White House reveals DHS shutdown plan

The Hill ^ | February 27, 2015 | Ben Kamisar

[maggief]

The Obama administration released a plan on Friday for how the Department of Homeland Security will deal with a shutdown, as Congressional leaders remain at an impasse over how to fund the agency.

The Associated Press reports that airport security checkpoints, Secret Service, and border patrols are among the operations exempted from a shutdown. But those deemed “non-essential” workers would be furloughed.

“Essential” workers must continue to work, but they won’t be paid until Congress finds an agreement to fund the agency.

The House failed to approve a stop-gap measure on Friday night that would have extended the agency’s funding for three weeks. Some Republicans refused to back the measure because it didn’t specifically defund President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, while Democrats mostly voted against the bill because they want a longer-term funding measure.

[trebb]

There are more important issues here than whether a few bureaucrats temporarily miss a paycheck.

Spoken like somoene who hasn't a clue. It's like you said that, if the DHS was a machine shop, that those hauling the raw metal and doing the machining and the welding are "a few bureaucrats". The actual bureaucrats have ample funds and will not hurt in the long run, it's the schlubbs making $55K a year with families that will feel the sting.

[Pietro]

Its the actual guys hauling material and doing the machining that are in genuine jeopardy of losing their pay check; and not just for a couple weeks.

But what's at stake here is more important than either of these two "schlubs"; it's the rule of law; it's the constitutional republic that will suffer if laws duly enacted can be arbitrarily dismissed.

Witness the off-handed take over of the internet, the banning of legitimate ammunition, The EPA or DOJ picking and choosing winners and losers, and what's next? These actions strike at the very foundation of our republic and the rule of law.

If we do not stop this here and now we never will and law and the republic will become a joke, a tyranny. That's whats at stake, and nothing less.

[trebb]

I agree. I am for shutting down the DHS even though it will hurt a bunch of plain working Joes. My post was merely to point out that many regular Joes will be hurt and we should be willing to acknowledge that instead of burying our heads in the sand (as the comment I responded to) and pretending that they are all bureaucrats and therefore there is no human pain.

Let's not be like those we detest and put up a false meme about realty as we strive to move back in the right direction. Pain is unavoidable - it doesn't mean we should stop trying.