Was reading that if the US government does shutdown the processing of passports will not occur during the shutdown. Same with processing Visas. Edwin
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ, USA
1035 posts
...and that will probably be the least of our problems!
Posted by
PA
2842 posts
Hmmm - now what wold that mean for airport screenings... the prior shutdown was well before 9-11
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
Govt. workers that are classified as "essential", still have to report to work during a shutdown.....they just won't get paid:(
Posted by
Columbia, SC
989 posts
Every year there's the threat of a shut down....and every year something happens at the 11th hour.......I don't think the sky is falling...yet.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32324 posts
Edwin, Is the government planning to shut down? Usually in a strike situation, limited service is provided by management personnel. I've suffered through a couple of strikes where our group was deemed an "essential service", so we had to work with no pay. Not a nice experience! Cheers!
Posted by
PA
2842 posts
I was a specialist at Social Security before I retired, and was there during the 95 shut-down. SSA was somehow was classified "essential" (which we were not), which meant that we not only worked without pay but we could not even take any leave...for any reason...since we were essential. Ultimately we were made whole, and people who ignored the "essential" directive were also paid. As were the people who were not at work, which made the whole shutdown pointless. I lost a winter vacation... but they did have to reinstate the leave I would have taken, which was over the limit and was "use or lose", because they declared an emergency that made me lose it.
But let's make this even worse. The bulk of the government was not at work, and not only were they made whole in pay, but if they had "use or lose" leave, that leave was reinstated...because they were not at work with the opportunity to use it...and not be at work and be on paid vacation...is it any wonder we are in the mess we are in?
Posted by
OP
Coppell, TX USA
284 posts
Just relaying some information from a new article - http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/20/20110220shutdown0220.html that indicates that during the previous shutdown -
".. During that time, museums and national parks were closed and applications for visas and passports went unprocessed. ..." that travelers might want to take into consideration as what might happen again if the government shuts down again. Edwin