Planning for a possible shutdown Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 16:30:59 -0500 To: "A - Division Chief and Staff", "B - Branch Chiefs and Offices", "DC - All District Chiefs" From: rhirsch@usgs.gov (Robert Hirsch) Subject: Planning for a possible shutdown Cc: "Joanne C Taylor, Secretary (Typing), Reston, VA" , "Janet N Arneson, Secretary (Typing), Reston, VA" In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 441 MEMORANDUM December 14, 1995 To: Distribution From: Robert M. Hirsch (signed) Chief Hydrologist Subject: Planning for a Possible Shutdown The current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires at midnight on Friday, December 15, 1995. We do not know if Congress will pass another CR to avoid a shutdown for agencies that lack a signed appropriation. Although it is reported that Congress may agree shortly on a new version of the Interior appropriation bill, there is not yet a clear path to its enactment. As a result, we must begin contingency planning now. Please review the memorandum sent to all Water Resources Division (WRD) offices on September 25 and 26, 1995, regarding orderly suspension of activities and protection of life and property. Alternate individuals should be identified for any "excepted personnel" who will not be available for duty. These names should be provided to Bruce Gilbert (BGILBERT or 703-648-5033). If we must shut down on Monday, December 18, 1995, employees on domestic travel status will need to return home, and plans to initiate foreign travel in most instances will have to be postponed. Therefore, no domestic travel should be started until we are informed that a new CR or an appropriations bill has been signed. With respect to operation of the World Wide Web (WWW), the WRD will maintain access to public data and information services, and be prepared to respond to emergencies. We will apply the minimum resources necessary to ensure the integrity of the service, including staffing to support WWW sites as the duration of the shutdown increases and sites need maintenance. This may include incrementally closing less critical pages or sites that cannot be adequately supported. Ken Lanfear has provided more detailed guidance to all WRD Webmasters including the text of a message that should be posted on all home pages to keep the public informed about the situation. We will keep you posted with any developments up through about 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday, December 15. After that, please stay in touch with the news media. However, the Department has informed us that they will ask everyone to report to work on Monday, December 18, to wait for further instructions. This information may change, so we will provide an update in our message on December 15. Kathy Rutledge, Acting Personnel Officer, today sent an electronic mail to all employees with information that may be useful if we have another furlough. Her memorandum provides three hotline telephone numbers that can be accessed for current information. In addition, Bruce Gilbert will provide a phonemail message at the end of each day of the shutdown (703-648-5033). Distribution: A, B, DC ************************************************************* Robert M. Hirsch Phone: 703/648-5215 Chief Hydrologist Fax: 703/648-5002 409 National Center Internet: rhirsch@usgs.gov U.S. Geological Survey Reston, VA 22092 *************************************************************