“…If Congress and the White House don’t make a deal this week to stave off a , Saturday – three days before Christmas – could be the start of the third shutdown since President Trump took office less than two years ago.
It’s a Saturday in the middle of a more than weeklong holiday season. Will you have to worry whether presents and relatives can make the journey without problems?
The U.S. Postal Service anticipates that Monday will be its busiest day online, which would allow most priority and first-class to reach its destination by Thursday before any possibility of a shutdown. If you mail later than that, know that the Postal Service is an independent agency, so it won’t be affected in any government shutdown.
Peak travel is expected to hit Thursday, according to the American Automobile Association. That’s also when Congress members want to get out of town and be finished with their work for the year.
Even if Congress can’t stop another federal shutdown, air-traffic controllers still will be on the job after midnight Friday, and customs and border agents will continue working at border crossings.
Amtrak, a government-owned corporation, also will operate as usual.
The president traditionally decides whether federal workers get a paid holiday on Christmas Eve, this year on a Monday, according to FEDweek newsletter. President George W. Bush did so in 2001 and 2007; President Barack Obama also did in 2012.
If a shutdown occurs, federal employees deemed nonessential could get that day off anyway. Back pay is never guaranteed when the government is shuttered, but Congress previously has included that provision in its debt-ceiling bills…”