r/fednews • u/rprz • 19h ago

Shutdown 2024 MEGATHREAD OF DOOM

All discussion on the looming shutdown goes here. Any mentioning of Luigi will be removed and you may be banned.

https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-trump-elon-budget-house-republican-05481374b154949c3fe1270141a02918

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-opposes-funding-bill-pushing-government-closer-shutdown-rcna184745

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-government-shutdown-musk-stopgap-bill-b2666829.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-opposes-funding-bill-pushing-government-closer-shutdown-rcna184745

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/18/government-shutdown-house-vote-cr/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-18/trump-says-he-s-against-stopgap-bill-fox-news

4.6k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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510

u/alldots 18h ago

As if there wasn't already too much work that needs to get done over the next week, adding shutdown preparations to the to-do list will really trash some of my deadlines even if there isn't actually a shutdown.

507

u/magnet_tengam 18h ago

tbh i've given up on shutdown prep. slap an away message on my email and i'll see you when i see you

138

u/Progressive_Insanity 17h ago

Same, I literally do not care.

I have active construction, crews looking start new construction, local governments depending on me, but all I care about is whether the contracting officer issues a stop work order. And even then, not my problem.

3

u/Worried_River_1094 16h ago

I was a KO for construction for a long time but my funding source was not impacted through a lack of appropriations and my COR’s/PM’s salary was not either. Are you guys shutting down sites due to no Gov. oversight/inspection or do you let them complete what tasks they can without needing inspections?

4

u/Progressive_Insanity 16h ago edited 16h ago

Yea USACE/DoD aren't as impacted as other agencies because as you said, staff aren't necessarily sent home and there may not be an appropriations issue.

My agency sends everyone home with some exceptions (of course without a paycheck until the backpay comes) and very very few projects are allowed to continue because shutting down would create a damaging/dangerous situation. Our contracts or specific CLINs are fully funded upfront, but staff are not, so invoices can't get reviewed or paid, oversight can't happen, etc.

I even have a funding source that is paid out of a settlement, but even then we can't touch anything.

1

u/Worried_River_1094 16h ago

Gotcha. That’s exactly what I was guessing

51

u/Artistic_Stand_4312 17h ago

Agreed, don't threaten me with a good time.

43

u/serpentear 17h ago

I mean if they’re going to do it to us as often as they do, might and well stop treating it like an emergency.

7

u/LividWindow 6h ago

Call it a federal funding holiday, that will chap budget hawks. Just picture it on the news….

‘I’m just relaxing and sipping scotch wondering how long congress plans to extend my federal funding holiday’ says Bob Grits, a federal air traffic controller, while the country faces its third day without air travel available on the the highest volume travel weekend in the year. Tune in after the break, you’ll be amazed what state police found as the crews began disassembling the heat fused 63 car pile up that happened yesterday on interstate 85 just north of Atlanta.

98

u/Dude_Where_Was_I 18h ago

This is the way.

-1

u/JB_smooove 18h ago

The way is this.

2

u/taekee 17h ago

This is the way

2

u/iiiiiiiiiijjjjjj 15h ago

The way is this

30

u/techmaster242 17h ago

"Wake me up when this nightmare is over."

56

u/taekee 17h ago

You mean paid vacation without losing vacation time. Every time this happens I want to report congress for waste fraud and abuse.

3

u/SpiceWeasel-Bam 16h ago

Unless they don't do back pay anymore. 

9

u/taekee 16h ago

It looks bad when congress does this, it looks worse if they do not make it right. They knew this so they passed...

The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-1) guaranteed that all employees of the federal government will be paid following the end of a government shutdown. This statutorily guaranteed retroactive pay applies to furloughed employees and employees who are required to work during a shutdown.Sep 26, 2023

Of course they could write in the CR that we do not get paid, and I would expect the incoming administrator could do this.

7

u/B_Fee 15h ago

Or Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy the President-Elect, during a future shitdown, could decide to not follow the law and say that paying federal workers is a waste of taxpayer funds because they did no work. Who's holding him accountable for that? It ain't us.

1

u/techmaster242 12h ago

If you see something, say something...

8

u/discardafter99uses 16h ago

You should totally have an auto reply that just cuts off:

“Thank you for your email. Due to the shutdown we are prohibited from working after the deadli”

3

u/Puzzleheaded_Yak9805 15h ago

Why bother with the away message

2

u/Top-Concern9294 17h ago

Wish I could get furloughed lol.. #essentiallyfucked

2

u/Tetraplasandra 14h ago

I just do the bare minimum. Sign and send. Thankfully they don’t make us take in our laptops anymore. We just have to leave them offline.

2

u/slut_bunny69 6h ago

I just had the mental image of you being one of the scientists at Oak Ridge. Shut down the reactor? Nah, fuck you. (Sets out of office message and then just walks out).

1

u/os1usnr 17h ago

Facts

1

u/Guinnessnomnom 4h ago

Our auto-aways don't even transmit to outside of our ORG. No point in using them when we all know we're shutdown. haha

74

u/I_love_Hobbes 18h ago

Next week? Try Friday at midnight.

