Shutdown leaves U.S. government workers in limbo

State pays to keep Statue of Liberty open as congress works toward deal

A U.S. government shutdown amid a congressional dispute over spending and immigration has forced scores of federal agencies and outposts to close their doors and triggered furloughs for Air Force civilian employees, but won’t keep Lady Liberty shackled.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, closed since the government shut down Friday, will reopen for visitors Monday, with New York state picking up the tab for the federal workers who operate them, the state’s Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, said Sunday.

The sites had been turning away visitors due to what the National Park Service described as “a lapse in appropriations,” a bureaucratic term for a lack of money. In Philadelphia, crowds of tourists were told Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed, and the Liberty Bell were closed.

Funds ran out at midnight Friday, leaving 48 hours before the most dramatic effect — the furloughing of nearly 1 million federal employees — takes place.

Government workers were struggling with the uncertainty that comes with not knowing when or if they will get paid.

J. David Cox, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 700,000 workers, said Sunday he was fielding hundreds of emails every hour from worried employees.

“That level of concern is higher than it’s ever been,” Cox said. “If your take home pay is averaging $500 a week, you’re living payday to payday, and if all of a sudden that payday doesn’t show up, you can’t pay for child care, you can’t buy groceries.”

Cox said he told members to report to work Monday and await instructions from the agency they work for about whether they will be sent home or continue to work.

Federal services were carved into two categories, essential and non-essential, with the essential services set to carry on as normal. In that category, the mail will be delivered and social security cheques still go out, the air traffic control system stays up and running, as do the FBI and Customs and Border Protection.

Senate moderates in both parties expressed hopes of finding a way out of the government shutdown mess while their leaders played the blame game. Lawmakers said they were pursuing a deal to reopen the government before the start of the workweek Monday.