Reports that President Trump would veto any congressional stopgap funding bill that would avert a federal government shutdown unless it contained funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall kept federal agencies making preparations to close offices at midnight Friday.
Here’s how federal installations in Montgomery County could fare:
Glen Echo Park will remain open due to an agreement made in July between the county and National Park Service. Although NPS still owns the park, the county is responsible for day to day administration, explained Executive Director Katey Boerner.
“The county is bearing the cost and overseeing its maintenance,” she said.
During the October 2013 government shutdown, Glen Echo was closed for 16 days, cancelling events and leaving 20 workers temporarily unemployed, Boerner said.
But other national parks that are funded through the Interior Department could experience decreases in staffing according to Vox. In Montgomery County, that includes the 184-mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail, which extends from Georgetown in the District of Columbia to Cumberland.
Bethesda’s Walter Reed National Military Medical Center would likely remain open because the Department of Veterans Affairs has secured its funding already, according to Vox.
The National Institutes of Health, headquartered in Bethesda, and the Food and Drug Administration, located in White Oak, could be impacted because both fall under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services.
According to the HHS website, NIH’s Superfund Research Program staff would be furloughed during a shutdown. Additionally, the FDA would be forced to halt many routine activities such as animal drug, medical product and food-related activities.
The FDA would also be forced to pause some research activities.
The operation of other large county federal outposts, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were unclear Thursday night.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
