I'm now furloughed for 27 days with no end in sight. Instead of developing courses, improving the EF Scale, thinking about the next generation of warning services, I'm at home growing increasingly concerned about how to weather this crisis. I do have other things to keep me busy. I'm still a meteorologist, and thus plan to keep my skills active, just through other means, such as this blog site. I'm also Chair of our local Scout Pack and the Pinewood Derby is coming up, along with other activities. I decided to see what working out 5 days a week does for me; I'm already noticing significant improvement. I help with my wife's proposal writing, and my son's homework. But I miss my other family at the Warning Decision Training Division, and I especially miss the interactions of my colleagues.
I'm beginning to see the potential of a war of attrition as federal employees lose hope that the government is a safe place to have a rewarding career. I'm also seeing the level of demoralization increase as people see how indifferent the administration is to the welfare of its employees. How can anyone working in the shutdown agencies not be demoralized when the president retweets whacko editorials calling for federal employees to just quit? I certainly hope that somebody cares and values the work that we do.
I'm beginning to see the potential of a war of attrition as federal employees lose hope that the government is a safe place to have a rewarding career. I'm also seeing the level of demoralization increase as people see how indifferent the administration is to the welfare of its employees. How can anyone working in the shutdown agencies not be demoralized when the president retweets whacko editorials calling for federal employees to just quit? I certainly hope that somebody cares and values the work that we do.
To this, I answer that people do care. I know how highly the emergency management community cares about the National Weather Service. They do every time the National Weather Service works with emergency management to prepare for big weather events like fires, blizzards, severe weather and hurricanes. I'm sure anyone looking to take their business to the next level cares that the Securities and Exchange Commission works. I'm sure the flying public cares that there are no delays in airport security and that air traffic controllers aren't distracted by how they're going to pay their bills. So far I've talked about the front face of the government, those employees that have to report to work in a shutdown.
They may be what the media talks about or what the public sees on a daily basis, but they are supported by a foundation of government employees that provide everything from research, administrative support, training, and more. They are the ones that are furloughed. Without them, everything will crumble. For my part, I'm one of those that provide training the National Weather Service forecasters. The forecasters consider what I do to be absolutely essential, and therefore I consider my job essential to the success of the National Weather Service. It's not just me, however. I work with an entire division devoted to training the NWS. We have cooperative institute research associates and contractors. None of the federal employees can do our job without their help. They're simply not expendable, like some commodity. They are professionals that become indispensable. As this shutdown continues, I fear that the foundation will start to give away as employees lose hope, or have to find other means to make ends meet.
For this reason, I wrote my senators expressing my grave concerns about the lack of interest in our welfare at the top. I wrote from my perspective. There are millions of other perspectives that our elected officials need to hear about. My letter is on top, followed by the responses of Senators Lankford and Inhofe below. The responses are a bit canned and they differ in content. But I hope you find some encouragement and if anything, some motivation to write your representatives and keep writing.
Dear Senator Lankford and Senator Inhofe:
My name is James LaDue and I work for the National Weather Service's (NWS) Warning Decision Training Division. My division's work is to develop courses and training on warning decision making to all forecasters in the National Weather Service. The types of warnings for which we conduct training include those related to severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, winter storms, flooding, and other hazards. The courses that we teach provides an important foundation for the success of the NWS in providing warnings to protect life and property.
The job I do is not just work but a passion of mine. I am the kind of person that looks forward to pushing the latest science into the operations of the NWS. Today my colleagues and I are unable to carry out our training because of the shutdown.
Now I weigh in on this shutdown with this letter as a private citizen. With no hope for a budget agreement any time soon, this shutdown is likely to become the longest in history. Consequently, this shutdown will likely produce larger and larger negative outcomes for our country as it continues to drag onward. Our division cannot educate incoming NWS employees on warning decision making until the shutdown is over. This is already causing a delay on the date in which our students will be trained to issue warnings. Even among the trained NWS staff, I'm already hearing of the stress and uncertainty impacting forecast and warning operations in the NWS. There is only so much time left before we will start to see these impacts badly affect the communities they serve.
Some of that is because many of my colleagues only have so much savings. And the rest is likely from a loss of feeling secure. My new federal employee colleagues are living with minimal savings or in high cost of living areas and cannot go on without pay after missing even a couple checks. Others have had events in their lives that have dwindled their savings and are now living closer to the edge of insolvency. All of us are shouldering the burden of increasing stress, not knowing when payment will come. We know sacrifice for country but practical matters of needing funds will begin to dominate everyone’s concerns. While creditors may show some leniency, they also have only so much patience.
