By Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to furlough 41% of its workforce if Congress fails to prevent a looming government shutdown, suspending critical functions including public health messaging, contractor oversight, and medical research.
Of the department’s 79,717 employees, 32,460 are expected to be furloughed under the contingency staffing plan it released over the weekend. Programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and Food and Drug Administration drug approvals will continue but other public health functions face significant disruptions.
“CDC communication to the American public about health-related information will be hampered, CMS will be unable to provide oversight to major contractors, and NIH will not have the ability to admit new patients to the Clinical Center, except for whom it is medically necessary,” the plan summary said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, set to furlough 64% of its staff, would be unable to provide guidance to state and local health departments on key public health issues such as opioid overdoses, HIV prevention, and diabetes prevention. The National Institutes of Health would furlough over 75% of its workforce, halting grant peer reviews, advisory council meetings, and basic research.
The FDA is expected to retain 86% of its workforce, while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will keep 53% of employees.
Congress has until Tuesday to pass legislation keeping the federal government open or trigger a partial shutdown, with Republicans and Democrats showing no signs they will agree to a temporary spending fix that would avert one.
President Donald Trump’s administration has raised the stakes in the showdown with Democrats, threatening to permanently remove workers from some agencies if funding runs out. Trump is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders at the White House later on Monday in a bid to resolve the impasse.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, editing by Deepa Babington)
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