Snow shuts down federal government; life goes on
<p>Carol Smith, from Upper Marlboro, Md., climbs out of a snow fort as Sarah Naranch looks on, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, on the National Mall in Washington. The Capitol can be seen at right. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)</p>
WASHINGTON - If snow keeps 230,000 government employees home for the better part of a week, will anyone notice?
With at least another foot of snow headed for Washington, Philadelphia and New York, we're about to find out. The federal government in the nation's capital has largely been shut down since Friday afternoon, when a storm began dumping up to 3 feet of snow in some parts of the region. Offices were remaining closed at least through Wednesday.
So far, the effects have been negligible. Many essential government services are performed at offices around the country, and about 85 percent of federal employees work outside the Washington region anyway. Others were working from home despite the snow. An IRS spokeswoman said tax returns should not be affected.
"Anything that is critical is going to get done," said Linda Springer, a former director of the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the federal work force of nearly 2 million workers.
Philadelphia and Washington needed just 9 more inches of snow each to log the snowiest winters since at least 1884, the first year records were kept. By Tuesday night, snow was falling from the nation's capital north to New Jersey.
Even before the storm arrived in the District of Columbia, the House announced it was scrapping the rest of its workweek. Several hearings and meetings were postponed, including one planned for Wednesday on Toyota's massive recalls.
Agencies from the Federal Communications Commission to the Federal Trade Commission canceled hearings. Shuttering the agencies for a day costs the government an estimated $100 million in lost productivity.