美國聯邦政府關閉，哪些人將失業？
In the event of a government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed, not knowing if or when they'd get paid. Their paychecks would ultimately depend upon the benevolence of a fractious Congress, which decides whether to pass legislation retroactively paying workers for their lost time.
But at least 535 civil servants in Washington don't have to worry about missed mortgage payments or mounting credit card debt due to a shutdown: the very members of Congress who threaten to grind government to a halt.
The salaries of Congress members, like the president, come from a pool of mandatory funds and aren't subject to the whims of lawmakers. If a shutdown happens, their checks keep coming, no matter what.
As a report issued this week by the Congressional Research Service puts it, "Due to their constitutional responsibilities and a permanent appropriation for congressional pay, Members of Congress are not subject to furlough."
This cruel irony isn't lost on the federal workers who stand to lose pay but for an act of Congress, most of whose members earn $174,000 a year.
"When the government shuts down, employees don't get paid," Colleen Kelley, head of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 150,000 federal workers, said Friday. "No matter how much Congress does not work, it still does get paid."
The GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill last week that made government funding contingent upon defunding the Affordable Care Act. On Friday, after days of showmanship by Obamacare opponents, the Democratic-controlled Senate sent the funding legislation back to the House after stripping the Obamacare provision. It's now up to House leaders whether to force a shutdown.
During the last shutdown, in 1995 and 1996, Congress later passed legislation that made workers whole for the days they were furloughed. This time around, union leaders and workers aren't sure Congress will be so merciful in an era of budget squabbles, even if members themselves are guaranteed to get paid.
【新聞快訊】
近來由於奧巴馬醫改爭議，驢、象兩黨之爭難解難分；受此影響，美國聯邦政府可能被迫17年來首次停擺。在歷史上，美國面臨過大大小小的政府關閉十多次，但是聯邦政府直接關門卻屈指可數。
本次，當美國聯邦政府衝向午夜的關門期限時，聯邦職員也將面臨強制休假。上千名職員會面臨怎樣的命運？有誰依然要堅守工作崗位，有多少人得休假。或許最受關注的還是，是不是帶薪休假呢？在政府關閉期間，將要上班的工作人員有，軍人，邊境控制部門，交通管制部門，國會和總統等。相關人士提到，一旦政府關閉，部分政府公務員將被失業，還有部分公務員，不管是否上班，都領不到薪水。
空管，危險品處理，食品檢驗員等關鍵部門以外的政府僱員需要放假回家，按照此前的經驗，政府開張後會補發休假薪水。華盛頓特區的垃圾站也將停止服務，護照申領部門也有可能停工。
如果你是等待政府貸款的小業主，等待吧；如果你想貸款買房，等待吧；如果你是退伍軍人，你的支票也許會遲到；如果你是社保領取者，你可能無須擔心。
軍人繼續保護公民安全，將在政府關門結束後領導軍餉。郵政部門繼續工作。處於風暴中心的醫療部門，將繼續提供服務。
上一次的聯邦政府關閉發生在克林頓總統的第一任期，是美國曆史上關閉時間最長的記錄。28萬多政府員工被下崗，約48萬核心僱員在沒有薪水的情況下繼續工作。退伍軍人福利延遲發放，近600個垃圾站停止清理工作。聯邦政府在1995年11員額中旬也關閉過6天，導致80萬聯邦政府僱員停止工作。國會研究事務處表示，政府關閉話了納稅人14億美元。美國旅遊業和航空業遭遇巨大打擊，政府合同收到不利影響。