While these issues come with every shutdown, this one has been accompanied with an excessive encroachment of politics into the federal workforce. I’m concerned about the posturing on both sides of the issues surrounding the budget impasse, especially the recent attempts to politicize federal employees. I don’t want to call out specific incidents because I think you’ve heard them too but I can if prompted. Like all federal employees, I work especially hard to make sure that my activities are as apolitical as possible. We are taught that every year when we must renew our ethics training. The politicization of federal employees by politicians to further their causes only serves to threaten our culture of ethical service and it must stop. To do so I implore the Senate to participate with the House to end this shutdown now so that the politicians do not attempt to further damage the apolitical nature of the federal workforce. Leave the politicians’ work to stay with the politicians by keeping the government open.
If we are to restore proper perspective of putting country before party, I implore the Senate to work with other branches of government to modify how appropriations are done so that federal employees and the people they serve don't suffer the consequences of budget disagreements. We are an embarrassment to ourselves and to every other country. No other country I'm aware of shuts down their government because of a budget impasse. I'm sure there are options to allow the government to continue functioning while budget disagreements are resolved. Needless to say, I've heard quite a few interesting options that I would love to share, though I'm sure you've heard of them. However, I'm sure you and your colleagues have reasonable options that can be considered in an amendment to the appropriations process.
Response by Senator Inhofe first
Dear Mr. LaDue:
Thank you for your correspondence regarding the recent government shutdown. As your voice in Washington, I appreciate being made aware of your views.
The President sent his budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2019 to Congress on February 12, 2018. This past June 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed all twelve appropriations bills out of committee in a bipartisan manner. Of these twelve, nine have passed out of the Senate, and five have been signed into law by President Trump. These five enacted bills comprise over 75 percent of our government’s total discretionary funding for FY19. As a result, federal agencies like the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have been funded and will continue to operate without interruption.
The remaining seven funding measures that have not yet been signed into law were operating under a short-term continuing resolution until December 21, 2018. Due to dire security concerns on the U.S. southern border, the President made a commitment to increase border security funding and build a barrier at the border. Following the December 21 funding expiration, President Trump chose not to sign the pending funding measures because of their insufficient funding for border security. And, unfortunately, due to Democrats’ unwillingness to negotiate with our President, legislation appropriating funding for the federal agencies that fall within the jurisdiction of these seven funding measures expired with the continuing resolution on December 21, 2018.
The current shutdown is a burden on many Americans who faithfully serve our nation, and I am disappointed Democratic leaders have thus far not taken seriously the issue of border security. However, I am hopeful Democratic leaders reverse this obstruction and we reopen the government. As a member of Congress, one of my primary responsibilities is to ensure the safety of my fellow Americans. As such, I support President Trump’s effort to fully fund border security.
Proposals are currently circulating within Congress that would reopen the government but fail to providefull funding for a border wall—these simply defer a problem that we can no longer avoid. Our borders desperately need security. Insufficient resources allow thousands of immigrants to illegally enter the U.S. each year, and many of these illegal immigrants are involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other crimes. Democrats, many of whom have supported satisfactory border funding in the past, are choosing to prolong the government shutdown by refusing to acknowledge the importance of this funding, which is in the best interest of all Americans. While I will continue to work to see that the federal government is reopened as soon as possible, I am committed to ensuring our southern border is secure.
Furloughed workers who may need assistance during this time can visit the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) website here for guidance regarding how to operate under a funding lapse. Additionally, Congress recently passed S.24 - the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which ensures that backpay is provided for federal employees affected by the shutdown and allows employees required to work during the shutdown to use leave time. President Trump has agreed to sign this legislation.
Thank you, again, for contacting me regarding this issue. I look forward to supporting a solution that both provides border security funding and reopens important government agencies. If you are interested in keeping up with my work in the Senate, I encourage you to sign up for my online newsletter by visiting: https://inhofe.senate.gov/newsletter/sign-up
Sincerely,
James M. Inhofe
United States Senator
Response by Senator Lankford
January 15, 2019 Dear Mr. James LaDue,
Thank you for contacting me about the federal government shutdown. I appreciate your involvement in such an important national issue.
