Government shutdown thread - 25th annual edition

[fuckyourcouch]

In anecdote news…My agency hasn’t said a peep but our union is preparing for a shutdown and thinks it’s likely.

[rubytue]

Sept 8, 2023 10:30:01 GMT -5 fuckyourcouch said:

In anecdote news…My agency hasn’t said a peep but our union is preparing for a shutdown and thinks it’s likely.

I suppose we have heard something. At this thing where upper management has open forum meetings, someone asked. It got a dismissive, sigh, and eyeroll, and a whatever. And a lecture about how it’s the same thing every year and don’t worry about it until Sept 25. I really hate that man. Set a good example and maybe acknowledge you employees concerns?

[pumpkin]

Sept 8, 2023 19:31:39 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Sept 8, 2023 10:30:01 GMT -5 fuckyourcouch said:

In anecdote news…My agency hasn’t said a peep but our union is preparing for a shutdown and thinks it’s likely.

I suppose we have heard something. At this thing where upper management has open forum meetings, someone asked. It got a dismissive, sigh, and eyeroll, and a whatever. And a lecture about how it’s the same thing every year and don’t worry about it until Sept 25. I really hate that man. Set a good example and maybe acknowledge you employees concerns?

hahaha, this sounds 100% like the response we always get from our management when asked these kinds of things. Which is why I was surprised it was mentioned at all by him earlier this week in another forum.

Acknowledging your employees’ concerns goes a loooong way

[candreco]

My agency seems to actually be doing more than the usual pro forma shutdown preps. I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of faith that the House is going to get it together in time :/

Gift WaPo link summarizing where Congress is: wapo.st/3Pha06z

[rubytue]

We are actually having an all hands this week where it will be covered. Which has no happened before. 🤷‍♀️

I have changed positions since the last one, and per our directive, my new position sounds excepted. But apparently not. Because, you know, just read the directive to find out. 🙄

[rubytue]

I was in the office yesterday (mostly WFH), and I will say the mood is ominous. I agree with candreco, and it feels like more prep that usual. There is a ton of focus on getting as much done by Sept 30 as possible, and thy are starting to identify excepted positions.

And then this nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/we-could-be-headed-for-a-record-breaking-government-shutdown.html

I truly do recognize my privilege in that it won’t really affect me too much financially. But, I am nervous about an extended shutdown, and the stress of coming back. I am much less of a workaholic than I was at the last one, but my brain can’t disentangle the fact that my cancer developed during the 2019 one. And the stroke was a few weeks after we got back. Unlikely related, but stress being a component.

[Deleted]

This is a horrible time because my Fiancé took a 6 week (unpaid) leave of absence and is now going back to work next week. So he will only get 4 days of work in before the shut down... I fully support the leave of absence and was the one who suggested but it's still stressful to think I have to keep us going thru the shutdown while buying a house and having a wedding in the same month (we did not plan buying the house this late. It just took forever).

[Bernadine]

We’ve heard nothing at my agency- no prep or anything, but we seem to always wait until the last minute.

[ssmjlm]

We've heard nothing and my mission essential letter is from 3 boss' ago. So no one quite knows what's going on.

I'm going to ask at our weekly meeting tomorrow what we need to prep for and who is essential. We have no boss at the moment, super fun, do not recommend.

[rubytue]

Whee! Happy end of year Monday. Having trouble reading tea leaves right now, it sounds like the prevailing sentiment in congress is to not let it happen, but the crazy holdouts and the refusals my McCarthy to actually ring something to the floor and let bipartisan support pass it. Cause they could pass something with dem support. Maybe that will happen on Friday?

Meanwhile, every email feels like such a joke. I hate the whole pretend next week exists thing, but I recognize there isn’t another choice. I mean, I can’t just reschedule a biweekly meeting into November because it’s unknown. On the other hand, it feels wrong to be telling people we need something by Oct 4 or such. I just hate this.

[Deleted]

So apparently if there’s a shutdown then the military won’t get paid this year (unlike past years)? On one hand I’m silently freaking out because our savings is run down right now and we will struggle to float several missed paychecks without serious depletion of funds….and on the other hand I feel bad complaining because a) several of you face this every year, and b) I have staff members who make significantly less than I do and live more or less paycheck to paycheck, and I feel so bad for them.

The Rs seem to have turned on the military thanks to Trump, so I don’t have much faith that we’ll get the usually sympathy anymore.

[rubytue]

@ mentions below.

