Several Members said Thursday that they would wait until the eleventh hour to make a final decision. Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.), for instance, said he wouldn’t furlough any of his committee staff but might furlough some district staff, depending on how much work they have Monday.
House Administration member Rich Nugent said he would designate three of the eight employees in his office in the Longworth Building as essential. The Florida Republican’s Brooksville, Fla., office, which usually has seven staffers, would also operate with three employees in a shutdown.
“We’re going to have a skeleton crew here and in the district office,” Nugent said.
But Democrats including Moran, Dicks and House Administration ranking member Robert Brady (Pa.) said they would not furlough any of their committee or district staff, and Republicans such as House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (Calif.) and former Appropriations Chairman Bill Young (Fla.) have said the same.
Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Elijah Cummings said his committee staff is already “outnumbered 2-to-1” by Issa’s staff.
“For us to be the position where we walk in with a skeleton staff and he’s got an entire staff, that creates a problem,” the Maryland Democrat said. “I can’t put my folks in a position where we cannot properly address the issues we need to address.”
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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