Disclaimer: The thoughts and feelings expressed in this post are solely the author's and do not represent the official position of any government agency.
When the government shuts down, it doesn't just stop. We who work for the government must actually do the work of shutting it down. That means that we all go into the office today, despite the lapse in funding, to put up the appropriate out of office messages on our phones and emails, to file continuance motions, and generally to tie up all the loose ends so that everything will be semi-okay while we are out for however long we are out. A skeletal crew is left in charge of each office to address emergencies, but we're literally, by statute, not allowed to do any work during the shutdown once we've completed our "orderly shutdown."
So I did that, the orderly shutdown. It was confusing -- I think partly because no one expected the government to really shutdown. People weren't as prepared as we were in 2013. And it was stressful. We had to request continuances of matters set for today, tomorrow, the rest of the week. We didn't know what would happen. I still don't know whether the continuance motion I filed was granted or denied. But we had to do it and then leave and just kind of hope that everything turned out okay, and that the attorney in charge didn't find that she needed to be in three different courts at once.
After I orderly shut down my business, I came home and walked the dog. I was very tired. And hungry. Orderly shutdowns are exhausting, at least mentally.
My fellow federal worker husband arrived home soon after I did, and we had lunch. Then we folded all that laundry that I washed yesterday. Then we waited. (Oh, and ate some Milk Duds.) I tried to have a nap, but all of the lawn equipment operating in our neighborhood made that difficult, though not impossible, because I did sleep a little, dreaming of leaf blowers (the best kind of nap, noted my lovely spouse, ruefully).
The Boy, by the way, went to school today, as it is a Monday.
As of mid-afternoon, the Senate had reached a deal to fund the government through February 8th (so, you know, about two and a half weeks), with the promise to the Democrats that DACA legislation would be taken up by mid-February (so, you know, not within the period between now and when funding would run out again on February 8th).
That doesn't seems like much of a deal to me, but, on the other hand, I think that the Senate Democrats have made the political calculus that shutting the government down over immigration is not as popular as they may have thought. While it's true that a majority of Americans want something done to help the children brought to this country outside of proper immigration procedures, a majority of Americans also do not believe that it is worth shutting the government down. In a midterm election year, the Senate Democrats may have determined that the political risk to themselves of continuing the shutdown is just too great. So I surmise that they probably accepted the promise of a vote on DACA "soon," versus continued negative headlines.
That's all just conjecture on my part, of course, but it stands to reason . . . .
Around 4:00 p.m. Central, the very, very short CR passed the Senate and moved to the House for consideration. Since it's not exactly the same bill they sent to the Senate Thursday/Friday of last week, they have to vote on the new deal.
I actually turned on C-SPAN to watch some of the debate in the House (wondering what in the world, really, there was to debate). Here's my summary:
Republican: Your fault.
Democrat: Nuh-uh.
Republican: Uh-huh!
Democrat: Nuh-uh!
Republican: Uh-huh-infinitity!
Democrat: Nuh-uh-infinity-plus-one!
They fortunately completed this very important discussion before the day was over -- it took less than an hour, really -- and the bill was sent to the President for signature.
The orderly shutdown today was, mercifully, mostly unneeded, and we should be back to work in earnest tomorrow.
Until next time, folks! (Say . . . mid-February? 😁)
Monday, January 22, 2018
Shutdown Diary, January 2018: Day 2, in which I do a LOT of laundry
Disclaimer: The thoughts and feelings expressed in this post are solely the author's and do not represent the official position of any government agency.
For some reason, The Boy was really wound up last night after the lock in. He didn't get to sleep until after 11:46 last night. I am that precise because that is the last time I remember seeing on my iPhone. I wonder if there was a lot of sugar at the lock in . . . .
Today, hubby and I woke up around 7:00 and had breakfast. I walked the dog. And my partner in life and I had coffee and toast with peanut butter for him and yogurt and granola for me as we watched the latest episode of This Old House.
By the way, in the last shutdown diary, we had a cat, Roxy. Roxy died in 2016. He was diabetic and had many skin and allergy problems. Poor guy finally succumbed. He was an old guy, though, and lived a full life. But it was still sad when we lost him.
