Some SC workers could be staying home from work if federal government shuts down

Thousands of South Carolinians who work for the federal government could be forced to stay home Monday if Congress is unable to agree on a spending bill by midnight Friday.

Visitors to S.C. attractions, including Congaree National Park and Fort Sumter, also could be turned away this weekend.

By early Thursday, Congress had not yet passed a short-term spending bill to pay for the federal government to operate.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, placed blame on the Republican-controlled U.S. House, Senate and White House.

“The responsibility to govern rests squarely on their shoulders,” Clyburn said on the House floor Thursday. “Democrats stand ready to keep government open, but neither Speaker (Paul) Ryan nor (U.S. Senate Majority) Leader (Mitch) McConnell seem interested in finding bipartisan solutions.”

President Donald Trump urged the U.S. House to pass a spending bill Thursday night.

“So important for our country – our Military needs it!” he tweeted.

A shutdown could force 700 full-time technicians for the S.C. National Guard and about 350 civilian employees at Sumter’s Shaw Air Force Base to stay home – as happened when the government shut down in 2013.

“We’re just waiting and hoping that Congress will get their act together and pass a dadgum budget,” said former Sumter mayor Stephen Creech, who is on the state’s Military Base Task Force. “When you start shutting down governments and service people don’t come to work, it slows down operations of the base. It slows down training, and it can slow down flying. It can slow down everything.”

A shutdown won’t affect air traffic control, Medicare, veterans’ health care and other essential government programs. The Social Security Administration, for instance, still would send out benefit payments and take applications. And the U.S. Postal Service would deliver the mail.

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport would not be affected.

So far, the S.C. National Guard has not not decided which, if any, workers would be affected by a shutdown, Lt. Col. Cindi King said Thursday.

“We are waiting on guidance from the Department of Defense,” she said. “As soon as we get guidance from DOD, we can make those determinations on what impacts it will have here.”

It was not immediately clear whether Congaree National Park or other federal parks would stay open, either.

The Interior Department said Thursday that national parks and other public lands would remain as accessible as possible to visitors if there is a shutdown, The Associated Press reported.

War memorials and open air parks should be open to visitors, spokesman Heather Swifts said, adding, where possible, many national parks and wildlife refuges will be open with limited access. However, campgrounds, full-service restrooms and concessions will not operate, she said.

The prospect of a shutdown clearly frustrates some Midlands leaders.

“Someone needs to close the door and resolve this issue,” former Sumter mayor Creech said. “Turn off the camera lights, turn off the TV and ... work this out. We’ve got to have a budget.”

However, there could be a small upside for Midlands federal workers.

If a shutdown does happen, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden could decide Friday whether to offer free admission to all federal workers.

The last federal shutdown was in 2013 and lasted 16 days.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Some SC workers could be staying home from work if federal government shuts down."