It is a long-standing tradition that federal offices are closed on the day of the funeral of a former President. At Social Security, this has meant the cancelling of all appointments and hearings on that day as employees have the day off.
24 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I thought we were given a"Day of Mourning", not necessarily the day of a Presidential Funeral?
While it is customary, it is by EO and not a guarantee.
I've spent almost my entire working life as an employee in the private sector. I hold a generally favorable view of federal employees and support their desire for better working conditions such as remote work. However, with all due respect to the late President Carter and his family, shutting down the entire federal government for the funeral of a former president is insane.
The day of mourning is usually within 8-10 days of the former POTUS' death. Bisignano will not be Commissioner until he is appointed, which will be after the inauguration (Jan 20th). He is not the one making this call.
Carolyn Colvin (acting COSS) will likely close offices, setting off a scramble to call appointments early or reschedule.
If you're wondering "will MLK Day affect all this", well....in what can charitably described as insulting to the man's memory, MLK Day in 2025 is on the same day The Orange One is inaugurated (Jan 20th).
A national day of mourning was declared for January 9th. Offices will be closed. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/29/proclamation-announcing-the-death-of-james-earl-carter-jr/#:~:text=I%20do%20further%20appoint%20January,President%20James%20Earl%20Carter%2C%20Jr
Even though Trump is behaving as if he is already President, Bisignano is not now the Commissioner of Social Security. That would be Acting Commissioner Colvin.
Per a Newsweek article "The White House has announced that Carter will be honored with a national day of mourning on January 9, continuing the tradition of recognizing former presidents' deaths. However, the day, a Thursday, will not be a federal holiday." https://www.newsweek.com/jimmy-carter-mourning-federal-holiday-details-2007313
I spoke with a field office claims representative at midday at they had received no guidance at that time as to whether the office will be closed for the national day of mourning.
It will be forthcoming. The EO closing federal offices came out today. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/30/executive-order-providing-for-the-closing-of-executive-departments-and-agencies-of-the-federal-government-on-january-9-2025/
@11:45, Newsweek may have posted prematurely. President Biden issued an EO today closing federal offices on the day of mourning. It's also possible that this simply would not be referred to as a federal holiday since those are defined by statute.
I'm a federal employee. Personally, I think it's absurd to have another day off for a very old fella that had little consequence on my life. I'm in the minority here, but I also don't understand why presidents gift Christmas Eve off. We earn leave and get 11 Federal holidays. Use the leave as needed. It's things like this that give federal employees a poor image.
FYI: From a Forbes article in 2021: "The estimated taxpayer cost for each federal holiday is $818 million – and that’s just within the executive agencies, not including the military or U.S. Postal Service." So this holiday will probably cost well over a billion dollars.
A federal employee with a work ethic should always be applauded but President Carter taught us a valuable lesson. He put country before himself. Inflation was running rampant during his administration and he decided to nominate Paul Volcker to lead the Federal Reserve knowing full well that it would cost him the election. President Carter did lose the election but he saved the nation. A person with integrity don’t grow on trees especially these days.
The death of a President is an important historical event. Federal Employees should honor the chief executive that day. To continue working on the day of the funeral as if this was any other day, would be disrespectful.
Pete Rozelle , the NFL commissioner when JFK was assassinated,. said the biggest mistake he made as commissioner was playing the games the Sunday after the President passed away.
There is a time for working, and a time for mourning and remembrance.
I'm not sure comparing JFKs assassination to Jimmy Carter's 100 year old death is the same. Best I can tell, JFKs assassination affected the country times ten greater than how the Trump assassination attempt affected the country. My point is JFKs assassination is STILL is a big deal. Jimmy Carter passing away in hospice is a much different situation. The dude was old. Old people die. Was he a good person? I don't think anybody disputes that, but the man has been dying for literally years. What percentage of the country will even pay attention to the funeral events? Heck, if we cared so much we'd mandate federal employees report to work, require mandatory attendance of some Jimmy Carter history, and make everyone watch the funeral proceedings together. Instead, for most it'll be an extra day to enjoy lunch out at Chili's and maybe catch up on some YouTube. Just trying to present the reality of what we are authorizing by executive order. Enjoy the chicken fingers and corn on the cob!
Veteran, father, Christian, and a man of his word. History may well tell us he was the last of the good presidents, everything after has been a trainwreck. Well deserved rest to a fine example of a man.
Well, sure - all of those things you said, but a terrible president nonetheless. His crisis of confidence speech was the highlight of his presidency. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his success - quite the opposite exactly.
Trump also said he would attend former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Trump had previously called Carter a “forgotten president” and a “terrible president,” but more recently changed his tune on his late predecessor. In a post on Truth Social after news broke of Carter’s death on Sunday, Trump wrote, “[H]e did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
24 comments:
I thought we were given a"Day of Mourning", not necessarily the day of a Presidential Funeral?
While it is customary, it is by EO and not a guarantee.
I've spent almost my entire working life as an employee in the private sector. I hold a generally favorable view of federal employees and support their desire for better working conditions such as remote work. However, with all due respect to the late President Carter and his family, shutting down the entire federal government for the funeral of a former president is insane.
