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(Reuters) – After weeks of talks between President Donald Trump and congressional leaders, parts of the US government ceased on Saturday after negotiators stalled an agreement to keep the government in full. funded.
A security fence is placed in front of the US Capitol on the first day of a partial federal closure in Washington (United States) on December 22, 2018. REUTERS / Joshua Roberts
L & # 39; stake funding a wall along the country's southern border with Mexico. The House of Representatives passed a $ 5 billion bill that Trump demanded for a wall, but the Senate provided much less money for border security.
The partial closure will affect about 15% of the federal workforce, said Saturday a senior manager of the administration, while a majority of agencies and departments, including the Ministry of Defense and the Postal Service, have already obtained funds.
Nevertheless, some 800,000 employees from the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation and others will be affected.
According to the American Federation of Government Employees, 420,000 people considered "essential" must work without pay, while 380,000 others will not be able to go to work.
Trump administration officials claim that anyone working without pay will receive a salary backlog once the agreement is reached.
Below you will find what will happen in some of the organizations and departments affected by the closure.
INTERNAL SECURITY
The Department which oversees Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard and Secret Service is assigned by the closure.
But since most of the employees in these agencies are considered essential, they will have to work without pay until a government funding bill is passed.
Of the 245,000 people working under the auspices of the ministry, nearly 213,000 were deemed essential, according to the department's intervention plan.
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Of the 7,500 employees in the department, only 343 should work. Nearly 1,000 other people may be called to specific tasks, for which they will not be paid until the law of financing has been adopted.
Although public housing authorities and tribal-designated housing units are not part of the federal government and are not required to close, part of their funding is provided by the federal government. It may therefore be necessary to reduce or change the normal opening hours.
The department, which is also responsible for some housing loans and some housing-related payments for low-income people, said in its emergency plan that a stop would probably not affect significantly the housing market.
But, he adds, "a prolonged shutdown could lead to a decline in home sales, thus reversing the trend towards strengthening the market as we know it".
INTERIOR
The National Parks Service, under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, will have a skeleton staff. Under the emergency plan, no national parks will be opened and no visitor services – including washrooms, facility maintenance and garbage collection – will be provided.
But some governors have pledged to intervene, especially in Arizona, on the Grand Canyon site, and in New York, where the state has allocated funds for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to remain open .
TRANSPORT
Of the 55,000 employees of the department, 20,400 will be put on leave. These employees do not include most of the Federal Aviation Administration, where 24,200 people work, or the Federal Highway Administration, where 2,700 employees are funded by other sources.
Air traffic controls, safety inspections of hazardous materials and accident investigations will continue, but certain rules, inspections and audits will be suspended.
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
It is estimated that 1,100 of the 1,800 office employees would be on leave. This will include most of the Office of Management and Budget, which assists the President in implementing his budget and policy objectives.
Reportage of Makini Brice; James Dalgleish Edition
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