The US Congress failed to pass the bill to exit the federal government from the “shutdown”. Credit: Volodymyr Tverdokhlib / Alamy / Profimedia
The shutdown of the US federal government could force most of the employees in the institution that manages the nation's nuclear weapons to be laid off, according to the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, according to AFP.
“We were notified last night by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) — the group that manages and administers our nuclear stockpile — that the carryover funds they've been using are about to run out,” said Republican Congressman Mike Rogers.
“They will have to fire 80 percent of their employees,” the official added.
The federal government is expected to be in budget paralysis, or “shutdown,” again early next week, with no end in sight as the Senate's attempt to pass the Republican bill to reopen the government failed for the 10th time on Thursday.
It is unclear whether Rogers was referring to a forced temporary furlough for the duration of the “shutdown” or permanent layoffs.
On the other hand, the congressman added, “These are not employees you want to go home. They are managing and managing a very important asset for us. They need to be at work and getting paid.”
The US has a stockpile of 5,177 nuclear warheads, of which about 1,770 are deployed, according to the global security non-profit organization Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
NNSA is responsible for the design, manufacture, maintenance and securing of weapons. It has fewer than 2,000 federal employees who oversee about 60,000 contract employees.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told USA Today in an interview Thursday about the effects of the government shutdown on the NNSA that “starting next week, we will have to lay off tens of thousands of … workers who are critical to our national security.”
According to the daily, the staff of the institution was informed that forced leaves without pay could be ordered starting from Friday itself.
