Maybe it's good Pope Francis showed up on Capitol Hill this week, because he might find it closed in another seven days.

American Federation of Government Employees president J. David Cox held a conference call on Sept. 24 to talk about preparations the union is making to prepare for a possible government shutdown, something that seems more likely than ever.

"Right now people are telling us 50 percent [chance of shutdown], some are saying as high as 70 percent," he said. "You've got folks that are very extreme on some issues, and right now, the whole issue seems to be about Planned Parenthood." Some Republican lawmakers want to end federal funding of the women's health organization, which receives revenue from services and donations in addition to government funds.

With the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, 28 Republican House members are promising not to vote for appropriations bills that include funding for Planned Parenthood, while President Obama promises to veto a budget that doesn't include it. Late on Sept. 24, the Senate defeated one attempt to defund the organization, Reuters reported.

While it's not yet certain whether there will be a shutdown, Cox made clear that if there is, Congress will have AFGE and it 670,000 members to deal with.

"The lessons we learned from [the 2013 shutdown] was to mobilize, mobilize, mobilize and torture every member of Congress until they get busy until they get busy and do their job," he said. "As soon as the government shutdown happens, our members are prepared to be on the street, letting people know we will be active. I have gotten a commitment from a high number of members of Congress that they will be out there with us."

Cox said when the last shutdown occurred two years ago, 850,000 federal workers were furloughed as a result and he expected results to be similar if a shutdown occurs.

And while there is a sliver of hope that Congress will pass a continuing resolution to fund the government at least while budget negotiations continue, Cox said that will not serve government employees long term.

"Even with continuing resolutions, the government only gets partially funded," he said. "So government services only operate at past levels. There are veterans' claims to processed, new research to be done at the National Institutes of Health and there are new things going on.

"Just to keep doing CRs is not the answer to the problem either. Sure, it can stop a government shutdown, but it still doesn't resolve the problem."

Cox said he would be contacting AFGE members through a Town Hall-styled conference calls, starting Sept. 24, to keep them up-to-date on shutdown preparations. The government will close on Oct. 1 if Congress fails to pass a budget.

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