The Smithsonian museums would stand empty and the Cherry Blossom Festival wouldn’t be festive at all, but a looming federal government shutdown would affect daily life in the Washington area beyond tourist attractions. About 800,000 federal employees — many of whom reside in the D.C. area — would be furloughed, a senior administration official said Wednesday. In Fairfax County alone, the federal government employs nearly 14 percent of working residents.
| Tourists may not be the only ones in the D.C. area thwarted by a federal government shutdown. Here’s a list of a few things that could affect the 5 million people who call the capital region home. |
| The National Park Service would close all of its sites and cancel all events. |
| The Cherry Blossom Parade and the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival would not take place. |
| The Internal Revenue Service would not process paper tax filings. |
| The Federal Housing Aadministration would not guarantee home loans. |
| The George Washington Parkway Classic 10-miler and 5k scheduled for April 10 would be postponed until May 1. |
Federal employees would maintain health care benefits, but their pay would be withheld until Congress and the president finally produce a budget to cover the remaining six months of the current fiscal year or approve another short-term funding measure.
Congress has until 11:59 p.m. Friday to work out a deal.
More than 70 percent of business owners surveyed this week by the Greater Washington Board of Trade said they’re concerned about how a shutdown would affect businesses. About 60 percent said they don’t feel prepared for what would mean a decline in clients, contracts and foot traffic.
“It couldn’t come at a worse time given the fragile economic recovery, strained local budgets and the start of the tourism season,” said Jim Dinegar, the board’s president and CEO.
The possibility of fewer people on busses and trains led Metro to warn Wednesday of potential adjustments to the number of cars in service. Ridership could fall by as much as 20 percent, the agency said.
Day care centers, especially those located in federal buildings, are preparing for possible closures, as well. A spokeswoman for Bright Horizons, which operates more than a dozen centers in the District, said that most, but not all, would stay open, depending on the federal agency and the building landlord. Parents of children at closed centers would be able to arrange for their child to stay at another location.
Federal employees required to continue working despite a shutdown are guaranteed back pay once a budget passes — people like prison guards, soldiers and air traffic controllers. But the same is not necessarily true for nonessential employees or for contract workers, who could see a chunk of their paycheck disappear.
Like many local firms dependent on the federal government for existence, consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton is still figuring out how its workers would be affected, said spokesman James Fisher.
The effect “would vary given the nature and requirements of the specific contracts under which we work and the guidance we receive from our federal clients,” he said.
But they almost certainly wouldn’t escape unscathed. The company derived about 98 percent of its revenue from federal contracts last year, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
A shutdown could make the weekend a bit of a drag, too. No one would march in Saturday morning’s Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, no one would be allowed in for a springtime stroll through the National Arboretum, and National Mall walkers would find museums dark and locked.
Members of Congress and the president have made clear that they hope to avoid a shutdown, but contingency plans are being made.
“We are cognizant that April 8 is Friday,” the senior administration official said, noting when the latest stopgap funding measure expires. “And we’re taking steps to ensure all agencies are prepared.”
