Oregon isn’t feeling the government shutdown just yet
Many of the 28,000 Oregonians who are federal employees will continue with regular hours
State employment officials say it’s too soon to know how many federal workers in Oregon are being furloughed without pay during the partial government shutdown.
Wednesday marked the first full business day in which government agencies faced impacts resulting from a budget impasse between Congress and President Donald Trump.
No resolution — maybe until Jan. 3
Washington all but gave up Thursday on resolving the partial government shutdown before the New Year, as lawmakers were told not to expect votes this week and signs of negotiations were nonexistent. On Capitol Hill, the hallways were quiet and leadership offices were shuttered. At the White House, President Trump retreated from public view and tweeted recriminations at Democrats for blocking funding for his border wall.
Behind the scenes, Democratic aides were working to draft legislation to reopen the government once they take over the House on Jan. 3.
Thursday was day 6 of the third partial government shutdown of the year. Barring a surprise resolution, it will become the second-longest of the decade when Congress convenes next week to open its 116th session in a new divided Washington. An estimated 350,000 workers are on unpaid furlough.
— The Washington Post
National parks such as Crater Lake and Mount Rainier have limited access, but for the most part, the public isn’t yet feeling much of a pinch from the partial shutdown.
Forest Service snowshoe tours leaving from Mt. Bachelor have been suspended, according to the ski area’s website.
The impact on federal employees in Oregon, meanwhile, remains unclear. State employment economist Nick Beleiciks said roughly 28,000 Oregonians work for the federal government, and that many of them will continue with regular hours.
“A lot of these workers are going to be deemed essential and will not be furloughed,” Beleiciks said.
The 28,000 number includes the 7,000 or so U.S. Postal Service employees in Oregon, whose work is not affected because the service is an independent agency that does not rely on taxpayer funding for daily operation.
About 1,350 federal employees work in the three counties in Central Oregon, and that number tends to fall slightly in the winter months, according to Damon Runberg, regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department.
Roughly 300 of those employees work for the U.S. Forest Service in the Deschutes National Forest, spokeswoman Jean Nelson-Dean said.
Congress has funded most government operations through September. The shutdown affects nine federal departments: Treasury; Agriculture; Homeland Security; Interior; State; Housing and Urban Development; Transportation; Commerce; and Justice.
A fact sheet released Dec. 12 by the Democratic staff of the Senate Appropriations Committee says more than 380,000 federal employees nationwide will be furloughed. Those hardest hit include the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Commerce and NASA. Most workers for the National Park Service and the Forest Service also face furloughs.
The park and forest services did not immediately respond to requests for information regarding furlough numbers in Oregon.
The Forest Service, in a contingency plan released earlier this month, estimated it would take five days to complete shutdown procedures.
Lindsi Leahy, a deputy director in the state Employment Department’s unemployment insurance division, said “a few” federal workers in Oregon have filed unemployment claims in recent days, and that claims could increase if the shutdown continues into 2019. The Employment Department’s website includes federal shutdown-related information for workers wondering about eligibility for unemployment benefits.
In addition to furloughed workers, federal employees including law enforcement officers, Department of Homeland Security employees and Forest Service firefighters are working without pay during the shutdown. Those employees would be expected to receive retroactive pay after a funding deal is reached.
Broader impacts of a lengthy shutdown would become clearer over the next few weeks. For example, federal courts in Oregon and elsewhere will be able to operate through Jan. 11, thanks to fees and other funds not dependent on a new appropriation. But if a shutdown continues past that point, individual courts would need to decide how much staffing is needed to support court operations.
Oregon has resources to continue federally funded health programs during the shutdown, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. WIC clinics are open for business as usual, Oregon Health Authority spokesman Jonathan Modie said.
On Friday, Gov. Kate Brown issued a statement on the shutdown in which she said the state can manage the “cash flow impacts” of a two- to three-week shutdown, and that officials in Oregon are working to develop contingency plans in case the shutdown continues past then.
Trump: Most furloughed workers are Democrats
President Donald Trump said most federal employees who are not receiving paychecks because of the U.S. government shutdown are Democrats, after characterizing them as supporters of the wall and partial government shutdown only days ago.
“Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?” Trump tweeted Thursday morning, the sixth day of a partial government shutdown that hinges on Trump’s demand for $5 billion for building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump’s tweet comes after he told reporters Tuesday the furloughed federal workers are sympathetic to the shutdown because they support the wall.
Trump offered no evidence to support his tweet.
