The country expects Congress to pass a new spending bill on April 8. If Congress and President Obama fail to compromise on the budget, another extension is possible. It would stave off a government shutdown. What areas of government will experience generous fallout if a shutdown proves inevitable? If national parks close, local communities will feel the wrath.
National Parks Support Local Economies
A government shutdown would close national parks and monuments. Considered non-essential workers, national park employees would have time off with pay. There are over 365 parks in 49 of the 50 states. The National Park Services (NPS) accommodates some 300 million visitors a year.
The NPS face a sharp $51 million reduction in the current federal budget. The NPS estimate it will pull in $173 million in park fees revenue in 2011. What that figure suggests is plenty of visitors who need a place to eat, sleep, and shop. Enter the private sector. National parks provide roughly $13.3 billion to sustain people locally.
Private Sector Jobs Depend on Parks
Most of the private sector jobs surround the outlying area of the parks. National parks put people to work, if only for the duration of summer and peak seasonal tourism periods. Approximately 270,000 private sector jobs are park-related.
People work in lodging facilities, campgrounds, restaurants, bars, gas stations, and grocery stores. Small business shop owners depend on tourists to buy their goods. These small businesses are the backbone of the country.
The hardest hit by a government shutdown of national parks would obviously be local communities dependent on the revenue generated by tourists. A 1995-96 government shutdown stopped national parks from opening.
During the 21 days the government closed its doors for business, the estimated loss to local economies averaged $14.2 million a day. Naturally, that dollar amount would be substantially higher today.
The current state of the economy is still resting precariously on the rocks. A loss of any potential money right now would add insult to injury.
The Antideficiency Act - No Passports and Visas
A government shutdown will not cast all its federal workers into the ranks of the unemployed. A shutdown would, however, force many government employees to take a paid furlough.
The Antideficiency Act is a key law that mandates federal agencies and programs cease operation if Congress and the president reach an impasse on the funding gap. Thus, a government shutdown. The 1860 law excludes, among some, emergency and safety personnel, and active military.
With non-essential government workers furloughed, passport and visa applications sit unprocessed. During the shutdown in the mid-1990s, unprocessed passport applications grew to a staggering pile of 200,000. That is a ton of people going nowhere.
Released in February, a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report states U.S. tourist industries and airlines lost millions of dollars during the last government shutdown. The economy cannot generate revenue from grounded travelers.
Smithsonian Museums, National Zoo and the White House
Washington, D.C., is one of the country's hottest tourist destinations. While visiting the Capitol, there are countless things to do -- magnificent sights to take in. Visitors number over 16 million a year. Of that number, 1.2 million are international visitors.
In 2009, tourists spent $5.9 billion on entertainment, shopping, hotels, and dining. Many people travel to the Capitol just to visit the 16 Smithsonian museums. The National Zoo is a huge draw, as is the White House itself.
These federally funded tourist attractions closed when the government shutdown in the '90s. If history is going to include yet another shutdown, they will close again.
The financial fallout of closing national parks and Washington's major attractions would be huge. Leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded due to unprocessed passports and visas would also cost the economy much-needed money. The country cannot afford a government shutdown.
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