At midnight, Friday, December 28, 2018, EPA joined the partial government shutdown still in effect. Acting Administrator Wheeler notified EPA employees on Thursday, December 27, to be prepared for shutdown procedures to begin if an appropriations bill had not passed by the midnight deadline. Members of Congress were initially slated to return to Capitol Hill on Thursday to continue funding negotiations; however, the House announced Thursday that there will be no votes this week, and the Senate isn’t slated to meet for votes until January 2nd. For EPA that means over 13,000 employees will be furloughed according to the agency’s contingency plan, with national security and emergency staff being the only employees to remain. Shutdowns negatively affect the morale of EPA employees, and all federal employees, due to the uncertainty involved. They are disruptive, hurt productivity, and are a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars. In response to the current shutdown, EPN has created a fact sheet to explain the implications.
Note: The fact sheet has been updated.
Read full fact sheet: Effects of a Government Shutdown at EPA