Shutdown but not out

Written By Anne Meeker

Hi caseworkers,

I was going to say that this sucks, but the Claude copyediting bot I put together for our team at POPVOX Foundation told me that was unprofessional. So…this shutdown represents significant challenges.

For some of you with large numbers of federal employees, this might be the busiest you’ve been all year; for others, it might be the quietest season, with no progress on anything agency-related — and hey, you may actually be not reading this at all because you’ve been designated as non-excepted.

If, and only if, you find yourself with some down time, we have a suggestion: take our Casework Navigator reader survey! For the first 25 people who do, we will mail you and/or your colleagues our new casework sticker — because times like these really do remind us that public service is an adventure, with all of the victories, setbacks, progress, false starts, and good stories that means.

If you have questions about our work or suggestions for how we can be helpful, please feel free to reply to this email, or reach out to me at anne@popvox.org.

Anne Meeker
Managing Director
POPVOX Foundation

Watch: Navigating Consumer Protection Casework

Our third “Anticipating Casework” webinar with Dana Chisnell and former CFPB Chief Technologist Erie Meyer was one of the most fun we’ve ever hosted. In case you missed it, tune in for a deep dive into handling consumer protection casework, the vast array of state and federal agencies who can help you route inquiries about private businesses, and the “why” behind increasing numbers of scam and fraud cases.

Casework News

  • Member resources/statements on the shutdown:

  • Former Casework Navigator guest Megan Rickman-Blackwood, now at Civic, has a deep dive into how a unified casework data system could help uncover systemic issues with federal agencies, and how that system could be further expanded to incorporate additional data points.

  • Speaking of — love this coverage of the new Case Compass casework data scheme from House Digital Services.

  • Congratulations to Rep. Hageman’s [R, WY] on passing $10 million in returned benefits!

  • A very cool example of casework addressing fraud from Rep. Malliotakis’ [R, NY] team.

  • Roll Call reports that the shutdown means that USCP will temporarily suspend payments to vendors for district office security systems, and will pause processing reimbursements for Member residential security upgrades.

Agency News

Super Shutdown Special

Support for federal employees and contractors:

  • GovExec’s Guide to Pay and Benefits in a Shutdown is a good go-to reference and starting point, and includes some details that may be hard to find elsewhere on overtime, performance bonuses, FEHB, CSRS/FERS, and leave.

  • OPM’s furlough guidance document has additional details on personnel matters including holidays (relevant for Columbus Day), separation, retirement, service credit, and work schedules.

  • OMB and agencies have sent conflicting signals on whether the Administration will seek to reinterpret the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 and not compensate furloughed employees.

  • Partnership for Public Service has a central shutdown page collating coverage of the shutdown and resources for federal employees.

  • Several groups of former feds have worked on a collaborative spreadsheet compiling resources available to impacted employees.

  • A very helpful guide to how UI works, including which forms departing or furloughed employees will need to apply, how they will need to pay back UI benefits if recalled to the office, what is a “waiting week,” and how furloughs and RIFs interact.

  • The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society has some tips for service members and other impacted employees on paycheck protection options, and may be able to provide some direct assistance with basic living expenses.

  • Maryland launched a Federal Shutdown Loan Program with a one-time no-interest loan of $700 to help meet living expenses, to be paid back 45 days after the shutdown ends.

  • Detailed information on legal compliance issues for contractors impacted by the shutdown, including how the shutdown may impact ongoing immigration proceedings for H1B, H2B, and E3 employees.

  • Some tidbits here on how impacted contractors, including small businesses, can plan for the end of a shutdown and restarting procedures — especially noting that contractors typically have a 30-day window after a shutdown to apply for cost recovery.

  • This advice column for federal contractors might also have some useful starting points on managing relationships with excepted agency staff during a shutdown.

  • The least we can do: restaurant discounts for furloughed/excepted feds in the DC area.

We don’t usually cover bills that are introduced but not yet passed here, but flagging a few of note for the gaps they point to:

  • Members of the Maryland delegation introduced a bill that would allow excepted federal employees to apply for unemployment (currently only an option for furloughed employees).

  • Members of the Virginia delegation introduced a bill that would allow federal employees to take penalty-free early withdrawals from their TSP plans during shutdowns lasting longer than two weeks.

  • Rep. Kiggans [R, VA] introduced a bill that would ensure continued pay and benefits for armed services departments outside of the DOD, including the US Coast Guard.

  • Sen. Smith [D, MN] and Rep. Pressley [D, MA] introduced a bill that would provide back pay for federal contract workers, including custodial and food service staff.

