In 1996 Tom Daschle called the last shut down a premeditated conspiracy to impact small businesses and shut down the economy. Today we want to know the hard facts. Perhaps there is something we can learn especially from contracting officers, and program managers about what to expect from a Government Shut down.
What will a Government Shut down do to Small Businesses, after two years of a historic recession?
Tell us so we can help tell the Congress and the Senate.
Keith Moore
202-449-7705.
MY OPINION!
So much Depends on how long the shutdown lasts….
On site contractors will be affected first. And then when the billing time comes up the impact, unless corrected by congress, will be especially hard on the small contractors.
It is unfortunate that our leaders can’t even work a budget, and that Federal employees that I’m friends with are somehow to blame for our economy. Secondly, my business and many other will be negatively affected…can’t come at a worse time for many.
I feel Congress works against the economy at times.
Open Government TV has been asked by the White House to formulate questions for an interview that we can ask them on the potential government shutdown and its impact on small businesses.
Please send to us your comments and questions for a possible interview at 3:00pm.
http://www.opengovtv.com
from Huntsville Al CBS television outlet
Thousands of Tennessee Valley workers may be staying home next week if Congress fails to agree on a budget deal, with many of them likely to miss a paycheck.
Workers in the private sector such as defense contractors could take a significant hit, with several local firms relying on revenues that largely come from the federal government. The threat of a looming government shutdown has put companies like Huntsville’s Belzon Inc. on edge. The shutdown will begin Friday evening unless Congress reaches a deal before then.
“We just don’t have the kind of cash reserves to pay employees when there’s no revenue,” said Belzon CEO Ron Klein. Belzon is a defense contractor with 50 employees that does the bulk of their work with the U.S. Army Aviation Command. All of those contracts would be shelved indefinitely if a shutdown occurs, putting workers and their families in limbo.
“We will start losing money on day one,” said Klein. “I imagine people are already reassessing vacation plans, what spending they have in mind. If I would buy a new car or any major purchase, I would put that off until this is resolved.”
Unlike federal government employees, private sector defense workers would not be recompensated for time lost during a shutdown.
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Small Businesses and it looks like large businesses and intergovernmental agencies, according to comments and updates, will undergo significant drama joining what appears to be government agencies who are now mounting law suits.
See Below:
The nation’s largest federal employee union sued the Obama administration to get information about how its members at various agencies will be treated if there’s a government shutdown.
The American Federation of Government Employees union filed its suit March 30 against the White House Office of Management and Budget, four weeks after filing a Freedom of Information Act request that went unanswered. It sought expedited copies of any shutdown contingency plans submitted to OMB by federal agencies, including any records describing or listing employees or positions that would be required to work without pay during a shutdown.
A stopgap measure funding the federal government expires on Friday, and a partial government shutdown is expected if Congress fails to extend the measure or pass legislation funding the government through the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year, which began last Oct. 1.
Federal agencies can require certain employees to work during a shutdown by labeling them as essential, and the union’s president, John Gage, said he’s concerned these workers might not be paid for their time. Mr. Gage, who delivered a speech at the National Press Club in Washington Tuesday, said he also needs to know how federal programs and services would be affected.
“It’s not something that should be cavalierly handled. If a shutdown goes on, there will be federal employees who are going to be hurt financially,” he said. “They should know before the eve of a shutdown what is happening and it should be done orderly and not in a last-minute rush.”
An OMB official said the administration has taken “unprecedented steps” to improve government transparency and accountability, and shutdown planning “is no exception.”
“We still believe that there is an opportunity to avoid a costly government shutdown,” the official said, adding that “Plans for shutdown operations, which are governed by the law, remain in development and are pre-decisional at this time.”
Mr. Gage said he also told Attorney General Eric Holder in a March 28 letter that requiring federal employees to work without getting paid violates the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He likewise sent a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, asking how long “essential employees” can be required to work during a shutdown without being paid.
AFGE represents 600,000 federal and Washington, D.C., workers at more than 70 agencies.