Impact of US Federal government shutdown on Washington state

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Washington, Jan 20 (Canadian-Media): The impact of the US federal government shutdown for most people in Washington state will not be much noticeable beyond little discomfort, but situation would change in the event of a prolonged shutdown, media reports said.

The list of the reported effects on services and agencies by a shutdown is given below.

State departments and agencies not listed below would continue to operate, but in the event of a prolonged shutdown the conditions could reportedly change.

Mail delivery: The U.S. Postal Service  will continue to operate as it is self-funded.

Federal courts: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington will remain open as the courts have funding to last three weeks.

National Parks: According to the reports of the Interior Department national parks would be “as accessible as possible.” The public can reportedly go to the parks, but staffing and maintenance, like campgrounds, will be closed.

Military bases: During federal government shutdowns, reportedly essential personnel, like those in the military, will function as usual. There is a likelihood that civilian contractors and support staff working at military bases would be shudown. 

Washington state has 53,000 federal employees. About half of those are in the military. State-run, veteran-affairs operations would remain open.

Washington state Department of Services for the Blind: During the shutdown the Department that serves about 940 people would cease to operate.

Health and Human Services Department: About 63 percent of the agency would be shutdown, which includes 8,500 employees in the Centers For Disease Control  and Prevention (CDC), which at present is busy dealing with a brutal flu season. 

State labs as reported would continue to monitoring the flu and do testing that is sent on to the CDC. 

But the CDC would not have the people to monitor the data.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)