and asked if her laptop had to be taken out of its bag. He replied, “I don’t care, I’m not being paid”.
Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce are both furloughed.
DOT has the FAA which is partly working, ATC, charting and some other parts are excepted workers. I’ve heard that the inspectors and NTSB are not fully staffed though.
DOC has NOAA and National Weather Service that are not fully working. I work in the NOAA complex and it’s a ghost town around here.
National Institute of Standards and Technology is also furloughed, the main gate is the only one open.
National Science Foundation is shutdown:
Due to a lapse in appropriations, NSF is closed. NSF will continue to accept proposals in accordance with published deadlines. Please continue to watch this site for changes to NSF’s operating status, reopening guidance for employees and, if necessary, general instructions for awardees.
NASA is shut down. Most workers are furloughed but some are working for no pay - mainly those operating ongoing missions (satellites, deep space probes, Space Station etc), and some working for upcoming launches with significant international collaborations. I understand the planned SpaceX Dragon launch (uncrewed test flight of the Dragon crew capsule) is delayed. I’m sure SLS will be delayed even further - I know several civil servants who work on it, they are all furloughed.
Commercial fishing permits for Federally-managed fisheries (e.g. most cod, other whitefish) aren’t being issued. By law, no permit = no fishing. There’s a bit of a lag (fishing permits for Jan 1 opener were mostly in place in late Dec) but by next week, boats will be idling losing literally millions of $ in lost catch per week. (Enforcement of the regs, via vessel inspections, etc., are essential services so employees are doing those parts without pay).
Edit: This is NOAA/NMFS.
The National Park Service shutdowns include some popular tourist destinations. I saw someone get a notification last night that the scheduled after-hours tour of Alcatraz was cancelled due to the shutdown.
People hear about the National Park Service being affected by the shutdown, and it may not seem like a big deal. “Oh, so they’re going to close some forests, so what?”
Some numbers:
During the 2013 shutdown, which also closed down Alcatraz, the company which manages the tours was forced to refund about 100,000 tickets, losing around $3 million. The government’s cut of that was 25%, plus $1/ticket, as I understand it, so closing Alcatraz for 17 days cost the government $850,000, or $50,000/day, in revenue. (Based on an SF Examiner article.)
That’s one park, and it’s not even in the top 10 in terms of revenue. The Grand Canyon (which is on the top-10 list) is still open, but only because the state of Arizona has taken over funding it under an executive order issued during a shutdown last year. The Grand Canyon Protection Plan pulls $64,383.76 a week from Arizona’s Parks and Tourism departments to keep services going in a park that brings over half a billion dollars to the state annually and supports an estimated 10,000 jobs.
So federal prisons and the Department of Agriculture are a couple of ‘services’ affected.
This next quote isn’t to answer the OP, but it’s quite telling and I have to share it:
‘He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting’? :dubious: ‘‘I never thought leopards would eat my face,’ sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.’
A lot of the FDA’s food inspectors have been furloughed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/experts-warn-of-safety-and-security-risks-from-government-shutdown/2019/01/08/855472e4-1362-11e9-90a8-136fa44b80ba_story.html?utm_term=.ef3f861480a0
Also, air traffic controllers are working without pay now.
Isn’t Social Services a state or municipal function?
The IRS has a handful of essential workers. In the facility I work, they include the mailroom and the departments that process checks and payments. There has apparently been an attempt to bring in additional personnel due to how long the shutdown is going, but our contract requires that essential employees be notified of that status before the shutdown starts, which didn’t happen for most of us. (I suspect this is why they are making noises about funding the IRS as a separate issue.) Investigators and auditors are out. Call center people are out. Trainers are out (unusually important this year because of the tax reform).