Parks, airports, NASA: How the shutdown would impact federal agencies

Art Del Cueto wants the wall, but he also needs a paycheck.

Border Patrol agents like Del Cueto — in the crossfire of the government shutdown fight over President Trump’s demand for a border wall — are preparing to work without pay if the government shuts down Friday night.

“It’s nerve-racking,” said Del Cueto, who is a vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union, and works in Arizona. “It sucks, to be honest.”

About 380,000 workers at nine of 15 cabinet-level departments would be sent home and would not be paid for the time off. Another 420,000 deemed too essential to be furloughed would be forced, like the Border Patrol officers, to work without pay. After past shutdowns, such workers have been reimbursed later.

Department of Homeland Security

The department, which handles border security to airport screening to deterrence of terrorist attacks against the United States, would largely remain open.

The 60,000 employees at Customs and Border Protection would be forced to work without pay, as would airline screeners and security officers at the Transportation Security Administration, so holiday air travel and security operations would not be disrupted. Special agents at the Secret Service, who guard the president and other officials, would continue to work, as would emergency management personnel.

Interior Department

The most visible impact of a shutdown would be in national parks and forests, with 80 per cent of employees at the National Park Service facing immediate furloughs.

The timing, however, would be helpful. Many of the nation’s most heavily trafficked parks are either closed during the winter or see major drop-offs in visits, and in some instances state officials are planning to step unto the breach.

Most parks, including the National Mall, would remain open without staff members to provide guidance or support, according to the department’s 2018 contingency plan. The Smithsonian museums have the funding to remain open, its staff said in a tweet on Friday.

Treasury Department

Nine out of 10 employees at the Internal Revenue Service would be furloughed, temporarily curtailing audits and other enforcement actions, but also shuttering services intended to assist taxpayers.

State Department

The issuing of passports and other consular functions are funded by multiyear spending bills and are expected to continue during a shutdown, though some may be curtailed if the buildings that house them are shuttered because of a lapse in funding, according to department guidelines issued this year. International travellers who suddenly realise that their passport has expired, or who are looking to get a new one, could be out of luck. .

Transportation Department

About 34,600 of the department’s 55,100 employees would continue working during a shutdown. Railroad safety inspectors, air traffic controllers and most Federal Highway Administration employees would remain on the job, and roadside truck inspections would also proceed.

NASA

An estimated 96 per cent of staff members at the space agency would be furloughed, according to the agency’s 2018 shutdown plan. In a statement, a NASA spokeswoman, Megan Powers, said: “In previous shutdowns, we have maintained personnel to support the International Space Station and its crew, and currently operating space missions, such as satellites, landers, rovers, to ensure they’re safe and secure.”

© 2018 The New York Times News Service