  • Rep. Omar [D, MN] introduced a bill that would reimburse fees paid to childcare facilities for families who are not able to access GSA-managed childcare centers during a shutdown.

Impact on agency services:

  • WIC funds will likely be depleted within a week of the shutdown.

  • JD Supra has an overview of which immigration processes are likely to be impacted and how.

  • The IRS sent mass furlough notices to employees and closed most of its operations on October 8, including the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The agency noted that employees can still access EAP services and register for an account with GuidanceResources.com.

  • The Merit Systems Protection Board has ceased operations; filing and processing deadlines will be extended by the number of days the agency was shut down.

  • Flight delays are starting to stack up due to air traffic controllers calling out sick.

VA

  • A wild VA OIG report found that a single Veterans Service Representative in the Philadelphia Regional Benefit Office approved claims at 19 times the national average, resulting in over 85,000 claims processed without required review, with an estimated 84% of claims including at least one error, resulting in $2.2 million in improper payments.

  • A Washington Post investigation claims that veterans’ representatives and for-profit companies encourage veterans to submit multiple disability claims to “milk” the system, including for non-sever medical conditions like eczema. The investigation finds that VA has also failed to update standard ratings for some conditions that are now more treatable than ever, like sleep apnea.

SSA

  • SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano will also serve as a new CEO of the IRS (this is a title change from the previous commissioner position).

  • The Trump Administration is considering eliminating age as a factor for eligibility for Social Security disability payments, in addition to modernizing the agency’s outdated jobs database.

  • Social Security field offices are struggling to keep pace with demand after many employees took deferred retirement options or were reassigned to national phone lines.

Immigration

  • The court battle over Members’ right to unannounced oversight visits to federal facilities, including ICE detention centers, is ongoing, with Lawyers Defending American Democracy filing a new amicus brief in support of Congress’ oversight authorities. May be relevant for other types of casework.

  • USCIS issued new guidance for service members with uncharacterized discharges for naturalization purposes.

  • USCIS said that it performed a new wide-spread operation in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, conducting more than 900 visits and interviews in one sweep. The operation focused on marriage and family-based petitions, employment authorization, and other immigration benefits, especially in the Uniting for Ukraine program.

  • Our friends at the Institute for Progress launched a new dataset on how many international students join the US workforce after graduation from a US university through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.

The White House announced a new program to allow direct purchase of medications from pharma companies.

The White House announced a new website to allow Americans to purchase medications at reduced prices directly from pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer. Pfizer will also offer its medications to Medicaid at reduced prices.

This shutdown is nominally over ACA subsidies.

So our friends at PolicyEngine launched a new calculator to see how expiring ACA subsidies will impact households under current law or proposed extensions.

TAS shares how certain taxpayers may be impacted by switch to electronic payments

The Taxpayer Advocate has a helpful resource on how taxpayers will see the impact of the IRS’ move to electronic payments, with some limited exceptions (and recommendations for other exceptions) for constituents for whom electronic payments are not feasible.

Inspector General sites down

Unrelated to the government shutdown, OMB moved on October 1 to withhold funds from the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), which handles multi-agency oversight investigations, and IGs at agencies including VA, Agriculture, Education, Justice, Interior, NARA, OPM, and TIGTA. Some agencies, including DOD, are also signaling a move to shorten investigation timelines and track complaints.

Anticipating casework

Our friends at the Niskanen Center flag that implementing new work requirements in Medicaid will be a significant bureaucratic undertaking, with recommendations on how CMS can change its own rules to create fewer bottlenecks.

Possible sale of federal student loan debt

The Trump Administration is exploring options to sell parts of the government’s $1.6 trillion portfolio of student loan debt. The potential sale raises questions about continuing borrower protections and whether the loans would still be guaranteed by the federal government, but may also limit debt-collection mechanisms like garnishing tax returns.

USPS to test mail carriers as census takers for 2030 census

The US Census Bureau is partnering with the US Postal Service to pilot having mail carriers knock on doors to collect information about households for the 2030 census. The field tests will be conducted across the country, including in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama.

For your cities and towns: ARPA funds are closing out

The Department of Treasury has issued guidance on closing out awards for cities and towns receiving State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The National League of Cities has a solid starting point checklist for cities on this process.

How AI agents could change gov interfaces

Ukraine announced the launch of a national AI-agent tied to its digital government portal, Diia. The Diia agent can take action based on a user’s request, eliminating some need for forms or customer service interactions, and provide information to help citizens navigate government services and identify possible benefits.

Dave Guarino on how agencies would need to adapt for the age of AI

With AI posed to reshape the US labor force, Dave Guarino explores how the safety net might need to adapt.

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