If Congress fails to pass the continuing resolution to fund the government by the end of Friday, millions of federal workers could enter the holiday without paychecks. They could be fired or asked to work without pay.
That includes some members of the military and other critical government workers, such as TSA agents and air traffic controllers, just as the holiday travel frenzy begins.
Some contractors with the federal government are not guaranteed back pay like federal employees, which can have devastating consequences for workers living paycheck to paycheck.
Employees at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) are preparing for a shutdown, and a union leader is calling on Congress to fund the government. BOP employees are considered essential, so they will have to work regardless of whether they are paid.
“The impending shutdown threatens the basic financial security of our dedicated law enforcement personnel,” said Jon Zumkehr, president of AFGE Local 4070.
Zumkehr said during the last long-term shutdown in 2019, many employees were forced to find other forms of employment to make ends meet.
Despite efforts to avert the shutdown, plans are still being made if no deal is reached by Friday night’s deadline. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has already been in contact with agencies about their plans in the event of a government shutdown, an OMB official told ABC News. The official said the initial communication with agencies about their shutdown plans happened on Friday.
This communication is part of OMB’s procedure required by law, which states that one week before the appropriations bills expire, the office must “communicate with senior agency officials to remind agencies of their responsibility to review and update orderly shutdown plans” and “share a draft communication template for notifying staff of grant status.”
A TSA employee works behind Plexiglas shields at Ronald Reagan National Airport, July 22, 2020.
Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images, FILE
The procedure also says the White House office must continue to communicate with agencies ahead of any anticipated shutdown. The policy says that about two business days before the anticipated lapse of funding, “agencies should notify employees of the status of funding.”
ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott spoke with a federal contractor when a shutdown loomed last year, who said the 35-day government shutdown in 2018 took her months to recover financially.
Lawmakers in Congress continue to negotiate a deal that will keep the government funded. House Speaker Steve Scalise told ABC News on Wednesday that lawmakers had a “productive” late-night meeting in the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“We’re going to continue to work through the night into the morning to get an agreement that we can bring to the floor,” Scalise said, adding that he hoped the House could “get it resolved” on Thursday.
US Capitol Building in Washington, DC
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Johnson’s original plan called for extending government spending at current levels until March and added other provisions such as relief for disaster victims and farmers and a pay raise for members of Congress. That plan is in jeopardy as President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have pushed for Republicans not to accept that deal.
Trump has pressed Republicans to deal with the debt limit before he takes office, saying that if they don’t, “he’s going to have to ‘fight ’til the end’ with the Democrats.”
In a joint statement Wednesday afternoon, Trump and Vice President JD Vance urged Congress to “pass a streamlined spending bill that does not [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Democrats anything they want.”
What will happen to US military members and DOD civilians if there is a government shutdown?
If there is a government shutdown, U.S. military operations abroad and domestically will continue, but U.S. service members will not be paid during that time.
Defense Department civilians will be instructed to report to their offices Monday morning and will have four hours to set off their out-of-office emails and voicemails, then leave their phones and laptops behind so they will be unable to work from at home during the shutdown. However, a large number of DOD civilians will be “excepted” or deemed essential and must go to work, but without pay.
Both U.S. military personnel and DOD civilians are guaranteed back pay after the shutdown ends under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019.
Contractors working for the Pentagon will continue to work if their contract is funded through the current year, but if a contractor is not under an already funded contract, he or she will not be paid during the shutdown.
ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Sarah Kolinovsky, Luke Barr, Luis Martinez and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
