KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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As day 13 of the federal government shutdown came to a close, Internal Revenue Service employees in Kansas City, Missouri, worry about the week ahead.
"Our employees are scared," said Shannon Ellis, National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 66 president. "This time it feels different. This time it feels like we are constantly under attack."
Ellis has worked for the IRS for 23 years.
Ellis is no stranger to a government shutdown, she told KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa.
She said the IRS operational guidelines are fluid and change each day.
"The guidance they put up the same day, they pulled back and didn’t follow it," Ellis said.
She represents approximately 6,000 local IRS employees, many of whom are unsure about the longevity of their jobs.
The employees, she says, are threatened with furloughs if they take any leave during the shutdown — even if it's just an hour.
"You’ll remain in furlough for the entire pay period," Ellis said.
What IRS employees do know, according to Ellis, is they're categorized into three sections:
- Furlough - No work, no pay.
- Accept - Work deemed "essential." That means work with no pay. It's what most agencies are operating on.
- Exempt - Work with pay.
Ellis told Gamboa she is considered an exempt employee.
The IRS is recovering from 22,000 of its workers accepting its deferred resignation offer, reported by Reuters.
Ellis says it's about a 25% reduction in the agency's workforce
The deadline to file a tax extension with the Internal Revenue Service is Wednesday, October 15.
"Who’s going to do the taxes?" Ellis asked. "We’re not here to answer phones, we’re not able to push out the new returns, we’re not able to process the payments. There’s a whole bunch of things we’re unable to do."
On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) predicted this government shutdown may become the longest in history.
"We're barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in history unless Democrats drop their partisan demands and pass a clean, no strings attached budget to re-open the government and pay our federal workers," Johnson said.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) is heading back to Capitol Hill this week following a brief stop in Kansas City on Monday.
"This shutdown is stupid, honestly, there’s no reason for it," Schmitt said. "Really, Republicans have supported a clean funding resolution, a clean CR, we haven’t put any partisan riders on it, we’re not asking for more funding or less funding."
The largest debate in the government shutdown is health care policy on subsidies in the Affordable Care Act expiring for millions of Americans who rely on government aid for healthcare coverage.
"Well, I voted to fund the government," he said. "Josh Hawley has voted to fund the government. Chuck Schumer has not voted to fund the government. In fact, he’s holding government funding hostage for other partisan issues
Schmitt told reporter Gamboa that there is going to be "a real impact here soon once you get past this pay period."
The senator also said there will be a real impact for people in Kansas City.
He repeated that the way to avoid that is to "just pass a clean funding bill to give us time to finish the appropriations."
Ellis and the 6,000 employees the union represents among 34,000 federal government workers in the Kansas City area, feel caught in the middle of politics.
She explained it's a little greater with this administration — especially with no guarantee her employees will receive back pay.
"This is the yo-yo effect that we have been under pretty much since this administration took over," Ellis said. "Congress needs to go to work just like we do. They’re getting paid, where many of our people are not. Go to work and do your job. Open back up the government so these employees can get back to work and get the pay that they deserve."
Some observers predict the government will remain closed until the end of October.
"All we need really is five more Democrats," Schmitt added. "If we get five more Democrats, we can kind of move on here."
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