That's a separate Federal Department
Posted on 12/26/2018 8:03:11 AM PST by Drew68
As the government shutdown loomed over the holidays, heads of federal agencies and departments overseeing health and public assistance services tweeted that, regardless of what was happening in Washington, they were attending, as much as possible, to business as usual.
In a statement over the holiday weekend, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said, “There may be a lapse in funding for the federal government, but that will not relieve USDA of its responsibilities for safeguarding life and property through the critical services we provide.”
According to the statement, 61% of the Department of Agriculture’s employees would continue to work through the first week of the shutdown, but that number would decrease the longer the shutdown continues.
Some of the agency’s offices to be hit hardest by the closure include the office of Food and Nutrition Services that oversees the Child Nutrition, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). By the end of the fifth day of the shutdown, staffing will be cut by 95%.
As of Tuesday, the department website displayed a message stating, “Due to a lapse in federal funding, this USDA website will not be actively updated. Once funding has been re-established, online operations will continue.”
Eligible households will still receive monthly SNAP benefits for January. But other domestic nutrition assistance programs such as the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, WIC, and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations will only be operational based on available resources. Additional federal funds and commodities will not be provided during the shutdown.
Child nutrition programs including School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care Feeding, Summer Food Service and Special Milk will continue through February.
The Department of Agriculture will maintain meat, poultry and processed egg inspection services. Inspections of food imports and exports will also continue throughout the shutdown.
An end to the shutdown didn’t appear to be in sight Tuesday, as President Trump dug his heels in over the budget. After a call with US Troops, the President said, “I can’t tell you when the government is going to be open. I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they would like to call it.”
Protecting and enhancing the well being of Americans The Department of Health and Human Services expects that nearly 8,000 federal employees would not be returning to work on Wednesday as the shutdown continues. That number equals about a quarter of the department’s employees.
Most of the department is funded through the fiscal year, and those positions and divisions that are being placed on leave are funded through Agriculture and Interior appropriations.
For the Department of Health and Human Services, among the activities that would continue are Indian Health Service clinics, response efforts from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and specific activities under the Food and Drug Administration, including responding to emergencies and managing high-risk recalls.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar reassured the country that the department’s public health missions are being maintained, despite the holiday and shutdown.
“Thousands of my @HHSGov colleagues routinely work weekends and holidays, and many are tasked with working through shutdowns, to fulfill our mission to protect and enhance the health and well-being of all Americans. I’m grateful for their commitment & proud to be their colleague,” Azar said on Twitter.
According to the Department, the FDA’s missions that are critical to public health, such as tracking and responding to outbreaks related to foodborne illness and the flu, supporting high-risk food and medical product recalls, pursuing criminal and certain civil investigations when public health may be at risk, screening food and medical products imported into the United States, and addressing other critical public health issues will continue through the shutdown.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb expressed his gratitude to FDA employees who were continuing to work through the closure. “I’m so proud to lead an agency driven by so many dedicated people. Working on a holiday, and through a government shutdown, to fulfill their commitment to America,” Gottlieb said on Twitter.
As of Tuesday night, the agency website displayed a message titled “FDA Lapse in Funding” on the top of its homepage. The message says, in part, that “agency operations continue to the extent permitted by law, such as activities necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human life and activities funded by carryover user fee funds.”
According to HHS, about 41% of the FDA’s staff would be furloughed as of Wednesday, December 26.
The Department said that approximately 65% of staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will not be returning to work that day either.
Foo Scramps might be slightly delayed. Zombie Apocalypse incoming.
Those summer school food services include ages 0 to 21.
Why are we getting another Continuing Resolution? When will they do their job?
Shut it down, 25% can be shut down permanently.
there should be no federal food stamps.
IF anyone is genuinely in need (and charity and family and friends aren’t able to help) then the states have the authority to offer welfare. Not the federal government. IMHO, this is a great opportunity to “transfer” welfare programs OUT of Washington (and back to any, all states that want to continue them)
As a board member I nayed about half of the cafeteria reports because the breakdown given to us members would say, "food .... abc company .... $1,234.00 ................... food .... xyz co....... $17.78 .................. food ...... lmnop company ........ $2,345.00 " and on and on and I would ask ,,, "Just exactly WHAT is the "food" we're authorizing a thousand plus dollars for?"
EVERYONE, school board and administration, the solicitor would swivel their heads looking for SOMEONE to answer that question.
It was ONCE proffered that it was probably for vegetables that were different kinds and I asked, "Whay CAN'T it be boken down to peas, beans and carrots?"
Bottom line is, every cafeteria report is massive with hundreds of "food" entry's and no one ever told me what the food was.
Might even have been hundred dollar hammers.
Considering there shouldn’t be any Unconstitutional Federal Food Stamps Program, it is welcome news.
Call in the Scoopers!
Fortunately the soon to be starving beneficiaries have enough calories stored in their blubber to keep them going through the winter.
This is a scare story used to frighten the poor with fear their children will go hungry.
It’s an evil tactic... and the corrupt press should NOT play along.
Reminds me yet again of a great question I have NEVER heard an answer for:
The whole “mandatory” spending. AKA - when the government shuts down or there is a massive budget issue - how come the top of the “mandatory spending” list are the very programs that are in NO WAY Constitutional?
Welfare funding gets paid regardless.
Food stamp/SNAP is funded regardless
Disability payments go out - regardless.
Yet our armed forces often receive their pay late (as in - after the shutdown is resolved). These people are active employees of the Government - in positions that are a part of the very limited Government responsibilities listed (national defense).
And what law mandates that social spending is a “mandatory” spending that gets paid no matter what?
I guess only 5% are critical personnel...
Will riots ensue?
Dems would LOVE that.
Now this is winning! More, please.
JoMa
That's a separate Federal Department
>>But if we are feeding these kids breakfast and lunch, why are their parents getting food stamps for the same meals?<<
Because the entire welfare system is a colossal scam. Schools should have never been made responsible for feeding anyone, period. And the SNAP program should be terminated immediately.
>>The president is exposing the fraud and corruption in our federal government for everyone to see, but too many of our countrymen would rather believe the garbage CNN, ABC, The NY Slimes and the DC Compost are spewing out there. I’m always an optimist, but I have to be honest and admit to feeling a growing pessimism for our nation’s future. Too many Americans have their heads shoved up where the sun don’t shine!<<
Well and truly said! Most people are loath to hear about anything that tends to contradict the rhetoric that’s considered acceptable in their comfort zone.
I graduated nursing school with a woman who had 2 or 3 kids, by the same man, who had lived with her, during their entire relationship, “off the books”, as it were. He had a high paying job working on the assembly line, at a local automotive plant. They had a fairly stable relationship, but did not marry, so she could collect full benefits for her children. She used to brag about the yearly bonuses her kids’ dad got, running into thousands of dollars a year. (Not exaggerating -— I had family who got the same bonuses). I ran into her a year or two after we graduated, and she was not quite as chipper. Apparently, someone had turned her in to the State, and believe it or not, she had to pay a small amount of it back. Evidently, they only charged her the amount she collected from the time she had been reported. $6,000, if memory serves me. So, they went ahead and got married, since she couldn’t claim her kids as dependent on the State, anymore.
>>Cry me a river. Everyone involved should get a job...even the government “workers” who basically are useless. Also, no food for fatties.<<
Exactly right, and I especially like the last part: No free food for fatties.
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