Budget

Government shuts down as CR fails in the Senate

• By Adam Mazmanian
• Jan 20, 2018

The federal government is headed for a temporary shutdown.

In a late-evening vote on Jan. 19, the Republican majority in the Senate couldn't muster the 60 votes needed to end debate and move to pass a month-long continuing resolution that passed the House of Representatives the day before.

A few Democrats broke ranks to support the cloture motion and a few Republicans crossed party lines in opposition.

A White House statement from Press Secretary Sarah Sanders placed blame on the Democrats. "We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands. This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators," she said.

Following the failed cloture vote, the Senate passed a procedural motion that gives Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) the opportunity to hold another vote on a temporary funding bill to keep the government open until Feb. 8.

Leaders in the House of Representatives have instructed members to be ready for possible votes Jan. 20.

Still, agencies are preparing to shutter operations, taking their cues from the Office of Management and Budget, individual agency guidance and Office of Personnel Management policy.

At a Jan. 19 White House press conference, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney promised a "very different" shutdown from the 2013 lapse in appropriations under the Obama administration.

"The Obama administration weaponized the shutdown in 2013," Mulvaney said. "What they didn't tell you was that they did not encourage agencies to use carry-forward funds, funds that they were sitting on, nor did they encourage agencies to use transfer authority."

"They could have made the shutdown in 2013 much less impactful, but they chose to make it worse," he continued. "The only conclusion I can draw is they did so for political purposes. So it will look different this time around."

Pressed for specifics by reporters, Mulvaney said, "Parks will be open this time, and they weren't before.… The way it works is that the parks are open, but the -- especially if the services are provided by third parties -- but things like the trash won't get picked up. Fannie and Freddie will be open. The Post Office will be open. The [Transportation Security Administration] will be open."

On an evening press call with senior administration officials, a few more examples were noted. The Merchant Marine Academy, operated by the Department of Transportation will remain open; it had been closed during the 2013 shutdown. The Department of Labor is looking to keep mine safety inspectors on the job, where before that activity was suspended. However, the emphasis remained on highly visible and symbolic operations – the monuments on the National Mall and the entrances to national parks.

One thing that will stay the same, Mulvaney noted, is that active duty service members, border patrol officers and others performing essential duties will continue to work, but they won't be getting paid.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is looking a little more essential than it was in 2013. An OMB official also told FCW that cybersecurity will be a priority in the event of a shutdown. "Agencies will ensure that staff working on the maintenance and safeguarding of IT systems from cybersecurity threats will continue to work during a lapse, and that systems continue to receive critical updates," the official said in an email.

This was borne out in a 16-page guidance document released Jan. 19 by OMB, which noted that, "generally, agency cybersecurity functions are excepted functions as these functions are necessary to avoid imminent threat to federal property." The guidance also recommended keeping systems up and running if shutting them down for the duration of a lapse in appropriations presents a cybersecurity risk.

Agencies are advised to post notices on public-facing websites where services are diminished as a result of a shutdown.

The rules of the road for CIOs and others involved in agency tech vary by department, and not all are deemed essential to agency operations. Some CIO operations have revolving funds or two-year appropriations from which to draw. The Department of Health and Human Services specified that 536 staffers would stay on in the event of a shutdown to protect computer data.

Additionally, the National Programs and Protection Directorate, the cybersecurity wing of the Department of Homeland Security, will be open for business, with 1,944 employees out of 3,538 retained during a lapse in appropriations.

Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel at the Professional Services Council, a trade group for contractors, welcomed the new emphasis on cybersecurity.

"Cyber protection was not as high a priority in 2013, and they're absolutely right to recognize the health, life and safety exception that exists in the [shutdown] procedures, and to add cybersecurity to that list," Chvotkin told FCW.

Administration officials told reporters that OMB and agency budgeting for 2019 is not an "excepted activity." Only agencies that have funding to support those efforts can continue, although it was stressed that this and other things could change depending on the duration of a shutdown.

Pay and Furloughs

Feds will be paid on Jan. 26 for work performed through Jan. 19, the end of the current pay period. Officials stressed that Mulvaney supports back pay for furloughed feds.