Shutdown Poised to Break Record as Furlough Notices, Delays Mount

The government shutdown is on track to become the longest in history, surpassing the 35-day mark in the 2018-2019 shutdown. It will break the record if the shutdown persists through Tuesday evening. 

Pay Mentions in Furlough Letters

With no sign of an immediate end, although Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says he’s “optimistic” the shutdown may end this week, furloughed workers at federal agencies are receiving their second furlough notices, indicating that their furloughs are extended until the end of November. 

The notices from some agencies, including the General Services Administration (GSA) and Interior Department, no longer contained language assuring employees that back pay is guaranteed when the shutdown is over. 

NASA told Federal News Network that retroactive pay is not guaranteed without an act of Congress and that unemployment benefits may have to be repaid. 

“Please note that if you receive retroactive pay at the conclusion of the shutdown furlough, and you received Unemployment Compensation for the shutdown furlough, you will be required to repay the Unemployment Compensation funds,” NASAWatch reported.

At least 670,000 federal employees are on furlough, while another 730,000 are working on the job without pay, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has argued that back pay is not guaranteed, saying that any legislation Congress passes to end the shut down must explicitly contain a provision authorizing back pay. 

SNAP Partial Payment

One issue pressuring Congress is the expiration of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Trump Administration says it will pay half of SNAP benefits in November. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it will use over $4.6 billion from a contingency fund to pay November benefits. 

This after a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the administration to pay full November benefits or partial benefits if the agency opts to draw on SNAP’s contingency fund. 

"It will take several weeks to execute partial payments,” posted Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, adding that when the government reopens, “FULL benefits can get to families without delay.”

Flight Delays Mount

Also, flight delays are mounting as the shutdown enters its second month. 

Major airports from coast to coast including Newark, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas, and San Francisco all saw significant delays as the month of November began.  

In San Francisco alone on Monday, November 3, 112 flights were delayed and one was canceled at SFO. That followed 272 delays and six cancellations on Sunday, and 179 delays on Saturday. 

The Federal Aviation Administration warned of a surge of air traffic controllers calling out sick as the shutdown drags on. 

“After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under immense stress and fatigue,” the FAA said in a post. “The shutdown must end so that these controllers receive the pay they’ve earned and travelers can avoid further disruptions and delays.”