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Our Melodramatic FCC: Rips Down Website During Government Shutdown

Phillip Dampier October 1, 2013 Editorial & Site News, Public Policy & Gov't 5 Comments

The shutdown of non-essential government services that began early this morning apparently also applies to non-human digital data at the Federal Communications Commission, because employees heading home on furlough from the federal agency brought down the agency’s website on the way out the door and replaced it with a basic page that looks straight out of 1986:

fcc

emergency_siren_lightThe melodramatic response to the impasse in Washington was not repeated by most other federal agencies.

The web site for the EPA is still up and running with a subtle banner indicating it would not be updated until the shutdown was resolved. The same is true at the Department of Education, the Department of the Treasury, the EEOC, HHS, and the Department of Labor, to name a few.

Even the government-funded Voice of America, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio/TV Marti, and Radio Sawa are all soldiering on, despite the loss of about 60 percent of the staff at the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

But VOA News did outsource its editorial column on student issues to China. A Chinese student studying in the United States compared the U.S. government’s financial-related actions in Washington with those in Beijing.

Instead of worrying about contacting the FCC or other government agencies in an emergency, we suggest you instead use the contact form on this website. As America saw last week, he has plenty of time to spare.

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Howard Goldberg
Howard Goldberg
10 years ago

NOAA http://www.noaa.gov/) also has a fairly dramatic shutdown notice. But, https://www.weather.gov/ is up and running.

txpatriot
txpatriot
10 years ago

It’s popular to joke that Congress is all “non-essential” and send them all home. But seriously, if this shutdown is ever gonna end, it will only do so if Congress agrees on a budget or a stop-gap spending bill. How can they do that if they are not in session or if we fire them all?

Minor nit: since the web wasn’t invented until 1990, you probably should have said the FCC webpage looks like something out of 1990 not 1986.

Ron
Ron
10 years ago
Reply to  txpatriot

Make them work, just don’t pay them for their time spent during this time – ever – not included in retirement calculations, no re-imbursments for expenses during this time, no use of government cars, etc, and no backpay when there is funding.

If they don’t come to work during this time, they lose 2 days of compensation for every day missed when it comes time to get paid.

Scott
Scott
10 years ago
Reply to  txpatriot

If Congress wasn’t getting paid for their self-imposed shutdown across the government, they might.. just might have a tiny bit of sympathy for the average government worker that can’t make that mortgage payment or rent, or the rest of their bills or obligations. However I doubt it. As for the FCC its hilarious they won’t leave a web site up or accept physical deliveries, apparently they’re more than willing to waste the time to inspect every package for their sender/contents so they can refuse ‘non-essential’ rather than just sign for and set the packages aside till Nov. when this is… Read more »

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