Clinton: Prepare for the government shutdown

Here we go again. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent out a memo to all State Department employees late on Wednesday directing them to prepare for a government shutdown.

State Department employees will find out as early as Friday, and no later than Monday, if they are on the list of those to be furloughed if Congress doesn’t pass the fiscal 2012 omnibus spending bill, or at least a short-term spending extension, by midnight on Friday. If an employee is not notified by their manager that they are on the furlough list, they should still come to work on Monday, Clinton wrote.

"While Congress continues to consider an omnibus appropriations bill and extensions to the payroll tax cut and Unemployment Insurance benefits, there is no guarantee that it will finish all of its work before our current appropriation expires on Friday at midnight," reads the Clinton memo. "Given the realities of the calendar, however, prudent management requires that we plan for an orderly shutdown should Congress fail to complete its work or to pass another short-term continuing resolution that would give it more time to take up these important matters."

Extensive preparation accompanied the last time government shut down in April, including designating "essential" employees that would not be furloughed.

So who is an essential employee? Well, each agency gets to decide for itself, but the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines them as personnel who fit any of the following categories: 1) performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property; 2) performing minimal activities as necessary to execute an orderly suspension of agency operations related to non-excepted activities; or 3) performing certain other types of excepted work. That broad definition gives each agency a lot of wiggle room to determine which of its employees would work through the shutdown.

Guess who won’t be furloughed? Members of Congress, the president, and presidential appointees, according to the Congressional Research Service’s (CRS) primer on how government shutdowns work.

Clinton’s memo explains that the State Department can use some of its money from "multi-year program funds" to keep people in their jobs for a few days if the spigot runs dry.

"We want to emphasize that, in general, it will not be necessary to furlough Department employees early next week as a consequence of the expiration of the current continuing resolution at midnight December 16, 2011," Clinton wrote. "Any exceptions to this will be communicated to impacted employees."

Of course, Congress could just pass the funding bills and save everybody a lot of grief.

Read Clinton’s full memo after the jump:

December 14, 2011

Memorandum for All Department of State Employees 

While Congress continues to consider an omnibus appropriations bill and extensions to the payroll tax cut and Unemployment Insurance benefits, there is no guarantee that it will finish all of its work before our current appropriation expires on Friday at midnight.  The President has urged the members of Congress to complete the work they were elected to do and has made clear that there is no excuse for Congress to leave on vacation before all of its work is complete.  The President has also made clear that he does not want a government shutdown.   Given the realities of the calendar, however, prudent management requires that we plan for an orderly shutdown should Congress fail to complete its work or to pass another short-term continuing resolution that would give it more time to take up these important matters. 

Both the President and I know that the uncertainty of the current situation puts federal employees in a difficult position, and we are very much aware that a shutdown would impose hardships on many employees as well as the groups and individuals our agency serves.  As we approach the expiration of the current appropriation, the Department’s leadership team  will provide you with updated information as soon as it becomes available.  For now, I want to provide you with information on how the potential funding lapse- should it occur – would impact State Department employees.

If funding lapses, the affected Federal departments and agencies would not be permitted to incur further financial obligations for activities funded by annual appropriations, except those related to the orderly suspension of operations or performance of excepted activities.  This means that some employees would be furloughed and unable to work.  Our contingency planning for the potential funding lapse includes determining which agency functions and employees are excepted from a furlough.  However, the Department has a number of "multi-year" funds available that could support continued operations for a limited time.  Therefore, if a new funding bill is not enacted Friday, all State Department employees are expected to report to work as usual on their next scheduled work day unless they hear otherwise from their manager.  

Should it become necessary to implement our contingency plans, you will receive informal notice from your manager no later than Friday, December 16 and formal notice no later than Monday, December 19 regarding the designation of your position for potential furlough. 

Again, we want to emphasize that, in general, it will not be necessary to furlough Department employees early next week as a consequence of the expiration of the current continuing resolution at midnight December 16, 2011.  Any exceptions to this will be communicated to impacted employees.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website, www.opm.gov/furlough2011, addresses some of the questions that I know must be on your mind.  As needed, OPM will provide additional pertinent information for federal employees as the week progresses.  And the Department’s leadership team will do our very best to provide clear information about the status of events as the week progresses.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of all of you, our Department  provides critical services to the American public.  Your contributions touch people’s lives in so many significant ways, and I want you to know how deeply I appreciate your dedication and your expertise.  Thank you for your continued service to the Department and the Nation.