@villainv, yeah, they can’t even get a military spending bill through. I’m at a tiny agency that never gets funded early. Yeah sure, we have an appropriations bill, I’ve never seen it passed on its own, only part of omnibus. And always late. I, too, really feel for the newer employees and the lower grades. I recognize it’s super easy for me to sit here at my 14 with no kids and not be worried. I have a coworker whose wife is also fed, and also pregnant, due mid October. The stress of no income right then, I can’t imagine.

[pumpkin]

Sept 20, 2023 10:26:34 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

We've heard nothing and my mission essential letter is from 3 boss' ago. So no one quite knows what's going on.

I'm going to ask at our weekly meeting tomorrow what we need to prep for and who is essential. We have no boss at the moment, super fun, do not recommend.

My agency has been pretty silent too. I know they are working on a list of those to be furloughed, but otherwise we’ve heard in passing that “it looks like there will be a CR until 10/32.” 🤷‍♀️

Usually by now my agency has said, ‘we’re following the news and we have money to operate as usual for x amount of time,’ but nothing like this so far.

[msmerymac]

Supposedly there may be a bipartisan proposal in the senate to stop government shutdowns - it would automatically initiate 14 day continuing resolutions and require congress stay in town and meet at least daily until budgets are approved.

finance.yahoo.com/news/lawmakers-are-pushing-ideas-to-end-government-shutdowns-forever-115131214.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=0_00

[cattledogkisses]

Sept 25, 2023 8:13:12 GMT -5 @villainv said:

So apparently if there’s a shutdown then the military won’t get paid this year (unlike past years)? On one hand I’m silently freaking out because our savings is run down right now and we will struggle to float several missed paychecks without serious depletion of funds….and on the other hand I feel bad complaining because a) several of you face this every year, and b) I have staff members who make significantly less than I do and live more or less paycheck to paycheck, and I feel so bad for them.

The Rs seem to have turned on the military thanks to Trump, so I don’t have much faith that we’ll get the usually sympathy anymore.

Yeah.  Not that there's ever a *good* time to not get paid, but we're in the middle of an expensive home renovation right now, and that's eaten up a lot of our savings.  Ugh.

I hate this for everyone who has to deal with their livelihood being impacted. 

[chchchia]

I've nothing from my agency either and at this point I am starting to get worried and angry. I really didn't think it was going to happen bc every year this is a threat and I guess I've learned to not really believe it is going to happen, boy who cried wolf syndrome.
We have not heard a peep from anyone in our agency either. I am supposed to go to into work Wed/Thurs as they are in my in works days but why the hell should I? I do not feel like wasting gas and tolls to get into work when we are most likely going to be shutdown. F that.
I hate that these people are just a ok fucking around with people's lives like it is nothing. Jerk offs.

[ssmjlm]

I just asked, they don't know. Apparently all of our PDs are different, but the same number. Which ties to a whole other issue.

[Bernadine]

Sept 25, 2023 9:25:17 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

I just asked, they don't know. Apparently all of our PDs are different, but the same number. Which ties to a whole other issue.

Yes, that’s is weird, lol, but a furlough decision isn’t necessarily based on PD, it should be based on workload. Each agency should have a list of excepted workloads, that would continue in the case of a shutdown. Non-excepted workloads would stop. Excepted workloads are staffed as minimally as possible.

[ssmjlm]

Sept 25, 2023 12:46:34 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Sept 25, 2023 9:25:17 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

I just asked, they don't know. Apparently all of our PDs are different, but the same number. Which ties to a whole other issue.

Yes, that’s is weird, lol, but a furlough decision isn’t necessarily based on PD, it should be based on workload. Each agency should have a list of excepted workloads, that would continue in the case of a shutdown. Non-excepted workloads would stop. Excepted workloads are staffed as minimally as possible.

Rational, logical thought isn't really a thing at the moment.

Also why I have no boss and the person they are supposedly hiring for the job lied on their resume. 

[1confused1]

I’m trying not to freak out, but in our All Hands this morning, it sounds like it’s likely going to happen and our Director is super chill about it. I have no savings, my XH doesn’t contribute anything and I don’t start my second job for a few weeks. I really don’t want to ask for help from my parents 😥

[fuckyourcouch]

Sept 25, 2023 13:38:43 GMT -5 1confused1 said:

I’m trying not to freak out, but in our All Hands this morning, it sounds like it’s likely going to happen and our Director is super chill about it. I have no savings, my XH doesn’t contribute anything and I don’t start my second job for a few weeks. I really don’t want to ask for help from my parents 😥

Can you join a fed credit union this week? Almost all of them offer assistance (zero percent loans, paycheck advance if you have direct deposit, etc)

[1confused1]

Sept 25, 2023 14:25:21 GMT -5 fuckyourcouch said:

Sept 25, 2023 13:38:43 GMT -5 1confused1 said:

I’m trying not to freak out, but in our All Hands this morning, it sounds like it’s likely going to happen and our Director is super chill about it. I have no savings, my XH doesn’t contribute anything and I don’t start my second job for a few weeks. I really don’t want to ask for help from my parents 😥

Can you join a fed credit union this week? Almost all of them offer assistance (zero percent loans, paycheck advance if you have direct deposit, etc)

I didn’t know that! I will look around. Thank you!