Hopefully Mr. Bisignano does not close field offices in observance. It is too important a cause to serve our public.
The day of mourning is usually within 8-10 days of the former POTUS' death. Bisignano will not be Commissioner until he is appointed, which will be after the inauguration (Jan 20th). He is not the one making this call.
Carolyn Colvin (acting COSS) will likely close offices, setting off a scramble to call appointments early or reschedule.
If you're wondering "will MLK Day affect all this", well....in what can charitably described as insulting to the man's memory, MLK Day in 2025 is on the same day The Orange One is inaugurated (Jan 20th).
Worked for SSA since the 80s. It seems we've gotten off a day for every former President's death. Seemed crazy to me but I had no say in it.
A national day of mourning was declared for January 9th. Offices will be closed. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/29/proclamation-announcing-the-death-of-james-earl-carter-jr/#:~:text=I%20do%20further%20appoint%20January,President%20James%20Earl%20Carter%2C%20Jr
A decent human being, respectful of others, with a lot of compassion and integrity
Jimmy Carter was an amazing human being. Unlike trump.
Even though Trump is behaving as if he is already President, Bisignano is not now the Commissioner of Social Security. That would be Acting Commissioner Colvin.
It seems that teleworking and days off are topics that interest federal employees the most.
Per a Newsweek article "The White House has announced that Carter will be honored with a national day of mourning on January 9, continuing the tradition of recognizing former presidents' deaths. However, the day, a Thursday, will not be a federal holiday." https://www.newsweek.com/jimmy-carter-mourning-federal-holiday-details-2007313
So lets not cancel all those hearings just yet.
I spoke with a field office claims representative at midday at they had received no guidance at that time as to whether the office will be closed for the national day of mourning.
It will be forthcoming. The EO closing federal offices came out today. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/30/executive-order-providing-for-the-closing-of-executive-departments-and-agencies-of-the-federal-government-on-january-9-2025/
@11:45, Newsweek may have posted prematurely. President Biden issued an EO today closing federal offices on the day of mourning. It's also possible that this simply would not be referred to as a federal holiday since those are defined by statute.
Executive order has been issued, offices closed January 9.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/30/executive-order-providing-for-the-closing-of-executive-departments-and-agencies-of-the-federal-government-on-january-9-2025/
Looks like the executive order to close was just issued.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/30/executive-order-providing-for-the-closing-of-executive-departments-and-agencies-of-the-federal-government-on-january-9-2025/
I'm a federal employee. Personally, I think it's absurd to have another day off for a very old fella that had little consequence on my life. I'm in the minority here, but I also don't understand why presidents gift Christmas Eve off. We earn leave and get 11 Federal holidays. Use the leave as needed. It's things like this that give federal employees a poor image.
FYI: From a Forbes article in 2021: "The estimated taxpayer cost for each federal holiday is $818 million – and that’s just within the executive agencies, not including the military or U.S. Postal Service." So this holiday will probably cost well over a billion dollars.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/06/17/with-juneteenth-federal-employees-now-get-44-paid-days-off-on-average/
A federal employee with a work ethic should always be applauded but President Carter taught us a valuable lesson. He put country before himself. Inflation was running rampant during his administration and he decided to nominate Paul Volcker to lead the Federal Reserve knowing full well that it would cost him the election. President Carter did lose the election but he saved the nation. A person with integrity don’t grow on trees especially these days.
The death of a President is an important historical event. Federal Employees should honor the chief executive that day. To continue working on the day of the funeral as if this was any other day, would be disrespectful.
Pete Rozelle , the NFL commissioner when JFK was assassinated,. said the biggest mistake he made as commissioner was playing the games the Sunday after the President passed away.
There is a time for working, and a time for mourning and remembrance.
I'm not sure comparing JFKs assassination to Jimmy Carter's 100 year old death is the same. Best I can tell, JFKs assassination affected the country times ten greater than how the Trump assassination attempt affected the country. My point is JFKs assassination is STILL is a big deal. Jimmy Carter passing away in hospice is a much different situation. The dude was old. Old people die. Was he a good person? I don't think anybody disputes that, but the man has been dying for literally years. What percentage of the country will even pay attention to the funeral events? Heck, if we cared so much we'd mandate federal employees report to work, require mandatory attendance of some Jimmy Carter history, and make everyone watch the funeral proceedings together. Instead, for most it'll be an extra day to enjoy lunch out at Chili's and maybe catch up on some YouTube. Just trying to present the reality of what we are authorizing by executive order. Enjoy the chicken fingers and corn on the cob!
Veteran, father, Christian, and a man of his word. History may well tell us he was the last of the good presidents, everything after has been a trainwreck. Well deserved rest to a fine example of a man.
Well, sure - all of those things you said, but a terrible president nonetheless. His crisis of confidence speech was the highlight of his presidency. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his success - quite the opposite exactly.
Trump also said he would attend former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Trump had previously called Carter a “forgotten president” and a “terrible president,” but more recently changed his tune on his late predecessor. In a post on Truth Social after news broke of Carter’s death on Sunday, Trump wrote, “[H]e did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
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