Government shutdown could delay Everett’s sailors’ paychecks, among other impacts

EVERETT — Navy sailors likely will have to work without pay if a shutdown of the federal government occurs.

Anyone filing tax returns on paper, as opposed to electronically, would not receive refunds from the IRS during the shutdown. Walk-in tax service centers would be closed.

No on

e will be able to use campgrounds or visitor centers in the national forests or other federal parks that require staffing.

Passport applications would be delayed. People won’t be able get loans through the Small Business Administration. A condo buyer will not be able to get a mortgage through the Federal Housing Administration.

These are just a few of the services that will be affected if Congress can’t come to an agreement on a budget by midnight Friday, according to a memo from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Many core government services will continue. People still will get their mail. Veterans will receive health care, borders will be patrolled and air traffic will be controlled. Meat and poultry would be inspected. People still would get their unemployment and Social Security checks.

There’s some uncertainty, though.

For example, it’s not clear if people would be able to apply for Medicare or Social Security benefits. The Social Security office at 8625 Evergreen Way in Everett provides those services on a walk-in basis. It also issues new cards, troubleshoots lost checks and helps people with information they need to apply for other programs, such as low-income housing.

If these services are deemed nonessential, the Everett office would be closed and its 36 employees would have to take unpaid furloughs, said Carrie Kitchin-Kofahl, a claims representative at the office. She’s also executive vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees union, local 3937.

Another Social Security office in Lynnwood employs 14 people, Kitchin-Kofahl said.

She and several other employees held signs and waved at passing cars during their lunch hour on Wednesday in an informational picket about the potential shutdown.

“What we’re asking people to do is ask their congressmen and senators to fully fund Social Security so we can work and stay open,” Kitchin-Kofahl said.

Regarding the Navy, uniformed personnel would be deemed essential and would keep working, said Sean Hughes, a spokesman for Navy Region Northwest, based in Bangor on the Hood Canal.

Some civilian Naval employees would keep working and others would not, he said.

“Because this is a big government thing, we’re kind of looking up, waiting for the answer to come down,” Hughes said. “We have to wait for the trigger before we can give employee notifications.”

Military personnel would not receive checks during the shutdown, according to the Office of Management and Budget. The employees would be paid retroactively if and when Congress and the president eventually approve funds, based on a separate statement by the Office of Personnel Management.

Whether furloughed employees eventually would be paid for the time they didn’t work would be up to Congress, the statement said.

It’s also not clear if disabled veterans will receive their checks or if new claims can be processed, said Matt McAlvanah, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

During the last government shutdown 15 years ago federal veterans offices were closed and new claims were stalled, he said.

The 21-day shutdown, the longest in American history, had many other effects. Toxic waste cleanup at more than 600 sites was suspended, resulting in 2,400 Superfund workers being sent home, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.

Work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases reportedly was suspended; delinquent child-support cases were delayed, and the hiring of more than 400 border patrol agents was cancelled.

Closure of parks, museums and monuments reportedly led to the loss of 7 million visitors, according to the report.

A government shutdown would cost the economy $8 billion a week, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, said Wednesday in a call-in with constituents.

“I’m still relatively optimistic that we won’t get to that point,” he said.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.