Pentagon prepares shutdown instructions

Senior Pentagon officials are finalizing instructions to guide the Defense Department through a government shutdown.

In a Wednesday email, Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn is preparing "detailed guidance" for a shutdown.

That instruction could be issued as soon as "this afternoon or tomorrow," Lapan said.

Lynn's guidance will instruct "the major components in this department about how they should go about planning for a possible shutdown, including such things as what would constitute ... an essential operation or mission and what — and who — would be the necessary personnel to continue to carry that out in the event of a shutdown," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Tuesday.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would require military personnel and supporting private-sector contractors be paid during a federal work stoppage.

She has secured over 30 co-sponsors, mostly fellow Senate Republicans. As of late Wednesday afternoon three Democrats, Sens. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Robert Casey (Penn.) and Kay Hagan (N.C.) also have signed on.

Hutchison’s office says she has reached out to other Democrats and is hopeful more will soon sign on. Her office also said Hutchison hopes Stabenow, Casey and Hagan will be able to garner more Democratic support for the measure.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Hutchinson said passing the bill quickly is important to reassure military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan “with families at home wondering if their spouses at home with children will get paychecks.”

“I hope get a vote in short order,” she said, “so this is off the table.”

Leaders of the military services say they are still trying to figure out exactly what a shutdown would mean and how they would implement one.

Defense officials also say they are trying now to get clarity on what positions are essential and non-essential. Essential employees would still report to work during a shutdown.

DOD officials also are trying to determine what to do about positions directly supporting ongoing conflicts.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Tuesday officials are trying to determine "what to do with the military and civilian workforce."

As the clock ticks toward a government shutdown, defense-minded lawmakers continued to express concerns about service members not getting paid, especially ones who are deployed in combat zones and have families back home depending on those funds.

The Defense Department has "been through this many times before, so we're not having to learn ... how to do this again,” Morrell said.

"We have fundamental understanding of this.  We can do this relatively quickly.  It's not without pain, but we are familiar with how to plan for this," he said.

Asked if service men and women would not get paid during a shutdown, Morrell replied: "We're not alone in that — that's something that is potentially facing all government employees."