Summary Sunday: Government Shutdown Edition

Yet again we find ourselves in the midst of a government shutdown. I am using today’s Summary Sunday to compile a variety of resources to help you through this time. If you know of any others that should be included, please let me know.

Guidance for the Continuation of Operations During A Lapse of Appropriations

Department of Defense – January 18, 2018

This is the overarching document for all members of the DOD – military, civilian, or contractor. Your local facility will have location-specific guidance, but if you want to understand the general rules, this is a good place to start.

For instance, I’m seeing a lot of talking about TDYs. I was expecting to go TDY myself this week. That’s done – cancelled. This also includes a lot of TDYs that were already in progress – you will likely get sent home. If you are directly supporting combat operations, there are exceptions for that…so don’t think you are heading home from a deployment tomorrow!

The guidance also covers what to expect from medical care. Much of the medical services we normally use are excepted activities, meaning they will continue. However, not everything will. Read page 9 of this document and talk to your local provider if you have any questions.

Effect Of Nonpay Status On Your TSP Account

Thrift Savings Plan – January 20, 2018

Until and unless the Congress passes a bill moving federal employees into pay status, it will affect your TSP account, especially if you receive automatic and matching government contributions. That means all civilian employees who receive TSP government contributions, plus all military members who fall under the Blended Retirement System. I’ve reached out to TSP to find out whether the government contributions will be back paid if/when Congress authorizes a change in pay status but I haven’t received an answer yet. If I do, I will update this post.

Note 1: civilians and military historically don’t get paid for shutdown time the same way. While it hasn’t happened yet, I’m near certain military members will get paid during the shutdown because Congress will pass a bill moving us into pay status. Civilians will more likely receive back pay at a later date. That’s how it worked last time, anyway, and I see no reason to think it will be different this time. Bills have already been introduced (but not passed) regarding military pay.

Note 2: this is not a good enough reason to make a decision between Legacy or BRS. In the scheme of your career, one missed government contribution is a drop in the bucket. But it is something to be aware of.

Continuing Family Support in the Event of a Government Shutdown

DODLive – January 19, 2018

This set of resources was put out by the DOD to provide information on which family support services (exchanges, commissaries, childcare, etc) will/will not be open during the shutdown. As always, confirm with your local provider to see if there are exceptions.

What Happens?

I want to give you multiple sources to read about the way forward. But a lot of them are politically biased, and I don’t want this to be one sided. So here are multiple “what happens” articles from a variety of sources.

https://www.thebalance.com/government-shutdown-3305683

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/01/21/what-happens-during-government-shutdown-7-things-should-know.html

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/20/politics/what-next-government-shutdown/index.html

http://time.com/5109899/government-shutdown-explainer/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-shutdown-impact-factbox/factbox-what-happens-in-a-u-s-government-shutdown-idUSKBN1F9145

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/20/16913096/how-government-shutdown-ends

Need Help?

While I expect that federal employees will get paid for this time, it might not be on our normal schedule. Luckily, there are organizations that are trying to ease the burden.

USAA

Navy Federal Credit Union

Note: I am not advocating taking out loans, and I do not think you should do it unless absolutely necessary. But if you need it, at least there are options that won’t incur interest.

With federal government shutdown set, these specials kick in

WTOP – January 21, 2018

Need a pick me up from all of this? Some restaurants are offering discounts and even free food and drinks to government employees affects by the shutdown. I live in DC and this is where a large percentage of the affected people live, so this is the list I know about. I’ve heard there are similar offers in other areas, so you might want to do a quick Google search for “government shutdown offers (your location)” to see if there are any near you.

And thanks to all the companies that are realizing how this actually affects people!!

Other military bloggers talking about the shutdown

Military Money Manual has some ideas on ways to survive a shutdown (keep in mind, some of them are things you need to do in advance. It’s too late now to switch to a military bank or save up an emergency fund for this shutdown. But it can help you prepare for the inevitable next one.)

Kate Horrell has 10 practical things to do (plus the ultra-important bonus tip of not taking out a payday loan!

And Farva gives us all a good reminder!

Finally, as a military member I am careful to protect my political beliefs because I am in an apolitical career. I have and will continue to happily serve under any combination of party majorities and branch of government control. That doesn’t mean I think any shutdown is a good idea. This shutdown bothers me exactly as much as the last one did. I don’t particularly care what political issue people say “caused” the shutdown – a lack of compromise caused it. This article does a good job of laying out the rest of my thoughts on the issue.

If you’ve found any other good information about the shutdown, please leave a link in the comments and I will update the post so everybody sees it.