Reprinted from Broadcasting & Cable.
The FCC said Friday that if the federal government shuts down, the commission will not, at least for the first week itself cease operations. It has the funds or can make them available through internal transfers to operate through Jan. 26.
At press time, according to C-SPAN, there was no Senate vote scheduled on House-passed legislation to keep the government open a few more weeks under a continuing resolution. Deadline for the Congress to act is midnight, Friday, Jan. 19.
Asked what the FCC would do in case of a shutdown, Brian Hart, director of the FCC’s Office of Media Relations, said: “In the event of a partial government shutdown, because of available funding, the Federal Communications Commission plans to remain open and pay staff at least through the close of business on Friday, January 26.”
During the October 2013, three-week, government shutdown, the FCC shuttered its website and had to suspend its filing deadlines and suspend its merger-review shot clocks.
Commissioners and some essential personnel still came to work, however.