[ssmjlm]

Sept 25, 2023 12:48:49 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Sept 25, 2023 12:46:34 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Yes, that’s is weird, lol, but a furlough decision isn’t necessarily based on PD, it should be based on workload. Each agency should have a list of excepted workloads, that would continue in the case of a shutdown. Non-excepted workloads would stop. Excepted workloads are staffed as minimally as possible.

Rational, logical thought isn't really a thing at the moment.

Also why I have no boss and the person they are supposedly hiring for the job lied on their resume. 

I'm quoting myself because I just got forwarded a horrifically bad video of our HQ worried about end of year (although they do no actual operational work) and remaining silent on the shutdown.

There is a reason everyone in my office knows the word fremdschamen. Because we feel it a lot at work.

[audette]

Well, confirmed with DH that he is essential, so he'll continue working if a shutdown happens. He will eventually get paid. I assume it will affect his military retirement pay, too.

Yay for my income and our savings.

[candreco]

Sept 25, 2023 8:13:12 GMT -5 @villainv said:

So apparently if there’s a shutdown then the military won’t get paid this year (unlike past years)? On one hand I’m silently freaking out because our savings is run down right now and we will struggle to float several missed paychecks without serious depletion of funds….and on the other hand I feel bad complaining because a) several of you face this every year, and b) I have staff members who make significantly less than I do and live more or less paycheck to paycheck, and I feel so bad for them.

The Rs seem to have turned on the military thanks to Trump, so I don’t have much faith that we’ll get the usually sympathy anymore.

The previous shut down was partial, DoD's appropriation had been passed so we were unaffected.  This time DoD is in the same boat as everyone else.

Currently, our admiral has put the whole command on the excepted list, which ok?  But it looks like we're prepping for a lapse in appropriations.

[Scout'sHonor]

They haven't sent anything to us and our director just barely mentioned it in the all hands. I don't think we have appropriations like the 2019 one, so.... At least I'm actual fed this time unlike 2013 when I was contract and had to use up vacation to get a paycheck.

[ellipses84]

There’s talks of a bill to make sure congress doesn’t get paid in this situation in the future which would be great. Although unfortunately many are so much better off than most gov’t employees it may only help with a little pressure. There was a similar proposal in the Spring related to the debt ceiling.

Also, Wiley Nickel is an amazing politician name 😆

amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article279737024.html

[cattledogkisses]

Sept 26, 2023 12:42:23 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

There’s talks of a bill to make sure congress doesn’t get paid in this situation in the future which would be great. Although unfortunately many are so much better off than most gov’t employees it may only help with a little pressure. There was a similar proposal in the Spring related to the debt ceiling.

Also, Wiley Nickel is an amazing politician name 😆

amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article279737024.html

If other government employees are working without pay, then Congress absolutely should too. 

I know they're typically pretty financially comfortable, but it's still a blow to lose a chunk of your household income.  Maybe that would light a fire under them to sort this out in a timely manner, or ideally prevent this from happening at all in the future.

[1confused1]

We’ve been instructed to report to work on Monday as normal and we will be operating on previous years’ unspent funding. That’s good but this better not drag on!!!

[pumpkin]

Sept 26, 2023 13:03:57 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Sept 26, 2023 12:42:23 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

There’s talks of a bill to make sure congress doesn’t get paid in this situation in the future which would be great. Although unfortunately many are so much better off than most gov’t employees it may only help with a little pressure. There was a similar proposal in the Spring related to the debt ceiling.

Also, Wiley Nickel is an amazing politician name 😆

amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article279737024.html

If other government employees are working without pay, then Congress absolutely should too. 

I know they're typically pretty financially comfortable, but it's still a blow to lose a chunk of your household income.  Maybe that would light a fire under them to sort this out in a timely manner, or ideally prevent this from happening at all in the future.

Well, Feds should get all their back pay once a budget is passed, so it’s not like we’re just out the $ forever; still not ideal though. However, I think Congress shouldn’t get any back pay for not doing their jobs and causing the shutdown.