As you are aware, the federal government is currently partially shut down, a carryover from the end of last year. The U.S. Constitution states that before federal tax dollars may be expended, Congress must first enact a law giving permission for those funds to be spent. Congress is required to fund the federal government with the passage of 12 appropriations bills by the end of fiscal year, which runs through September 30th.
Over the past 12 months, Congress agreed on five of the 12 appropriations bills to fund most of the government including Defense, Veterans, Education, Health, Energy, and more. However, there were major disputes with the remaining 7 bills, most of which centered around the issue of border security.
The President requested, months ago, more federal funding for additional border security, including constructing more fencing and using additional technology along parts of the southern border. Our nation already has more than 700 miles of fencing, but some of it is old and in need of repair. Our office has been notified by border agents that there has been a significant decrease in the number of illegal immigrant entries since new fencing, constructed or replaced using $1.7 billion toward border security from the previous appropriations, has been placed in some areas. Border security has not always been and should not be a partisan issue. I support securing our southern border by adding technology, staff, and fencing where needed. National security should remain a top priority for Congress, and border security is a necessary part of it.
During a federal government shutdown, the entire government does not completely shut down. Essential services, national security, transportation, and safety functions continue to operate. Programs that are funded with mandatory funds (eg. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) are not affected by a government shutdown. But there is tremendous cost financially and personally when the government shuts down since every agency without funding must cease new operations, workers are furloughed, contracts have to pause, grants stop, etc. Again, in this case about 75 percent of the government is funded, but the other 25 percent are feeling the consequences like not receiving their paychecks. I have spoken to many great federal workers and contractors that are frustrated and financially hurting during this shutdown. This is unacceptable.
I have worked to end the shutdown politics and to propose a requirement that places the greatest burden on Congress and the White House when annual funding has not been completed. In addition, I’ve worked on a separate proposal that would keep the government open when Congress and the President cannot reach a funding agreement by the fiscal deadline. To force compromise and agreement on funding, it would include a series of weekly 5 percent cuts to congressional and White house funding. This is designed to dramatically ramp up pressure on decision makers to reach a funding agreement. This concept holds federal operations harmless while forcing Washington to do its job and carry out its constitutional responsibilities to fund federal operations.
I believe that if Congress is unable to meet the appropriations deadline that the government should automatically and temporarily be funded at the previous year's levels. Executive branch cabinet members should not travel and Members of Congress must remain in D.C. until all negotiations are finished. The American people and federal employees should not be held hostage because Congress did not properly do its job. This bipartisan proposal will encourage congressional accountability.
I have also worked to develop major budget process reforms for Congress. We still operate under the 1974 Budget Act, which was created just after Watergate. It has always been a bulky process and has only worked as designed a total of 4 out of 44 years since it was enacted. Our three-step budgeting process and 12 appropriations bills process is not used anywhere else in the world.
We should reduce the number of appropriations bills to pass every two years to no more than four bills. We should mandate floor debate for greater transparency. We should conduct more oversight hearings, and we should completely rework the Congressional Budget Office process. Currently, I have about five other Members who are actively working with me on this budget redesign. I will continue to work with Members from both sides of the aisle to get the changes we need to fix this broken process that favors the status quo and spending more. I recently spoke on the Senate floor to discuss my proposals to prevent government shutdowns.
Congress can also consider a continuing resolution (CR), which continues last year's funding into the current fiscal year and kicks the can of responsibility further down the road. A CR is better than a government shutdown, but it is also a terrible way to fund the government. Simply copying last year’s priorities into this year gives no oversight, no opportunity for change, and no certainty. Also, new contracts cannot start under a CR since there is no certainty for the future of any program. Congress has used 178 CRs to fund the government since 1977. Congress has not followed the correct annual process to fund the federal government since fiscal year 1995. While not every CR is bad, it is certainly not as good as individual spending bills that have more input and greater transparency. A little sunlight is a very good disinfectant for government waste.
As I continue to serve on the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Finance Committee, I will fight for responsible federal spending and a long-term solution to our national debt. I will also continue my work as a member of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as we work to fix the nation's broken immigration system.
I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact me again or sign up for my e-newsletter via my website at www.lankford.senate.gov for more information about my work in the U.S. Senate for all of us.
In God We Trust,  James Lankford United States Senator |
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