The dog is a new addition. He's a puppy, actually, 11 weeks old. He's a cavapoo and, so far, he seems really cute and smart. He needs a lot of training, of course, but I think that once he's gone to puppy kindergarten (that is, Basic Obedience 1, 2, and 3, and then the Tricks class), he's be a really fun dog. He's fun right now, of course, but a handful. He is a lot more work than I thought, and the first few days of adjustment were difficult -- I won't lie -- but we've all started to settle in nicely. His name is Schoeff, pronounced "Chef." (I know, I know -- It's a weirdly spelled name that no one will get right when they look at it. It was the name his breeder gave him and we liked it so we kept it. It apparently means "lay assessor at court" or "juror" in German. Fitting name for the dog of two lawyers, and their boy.) Schoeff likes This Old House and gets upset if you pause it.
So, anyway, it's Sunday. A day at home is a typical day, just like yesterday, except we check the news a bit more often. And a typical day for me means laundry! We tend to have between 4 and 6 loads of laundry a week. How can three people generate so much laundry? And how much laundry do other, larger families generate? How do you do it?
And the status of the shutdown as of the publication of this blog entry? No deal. We are still close. Next vote on a budget is scheduled for noon Eastern tomorrow.
Status is decidedly quo. The newspapers say that they're going to try to get a deal by the end of tomorrow. And though that sounds hopeful, I'm not holding my breath.
See you for Day 2. Night-night.
For some reason, The Boy was really wound up last night after the lock in. He didn't get to sleep until after 11:46 last night. I am that precise because that is the last time I remember seeing on my iPhone. I wonder if there was a lot of sugar at the lock in . . . .
Today, hubby and I woke up around 7:00 and had breakfast. I walked the dog. And my partner in life and I had coffee and toast with peanut butter for him and yogurt and granola for me as we watched the latest episode of This Old House.
By the way, in the last shutdown diary, we had a cat, Roxy. Roxy died in 2016. He was diabetic and had many skin and allergy problems. Poor guy finally succumbed. He was an old guy, though, and lived a full life. But it was still sad when we lost him.
The dog is a new addition. He's a puppy, actually, 11 weeks old. He's a cavapoo and, so far, he seems really cute and smart. He needs a lot of training, of course, but I think that once he's gone to puppy kindergarten (that is, Basic Obedience 1, 2, and 3, and then the Tricks class), he's be a really fun dog. He's fun right now, of course, but a handful. He is a lot more work than I thought, and the first few days of adjustment were difficult -- I won't lie -- but we've all started to settle in nicely. His name is Schoeff, pronounced "Chef." (I know, I know -- It's a weirdly spelled name that no one will get right when they look at it. It was the name his breeder gave him and we liked it so we kept it. It apparently means "lay assessor at court" or "juror" in German. Fitting name for the dog of two lawyers, and their boy.) Schoeff likes This Old House and gets upset if you pause it.
So, anyway, it's Sunday. A day at home is a typical day, just like yesterday, except we check the news a bit more often. And a typical day for me means laundry! We tend to have between 4 and 6 loads of laundry a week. How can three people generate so much laundry? And how much laundry do other, larger families generate? How do you do it?
And the status of the shutdown as of the publication of this blog entry? No deal. We are still close. Next vote on a budget is scheduled for noon Eastern tomorrow.
Status is decidedly quo. The newspapers say that they're going to try to get a deal by the end of tomorrow. And though that sounds hopeful, I'm not holding my breath.
See you for Day 2. Night-night.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Shutdown Diary, January 2018: Day 1 - What does it mean for the government to shut down?
Disclaimer: The thoughts and feelings expressed in this post are solely the author's and do not represent the official position of any government agency.
First, a lot of people have been asking me about the effect of the shutdown is on basic services that they enjoy from the Federal government. Here's a link to a good article in the Washington Post, a Q&A covering the basics.
First, a lot of people have been asking me about the effect of the shutdown is on basic services that they enjoy from the Federal government. Here's a link to a good article in the Washington Post, a Q&A covering the basics.
Now, what did I do the first day of the government shutdown? Mostly, it was a typical Saturday. Walked the dog (several times). The Boy had a piano lesson followed by his girl-BFF's birthday party. We gave the dog a bath. The boy did some homework. And in the evening, The Boy went to a lock-in and hubby and I had a date night.
But in between all of that, we watched the news to see what Congress was up to. As of the publication of this entry, the headlines are as follows:
Neither Party's Leaders Give an Inch on First Day of Shutdown
-- Washington Post
So . . . a productive day, then. 😐
Lawmakers Play Shut Down Blame Game
-- The New York Times
Always important to establish whose fault a problem is before you solve the problem. 😑
Pink-Clad Multitude Gathers Downtown for 2nd Annual Dallas Women's March
-- The Dallas Morning News
"Shutdown? What shutdown? There's a shutdown? Of what? God, I hope they haven't closed down Southfork. I haven't been there yet, even though I've lived here almost 20 years." (But, you know, well done, ladies, on trumping the national news.)
