Federal Agencies Back at Work; Delays Possible as Backlog Cleared
Most federal employees furloughed by the shutdown returned to work Oct. 17, after President Barack Obama signed a bill in the early morning hours to fund the federal government. The Office of Personnel Management said employees are expected to return to work, although it also told agencies to be flexible. Agency websites and databases were restored throughout the morning of Oct. 17. Some websites were slow to come back up on the morning after work resumed -- the Foreign-Trade Zones Board website still redirects to a message about the shutdown as of press time, for example. But most websites, including the International Trade Commission’s online Harmonized Tariff Schedule, are back online. Many agencies anticipate delays as they work through backlogs that accumulated during the shutdown.
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The bill signed by President Obama early on Oct. 17 reopens the federal government through Jan. 15, 2014 (here). The legislation also raises the debt ceiling through Feb. 7. The Treasury Department previously said the U.S. would hit the debt ceiling on Oct. 17.
“The President signed a continuing resolution that brings employees back to work and reopens many government functions,” said the Office of Management and Budget in a memo to the heads of federal agencies (here). “All employees who were on furlough due to the absence of appropriations may now return to work.” The Office of Personnel Management said federal employees are expected to return to work on their next scheduled work day, including Oct. 17, but it said agencies should be flexible as their employees return to work (here). "Agencies are strongly encouraged to use all available workplace flexibilities to ensure a smooth transition back to work for employees (e.g. telework, work schedule flexibilities, and excused absence for hardship situations)," OPM said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is once again accepting and processing license applications, commodity classification requests, advisory opinion requests, and other filings, its website said. “Given the 16 day shutdown, which included the October 15 startup date for Export Control Reform filings, we anticipate that more than the usual number of filings will occur,” said a BIS statement (here) that was corroborated by BIS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Matthew Borman. “We and our sister agencies will do our best to process them as quickly as possible but normal processing times likely will be exceeded for a while,” the agency statement said.
Other agencies are also up and running. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is operating at full capacity today, according to a USTR spokeswoman. And a spokesman for the International Trade Administration within the Commerce Department said all of its employees are expected to be at work Oct. 17. “The Department’s position is that all employees are expected to return to work today. We are prepared to use the flexibilities provided to us to ease employee’s transition back to work.”
Employees of the Environmental Protection Agency returning to work will have to deal with a backlog of notices of arrival filed by pesticide importers, who were unable to get their shipments cleared during the shutdown. "The government shutdown caused an unfortunate disruption in vital EPA services that protect people’s health and the environment," said an EPA spokeswoman. "EPA employees will work to tackle the three-week backlog on pesticide imports and other services as quickly as possible, however delays are expected in this process."
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service also anticipates it will have to work through a backlog of work. "Now that we’re back, our first priority at APHIS is to reconnect with each other and our many customers whose business activities were put on hold while the government was closed," said a message from APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea (here). "As much as we would like to, we can’t make up for almost 3 weeks of missed work in just a day or two," he said. An important priority for the agency will be working with importers and exporters to process permit requests and health certificates, said Shea. "We simply ask for your patience as we work to address these critical needs as quickly as possible."