What's NOT happening while Congress fiddles?

We've all heard that old chestnut about Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Seems an apt analogy for the damage being done to public health and natural resources while Congress fiddles with finger-pointing. 

• There are 401 national parks that are closed.
• There are 561 national wildlife refuges that are closed.
• The closed parks and refuges amount to 234 million acres, by the way.
• 7,825 workers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service are on furlough. (That's 81.9 percent of the staff.)
• 36,000 waterfowl protection areas are closed.
• All these closures are costing local communities' outdoors economies $76 million dollars a day.*

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a skeleton crew working. Only 1,069 out of 16,205 EPA employees are deemed essential. Are the polluters having a field day while there's no one around to enforce regulations?


What about work on renewable energy? More bad news.

We understand that the Department of Energy has stopped all work on new renewable energy activities, including permitting applications and regulatory submittals. So no new renewable energy projects will move forward during the shutdown. And ARPA-E, the program that funds research and development of advanced energy technologies, is shut down completely.

Here's what our friends at the National Wildlife Federation have to say: 

 

"Thanks to the Budget Control Act of 2011 and sequestration, government spending is already cut by $1.2 trillion over the next 8 years. These cuts have federal agencies struggling to maintain services at national parks, enforce environmental regulations, protect endangered species, and help our nation transition to clean energy. Shutting down the government adds insult to injury and places an unreasonable strain on agencies that are already stretched too thin. And the money needed to reopen the government—the 1995 shutdown cost an estimated $1.4 billion—is money that otherwise could be used for critical conservation programs."

Come on, folks, it's time to re-open the government. We call on both chambers of Congress to pass a "clean CR," that is, a budget extension (Continuing Resolution, or CR) without strings attached ("clean") that would re-open the government immediately.

PennFuture commends the Republican House members from Pennsylvania who are putting country ahead of party and bucking their own leadership by saying they would vote for a clean CR: Rep. Charlie Dent (Pa.-15), Rep. Jim Gerlach (Pa.-6),  Rep. Mike FItzpatrick (Pa.-8), and Rep. Pat Meehan (Pa.-7). That's actual leadership, and we appreciate it.

* Source: National Wildlife Federation http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/the-government-shutdown-and-the-great-outdoors/

Thanks to the Budget Control Act of 2011 and sequestration, government spending is already cut by $1.2 trillion over the next 8 years.  These cuts have federal agencies struggling to maintain services at national parks, enforce environmental regulations, protect endangered species, and help our nation transition to clean energy. Shutting down the government adds insult to injury and places an unreasonable strain on agencies that are already stretched too thin. And the money need to reopen the government—the 1995 shutdown cost an estimated $1.4 billion—is money that otherwise could be used for critical conservation programs. - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-wildlife/#sthash.qnu1XDaf.dpuf

The Department of Energy will stop all work on new renewable energy activities, including permitting applications and regulatory submittals.  This means that no new renewable energy projects will move forward during the shutdown. And ARPA-E, the program that funds research and development of advanced energy technologies, would shut down completely. - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-wildlife/#sthash.qnu1XDaf.dpuf

nly 1,069 of its 16,205 employees will be kept working during the shutdown, meaning that these and other important rules could be delayed. - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-wildlife/#sthash.qnu1XDaf.dpuf

Only 1,069 of its 16,205 employees will be kept working during the shutdown, meaning that these and other important rules could be delayed. - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-wildlife/#sthash.qnu1XDaf.dpuf

Only 1,069 of its 16,205 employees will be kept working during the shutdown, meaning that these and other important rules could be delayed. - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-wildlife/#sthash.qnu1XDaf.dpuf

Only 1,069 of its 16,205 employees will be kept working during the shutdown, meaning that these and other important rules could be delayed. - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-wildlife/#sthash.qnu1XDaf.dpuf

Only 1,069 of its 16,205 employees will be kept working during the shutdown, meaning that these and other important rules could be delayed. - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-wildlife/#sthash.qnu1XDaf.dpuf