This post was written by Lorraine M. Campos and Joelle E.K. Laszlo.
When prevention of an event is impossible, preparation is the best defense. This is certainly the case for federal contractors facing an impending Government shutdown. By the time this ‘blog entry is posted, the likelihood of such a shutdown should be clearer, as the House of Representatives votes today on the latest federal funding continuing resolution (“CR”). If the new CR is passed, federal operations will continue for another three weeks under its temporary spending provisions, while Democrats and Republicans continue to hammer each other, as they hammer out the 2011 federal budget.
If a new CR isn’t passed, and no budget miraculously materializes, the CR currently funding federal operations will expire this Friday, March 18th. At that point, federal agencies will be required to cease all but the most crucial operations. Such a federal shutdown will mean different things to different contractors, but even those who don’t stand to be severely or even marginally impacted in the short term would be well advised to take the time to consider the shutdown’s potentially broader implications. Reed Smith offers six recommendations to federal contractors preparing to weather the potential federal shutdown and emerge on solid ground – to read them, click here.