The longest U. S. government shutdown in history reached its 25th day on Tuesday, with most of the 800,000 employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay having missed their first paychecks last week.
(Reuters) – The longest U. S. government shutdown in history reached its 25th day on Tuesday, with most of the 800,000 employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay having missed their first paychecks last week.
The White House and congressional Democrats remain divided over Republican President Donald Trump’s demand for money for a border wall.
The shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, is the 19th since the mid-1970s, although most have been brief. A 1995-1996 shutdown over a funding battle between Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich lasted 21 days. The current one has not affected three-quarters of the government, including the Department of Defense and the Postal Service, which have secure funding.
But some 800,000 employees from the departments of Homeland Security and Transportation, among others, have been furloughed or are working without pay. Private contractors working for many government agencies are also without pay and private companies that rely on business from federal workers or other consumers – such as national park visitors – are affected across the country.
The following is what is happening around the federal government: INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
Nearly 70,000 IRS employees, or about 88 percent of the workforce, have been furloughed, raising concerns about American taxpayer filings and refunds and the ability of the agency to manage government revenues ahead of the April 15 income tax filing deadline.
The U. S. Internal Revenue Service said on Tuesday it intended to bring back more than 46,000 furloughed workers to process annual tax returns and refunds and other tasks. HOMELAND SECURITY
The department that oversees Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service is affected.
Of 245,000 agency employees, nearly 213,000 have been deemed “essential,” according to the department’s contingency plan, so they are working without pay until a funding bill is passed.
More than 50,000 TSA officers are working without pay, but Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern about some transportation employees failing to show up for work or calling in sick. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD)
Most of the department’s 7,500 employees are “non-essential” and only about 340 are working. Nearly 1,000 others may be called in for specific tasks, without pay.
The shutdown has left administration officials scrambling to prevent the eviction of thousands of people covered by a HUD program that expired on Jan. 1 and now cannot be renewed, according to the Washington Post.
Public housing authorities and Native American tribal housing entities are not part of the federal government and so are not required to shut down.
