Will NORAD's Santa Tracker still monitor St. Nick's journey even if there's a government shutdown?
WASHINGTON – Don’t fret, kiddos. And parents of kiddos.
Neither rain nor snow nor hail nor sleet will keep Santa out of the skies on Christmas Eve. And government shutdown or not, NORAD’s Santa Tracker will follow the Jolly Ol’ Man’s journey every reindeer step of the way.
The Santa Tracker, celebrating its 63rd year, won’t be affected by a pending government shutdown, which will start at midnight Friday unless Congress and the White House strike a deal to keep things running.
Nine governmental departments and dozens of agencies will run out of money unless President Donald Trump and lawmakers agree to extend their funding.
But even if parts of the government go dark, the Santa Tracker will still be using satellites and radar to keep tabs on St. Nick’s journey around the globe and taking calls from anxious kids (and maybe a few grown-up kids at heart) who want to know if he has been spotted anywhere in their ‘hood.
The Santa Tracker is staged every year by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, a joint organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace and maritime warnings and aerospace control of North America.
“We’re on duty 24-7, 365 days a year,” said Capt. Cameron Hillier, spokesman for NORAD and U.S. North Command.
NORAD gets its U.S. funding through the Department of Defense, whose budget has already been approved by Congress and signed into law by Trump.
Not that that would even matter.
A minimal amount of federal funding from the U.S. and Canada is used for the Santa Tracker. Most of the program’s resources are provided by corporate sponsors and by some 1,400 volunteers who will join NORAD on Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and help man an around-the-clock call center on Dec. 24.
Besides the call center, which answers questions from good little girls and boys, the Santa Tracker features a mobile friendly website (www.noradsanta.org), social media channels and a “Santa Cam” streaming video. On Christmas Eve, users may call 1-877-HiNORAD to get an up-to-date report on Santa’s location.
More: Government shutdown? You'll still get mail and packages, be able to travel
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will NORAD's Santa Tracker still monitor St. Nick's journey even if there's a government shutdown?