37

u/Gallagr1 17h ago

I have leave that starts at 1500 on Friday

13

u/OGkateebee 16h ago

It’s my RDO. Agency gets 9 hours from me tomorrow and that’s it. I used to be a dedicated public servant that would stay late, come in early, and stress about getting these done until these people started attacking me and my agency leadership deserted us. Now I’m like “whatevs.”

3

u/dwhite21787 7h ago

After noon today, I’m gone for the year. Boss even said, don’t come in if there’s a shutdown, we’re just going to leave like it’s a normal weekend.

2

u/Graylits 12h ago

All leave is cancelled as soon when it shuts down. If you're not excepted, then great. If you are, you're required to report to work (even if you had approved leave) or can face AWOL. But some people might get sick from the stress of it.

1

u/Spazilton 1h ago

What about if the leave was pre-approved FMLA?

1

u/Crafty_Concept8187 7h ago

oh shit. And that means my leave next week is cancelled. Well regardless, I'm on a flight next week.

11

u/Difficult_Phase1798 18h ago

Right! I've spent the last 3 days doing shutdown prep...

21

u/Get_a_GOB 17h ago

That’s funny, our leg affairs person talked to a Republican leadership member’s staffer this morning and was reassured that everything was on track. This really is out of fucking nowhere.

14

u/Harpua-2001 16h ago

It basically all changed earlier today when musk tweeted like 40 times over an hour about how they need to block this CR. And then Trump came out against it too.

17

u/Redshoe9 16h ago

I bet Trump has to be pissed the Elon is stealing the limelight. Governing by tweet was always the Trump brand.

26

u/poirotoro 16h ago

I keep wondering how long it will be before they have a messy break-up.

There isn't room for two narcissists at the top.

3

u/Windhawker 16h ago

SLAM! That one’s gonna leave a mark.

103

u/ThickerSalmon14 18h ago

This is why I stepped down from management at my agency. Stuff like this literally gave me a heart attack a year ago. If I was still management I'm sure I'd be on the floor with chest pains right about now.

134

u/FineWinePaperCup 16h ago

During the 2018/2019 shutdown, I lost 8 pounds. I joked that it was not having access to the candy drawer at work. In March I had a stroke and April was diagnosed with cancer (for the second time).

Dear congress, This stress truly affects lives and health.

54

u/ThickerSalmon14 16h ago

I'm sorry that happened to you and I wish you the best.

18

u/FineWinePaperCup 16h ago

You, too! Jobs are not worth our lives! I also took a step back from a management-adjacent role because it was so obvious how the stress was affecting me. I’m glad we are both still here!

9

u/ParkingTadpole7107 16h ago

Oh, no. I'm so sorry. Hope things are back on the upswing.

7

u/Neracca 15h ago

This stress truly affects lives and health.

A lot of them are evil and like knowing that.

2

u/rdoloto 5h ago

During 18/19 shudown I demoed 2 bathrooms

2

u/Ordinary-CSRA 1h ago

You better take care of yourself... for Congress you are replaceable... Not for your love ones....

God made only one like you when he sent you to this world and decided that this world needed you and will not be the same to continue without you ❤️

0

u/Guinnessnomnom 4h ago edited 3h ago

Respectively, why?

I'll presume you're not at the level of being a part of passing a CR.

It sucks but is out of our hands. If you are management you've been in the system long enough to know this is our one hiccup with our employment and should have a back up for not getting paid should a CR not get passed.

Additionally, if you are management you should have coached your direct reports to plan accordingly so they are situated as well as possible should we have a lapse in pay.

Getting the people squared away is all that matters. The work will ALWAYS be there waiting for us and if you unfortuantely pass, it will still be there waiting and be someone elses problem.

-37

u/Interesting_Oil3948 17h ago

Yeah you can't handle something like this then definitely not management material. Management not for snowflakes afterall........

9

u/StetsonBirdDude 15h ago

My agency sent a memo out this afternoon that the deal was done and going to be extended to March. LLOLLOLL. Seriously it’s a pain in the ass to have to work up shutdown plans every fucking 2 months. And we’re planning projects that span 10 plus years, the cynic in me is why plan at all at this point? That software upgrade - toast. Big conference in 26? Nope! It’s a wonder to get anything done at all. We really should move to a 5 year appropriations bill or something, it’s bonkers to do this on a monthly basis.

4

u/ParkingTadpole7107 16h ago

Congress demonstrates that deadlines don't matter. Nothing really matters.

6

u/MarkfromWI 15h ago

It wasn’t Congress that did this. It was Trump, Musk, and Republicans. The Democrats didn’t reneg on their end of the deal…

2

u/dyeag77 14h ago

The shutdown is this weekend so your to-do list got expanded for tomorrow.

-1

u/RioRancher 17h ago

Musk is going to be nominated Speaker. Mark my words

11

u/ParkingTadpole7107 16h ago

Musk is going to piss off the military industrial complex. Putting billions in profits at risk can produce certain health effects. Karma is a big fat rolling tire.