Thousands Flock Downtown For Women's March: 'We Have to Keep Standing Up'
-- Chicago Sun Times
The Central Time Zone is feminist.
Head of Popular Girl Band Leads N. Korean Team to S. Korea
-- The Houston Chronicle
Never mind. 🏂
Why Does Congress Still Get Paychecks During a Shutdown? It's in the Constitution.
-- The Washington Times
Sigh.
Photo Shows 'Ivy League Killer' Pretending to Crush Friend's Skull
-- New York Post
On a lighter note . . . . 😬
So, there you have it. Nothing happened in Congress today. They want to point fingers at each other, but sincerely, they should circle up because, from my perspective, all side deserve a helping of recrimination pie. Their central job is to fund the government. If they can't figure out how to work together to do that, then, well . . . that's not good for our country. Not just bad for the Republicans or bad for the Democrats. Bad for Americans. Because a Congress that cannot even work together to accomplish its central function is a sick body. And this is the body that governs us. Fingers crossed that tomorrow will be filled with something other than a multibillion dollar game of "I know you are, but what am I?" Ladies and gentlemen of the United States Congress, I'm not interested in whose fault it is. I am interested in how you fix it. So do that thing.
Nighty-night.
Neither Party's Leaders Give an Inch on First Day of Shutdown
-- Washington Post
So . . . a productive day, then. 😐
Lawmakers Play Shut Down Blame Game
-- The New York Times
Always important to establish whose fault a problem is before you solve the problem. 😑
Pink-Clad Multitude Gathers Downtown for 2nd Annual Dallas Women's March
-- The Dallas Morning News
"Shutdown? What shutdown? There's a shutdown? Of what? God, I hope they haven't closed down Southfork. I haven't been there yet, even though I've lived here almost 20 years." (But, you know, well done, ladies, on trumping the national news.)
Thousands Flock Downtown For Women's March: 'We Have to Keep Standing Up'
-- Chicago Sun Times
The Central Time Zone is feminist.
Head of Popular Girl Band Leads N. Korean Team to S. Korea
-- The Houston Chronicle
Never mind. 🏂
Why Does Congress Still Get Paychecks During a Shutdown? It's in the Constitution.
-- The Washington Times
Sigh.
Photo Shows 'Ivy League Killer' Pretending to Crush Friend's Skull
-- New York Post
On a lighter note . . . . 😬
So, there you have it. Nothing happened in Congress today. They want to point fingers at each other, but sincerely, they should circle up because, from my perspective, all side deserve a helping of recrimination pie. Their central job is to fund the government. If they can't figure out how to work together to do that, then, well . . . that's not good for our country. Not just bad for the Republicans or bad for the Democrats. Bad for Americans. Because a Congress that cannot even work together to accomplish its central function is a sick body. And this is the body that governs us. Fingers crossed that tomorrow will be filled with something other than a multibillion dollar game of "I know you are, but what am I?" Ladies and gentlemen of the United States Congress, I'm not interested in whose fault it is. I am interested in how you fix it. So do that thing.
Nighty-night.
Friday, January 19, 2018
Shutdown Diary, January 2018 -- Preface
Disclaimer: The thoughts and feelings expressed in this post are solely the author's and do not represent the official position of any government agency.
Well, it's a little early yet to start this, I suppose.
It's only 11:20 p.m. Eastern time. The Senate has forty minutes to decide whether we're shut or open for business.
C-SPAN shows 50 "yes" and 48 "no." Five Democrats have voted "yes," among them the new Senator from Alabama, Doug Jones. (The other Democrats are Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin, and Claire McCaskill.)
But four Republicans have voted "no." They are Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, Mike Lee and Rand Paul. John McCain is not present (out of town recovering from cancer treatments, presumably). And the Speaker of the House, Mitch McConnell, has also not voted. He is likely not going to vote this round because if they are unsuccessful, he can bring it back to a vote on a procedural rule of some sort. So he's probably not going to vote in order to preserve that option for himself.
They need 60 votes in favor of the continuing resolution (the "CR") to limit debate. This is known as "cloture." It's the filibuster killer. If they don't get the 60 (3/5 of the Senate), they can't close debate on the CR. And, thus, no actual vote on the bill.
