Trump's shutdown will be a bummer for holiday travelers, birders, and 800,000 federal workers
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he's convinced there won't a be partial government shutdown over Christmas. Which is nice, but at this point seems to be a bit of a delusion. Particularly when the most that's coming out of House Republicans is in eTrump's shutdown will be a bummer for holiday travelers, birders, and 800,000 federal workers
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he's convinced there won't a be partial government shutdown over Christmas. Which is nice, but at this point seems to be a bit of a delusion. Particularly when the most that's coming out of House Republicans is in essence, «eh, no big deal.» So in the event that McConnell is full of bullshit (who, Mitch?) here's what will be hit. + Agriculture – deals with farm programs, Food and Drug Administration, food safety and inspection services, WIC, and SNAP (food stamps) [The Farm Bill passed last week authorizes, but does not fund, spending] + Commerce, Justice, Science – funds the Justice Department, FBI, Commerce Department, National Weather Service, NASA, and other agencies. + Financial Services – This bill funds the IRS, Treasury Department, FCC, Small Business Administration, the federal courts, the government of the District of Columbia, and more. + Homeland Security – This is the bill which would contain money for the President’s border wall. The House never voted on it, because the GOP didn’t have the votes for the $5 billion in wall funding. The bill funds the Border Patrol, immigration and customs operations, Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, and other agencies. + Interior – This bill has money for Wildfire prevention, the EPA, BLM (Bureau of Land Management), the National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife, Smithsonian museums and more. + State & Foreign Operations – This bill funds the State Department, and foreign aid programs. Quick, guess how much money the feds spend on this funding bill, as part of an over $4 trillion budget. Time’s up. If you said $47 billion, you win. + Transportation and Housing – This bill funds the Department of Transportation, FAA, Amtrak, and federal housing programs at HUD. That's more than 800,000 federal employees. As always, essential employees in those agencies will still be on the job, about half of the total group. Just not getting paid to be on the job. Merry Christmas to them! Despite the fact that it's Justice and State and Homeland Security that will be without funding, anyone involved in law enforcement will still be on the job. That's the FBI and Border patrol and Coast Guard and TSA, «about 53,000 TSA workers, 54,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and officers and 42,000 Coast Guard employees.» Won't that be fun for all the holiday travelers! They get to deal with already-surly TSA employees who are working for free! Since Interior is among the departments included, National Parks and everything worth visiting as a tourist in Washington, D.C., would be shuttered. Sorry, Christmas Bird Counters, you'll be shut out of the parks. However, 5,000 Forest Service firefighters and 3,600 National Weather Service employees will still have to show up to work. All because Trump has a wall fetish. Read more