Port Workers Brace For Fallout From Potential Homeland Security Shutdown
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com/AP) — Just days after a deal was reached to keep business humming at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, dock workers could see some fallout from a potential shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security.
KNX 1070's Jon Baird reports Congressional Republicans were hoping to approve a short-term spending bill that would avert a partial DHS shutdown hours before it was to begin.
The legislation leaves intact Obama administration executive actions on immigration that Republicans have vowed to overturn. But Republican leaders insisted that passing a short-term bill preserved their ability to keep fighting them, the Associated Press reported.
An early vote in the House clearing the way for final passage of the bill was approved 240-183. But in the hours after, the outcome began to look uncertain as Republican leaders sent the House into recess as they sought to round up the votes they needed to pass the bill.
Without action, DHS would begin to shut down at midnight Friday, furloughing 30,000 workers.
Port officials say the Coast Guard will stay up and running, but while there are contingency plans in place in case the battle over funding Homeland Security continues in Washington, some union members wondered whether there would be enough Customs and Border Protection agents on duty to inspect all the cargo.
"We're talking about maybe 270,000 people being required to go to work every day and not being paid on payday," said union president David Cox.
Port officials hope that if any shutdown does occur, the impact on the moving cargo - and on the ports overall - will be minimal.
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