
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 24, 1995                   TAG: 9508240094
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

WILL WHEELS STOP?

If Congress and the president let appropriations lapse during a budget dispute, Social Security checks will still go out, air traffic controllers and meat inspectors will stay on the job, and the FBI will continue to pursue criminals, the Clinton administration said Wednesday.

But most government functions that cannot be considered vital to averting imminent threats to human life or property would stop.

The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and Congress and Clinton remain at odds over a variety of spending issues. That raises the possibility a new fiscal year will start without congressional approval for 1996 spending.

Alice Rivlin, director of the Office of Management and Budget, released a memo Wednesday telling federal agency heads to prepare contingency plans. A Justice Department memorandum - also released Wednesday - outlined government operations if Congress and the president fail to agree.

Lapses in funding, from three hours to several days, have occurred several times since 1980. The most recent was a three-day shutdown in 1990. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were spared finding out who was essential because it occurred over the Columbus Day weekend. Tourists suffered the brunt of that when national monuments, parks and museums were closed. The White House was cut to one chef per shift, but orbiting astronauts continued at work, as did lawyers preparing for Supreme Court arguments.

In other years, Congress often has passed resolutions permitting continued government operation.

Legally, government activities that must continue must relate to the safety of life or protection of property. That covers air traffic controllers and meat inspectors, the Justice Department memo said.

Other examples cited include:

Supervisors of stock, commodities and futures markets.

People who send out Medicare checks.

Workers at Veterans Affairs hospitals.

While not all jobs were detailed in the new memo, in 1990 federal prisons continued to operate, and most Department of Transportation workers were kept on the job.

Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.

by CNB