What gets shut out when government shuts down

By MIKE TOLSONHOUSTON CHRONICLE

April 6, 2011, 11:15PM

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The potential shutdown of the federal government this week will have the greatest effect on federal employees, of course. All of those deemed non-essential will be furloughed - perhaps more than 800,000 - though there is not, as yet, a precise definition of who or what is essential.

A secretary for the Small Business Administration certainly would not be considered essential in this context. But what about the technicians who operate the SBA website?

Agencies have been grappling with those decisions in recent weeks. Each agency is coming up with its own plan on how to deal with a shutdown and who needs to remain working.

Those plans have not been made public. The last shutdowns, in 1995 and 1996, give some guidance but not a complete template, as they pre-dated much of the technology that is now taken for granted, as well as one entire agency - the Department of Homeland Security.

Who will keep working?

Those involved in public safety will stay on the job. This includes border agents, customs officers, criminal investigators, flight controllers, baggage screeners and so forth. Food inspectors would keep inspecting and federal workers who provide medical care would keep working. The armed forces would continue their missions, though soldiers might not be paid until the government is up and running again. Most civilian employees at the Department of Defense would be furloughed.

Many Veterans Administration facilities would remain open and those receiving benefits payments would keep getting them, even though new claims would be suspended and some offices unstaffed; in the last shutdown, 70 percent of VA staff remained on the job. The U.S. Postal Service would stay open because it is not, strictly speaking, a government agency, and it has its own revenue stream. Federal prisons would be staffed.

Some federal courts may remain open at least temporarily because of revenue generated by filing fees, but they might not be available to hear cases, as key employees would not be present. Those federal employees involved in protecting the monetary and banking system also would stay on the job. NASA employees monitoring the space station would not be furloughed, though it is unclear how a shutdown might affect preparations for the next space shuttle launch.

How would the public be most visibly affected?

The great majority of government operations would cease, which means that federal parks and museums would be closed, as would the National Zoo (though animals still would be fed). Shuttered, too, would be passport offices around the country. The SBA would not be open to accept loan applications. The Federal Housing Administration would not be available to guarantee loans.

The Internal Revenue service would have to suspend tax audits - some would call that good news - but it also would halt the paper processing of tax refunds; taxpayers could continue to file electronically and receive refunds if direct deposit was requested.

The State Department has said emergency services provided to Americans overseas would remain available but that consular and embassy staffing would be reduced, meaning that visa requests from foreigners would not be processed. The National Institutes of Health would delay the start of new medical trials but continue those already under way.

How would Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid be affected?

Not severely, at least for a while. Checks would still go out, but new applications and claims would not be processed. In the last shutdown, checks kept going out because the program doesn't need Congress to authorize funds for it each year. Instead, Social Security benefits are paid from the program's trust fund. As new claims pile up, some employees could be called back to avoid an overwhelming backlog, as was done 15 years ago.

Recipients of Medicare disability payments should continue to be paid, but payments to doctors, hospitals and other medical facilities could be delayed. Processing of new applications would be suspended.

Medicaid, a joint program with the states, should see no interruption in the flow of money, federal officials have said. Again, however, new applicants may have to wait for approval.

Would furloughed employees be paid for the time off?

Not necessarily. That decision is up to Congress. In the past, employees received back pay for the undesired furlough.

mike.tolson@chron.com