Or, more precisely, in the words of the U.S. Senate Glossary (yes, that's an actual thing): Cloture is "[t]he only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes."
They're not getting cloture before Midnight Eastern. Or, at least, I don't think that they will.
So tomorrow's Saturday. I wouldn't go to work anyway and I rarely work on the weekends anyway. (I established something called "boundaries" when I left the law firm and have attempted to maintain clear lines of demarcation between "work time" and "home time." Weekends, unless absolutely necessary, are always home time.)
But the difference this weekend is that it's not merely that I wouldn't choose to work, but, if it were one of those absolutely necessary weekend (which it is, thankfully, not), I would not be permitted to work. I have not been deemed essential -- that is, excepted from the furlough -- which means that as of midnight Eastern, if there is no funding via the CR or otherwise, I am not allowed to work, even if I wanted to.
So there.
Time now, 11:36 p.m. Eastern. Twenty-four minutes to go.
C-SPAN shows no movement.
So here we are. It's been roughly four years and three months since the last shutdown. Do you remember why we shut down last time? It was the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare. This time, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA. I make no observations of comments about the legitimacy of the government shutdown in either case.
But I can tell you this: It's not a vacation for me and those like me. It's day upon day of uncertainty, wondering whether we will be paid when we are brought back to work. Because Congress doesn't have to pay us. They have to vote to give us our back pay. In 2013, they did. But they don't have to, and so this year, just like in 2013, we'll wait and get a little more anxious every day.
11:54 p.m. Eastern. The Washington Post says that Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell will be speaking from the Senate floor.
I see nothing yet.
Well, I think I'll sign off and walk the dog before I go to bed.
See you on the flip side for Day 1, unless, of course, they get something done in the next five minutes (11:55 p.m. Eastern).
Well, it's a little early yet to start this, I suppose.
It's only 11:20 p.m. Eastern time. The Senate has forty minutes to decide whether we're shut or open for business.
C-SPAN shows 50 "yes" and 48 "no." Five Democrats have voted "yes," among them the new Senator from Alabama, Doug Jones. (The other Democrats are Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin, and Claire McCaskill.)
But four Republicans have voted "no." They are Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, Mike Lee and Rand Paul. John McCain is not present (out of town recovering from cancer treatments, presumably). And the Speaker of the House, Mitch McConnell, has also not voted. He is likely not going to vote this round because if they are unsuccessful, he can bring it back to a vote on a procedural rule of some sort. So he's probably not going to vote in order to preserve that option for himself.
They need 60 votes in favor of the continuing resolution (the "CR") to limit debate. This is known as "cloture." It's the filibuster killer. If they don't get the 60 (3/5 of the Senate), they can't close debate on the CR. And, thus, no actual vote on the bill.
Or, more precisely, in the words of the U.S. Senate Glossary (yes, that's an actual thing): Cloture is "[t]he only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes."
They're not getting cloture before Midnight Eastern. Or, at least, I don't think that they will.
So tomorrow's Saturday. I wouldn't go to work anyway and I rarely work on the weekends anyway. (I established something called "boundaries" when I left the law firm and have attempted to maintain clear lines of demarcation between "work time" and "home time." Weekends, unless absolutely necessary, are always home time.)
But the difference this weekend is that it's not merely that I wouldn't choose to work, but, if it were one of those absolutely necessary weekend (which it is, thankfully, not), I would not be permitted to work. I have not been deemed essential -- that is, excepted from the furlough -- which means that as of midnight Eastern, if there is no funding via the CR or otherwise, I am not allowed to work, even if I wanted to.
So there.
Time now, 11:36 p.m. Eastern. Twenty-four minutes to go.
C-SPAN shows no movement.
So here we are. It's been roughly four years and three months since the last shutdown. Do you remember why we shut down last time? It was the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare. This time, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA. I make no observations of comments about the legitimacy of the government shutdown in either case.
But I can tell you this: It's not a vacation for me and those like me. It's day upon day of uncertainty, wondering whether we will be paid when we are brought back to work. Because Congress doesn't have to pay us. They have to vote to give us our back pay. In 2013, they did. But they don't have to, and so this year, just like in 2013, we'll wait and get a little more anxious every day.
11:54 p.m. Eastern. The Washington Post says that Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell will be speaking from the Senate floor.
I see nothing yet.
Well, I think I'll sign off and walk the dog before I go to bed.
See you on the flip side for Day 1, unless, of course, they get something done in the next five minutes (11:55 p.m. Eastern).
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