| PSC Highlights Impact of Government Shutdown on Contractors |
January 19, 2018
Arlington, V.A. (Jan. 19, 2018)— The Professional Services Council (PSC) again urged federal government contractors to be prepared for the impacts of a government shutdown tonight and the consequences on their operations, personnel, and profitability.
“A government shutdown has economic impact all the way down the chain for the contractor community, and companies must be prepared,” said David J. Berteau, PSC president and CEO. “Passing a full year appropriation must be a top priority of Congress. But given where we are, with a looming lapse in full-year appropriations, contractors are acting to protect their business and employees. Contractors often end up suffering more than federal civilian employees do from the same shutdown effect. History says that, while civilian employees who are forced not to work will eventually be paid, contractors under the same instructions will not be.
Here are some of the impacts on federal government contractors under a government shutdown:
•
Normal agency contacts may be unavailable to provide guidance to or accept delivery from contractors;
•
Contractor employees working on government sites may not have access to necessary facilities;
•
Government payments may be held up, cutting into companies’ ability to pay their employees;
•
A partial or full government “stop work order” may be issued, halting all contractor performance activity (including subcontractors and vendors);
•
Companies must still keep employees at the ready to restart work promptly;
•
Companies may need to find other work for contractor employees for the duration of the shutdown;
“The role of federal government contractors is critical to ensuring federal government mission success, and that work is best done when it is uninterrupted,” Berteau said. “PSC urges lawmakers to avoid lapses in work for contractors— and in turn, lapses in meaningful results for federal government customers and American taxpayers—by fully funding the government.”
More information and resources for contractors, including updated
federal agency contingency plans, are available on
PSC’s Government Shutdown Resource Center.
Click here to view the PDF version of this release.
Media Contact:
Ashlei Stevens
Director, Media Relations
703.875.8974
stevens@pscouncil.org
About PSC: PSC is the voice of the government technology and professional services industry. PSC’s member companies represent small, medium and large businesses that provide federal agencies with services of all kinds, including information technology, engineering, logistics, facilities management, operations and maintenance, consulting, international development, scientific, social, environmental services, and more. Together, the trade association’s members employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in all 50 states. Follow PSC on Twitter
@PSCSpeaks. To learn more, visit
www.pscouncil.org.