Executive editor of Federal News Network Jason Miller shares more on the cost of a potential government shutdown.
Although the federal government avoided a shutdown this weekend, the simple threat of one has carried a cost that continues to hang over federal operations.
Current and former federal officials said that agencies have spent many hours over the past couple of weeks focusing on the possibility of shutting down, instead of the mission of their agencies. They also say brinkmanship over suspending government operations is distracting and demoralizing to the federal workforce.
Executive editor of Federal News Network Jason Miller told WTOP that federal leaders lost serious time in preparation for a federal shutdown.
“I’ve talked to several different federal executives over the last week or so, and all of them have spent 20 hours of their 40 hour week or 30 hours out of their 50 hour week planning, doing the administrative work, thinking about (the threatened shutdown), going to meetings …” he said.
Miller added that one agency executive working in finance and budgeting found that every meeting was focused on an impending shutdown.
