US First Lady Michelle Obama went ahead with the planned launch of a national campaign to battle childhood obesity, while President Barack Obama welcomed top lawmakers to discuss ways to battle double-digit unemployment.

Obama could be heard mentioning "snowmaggedon" -- Washington residents facing the weekend's heavy snowfall scrambled to hoard foodstuffs with end-of-the-world energy -- before a brief public appearance with his guests.

But the House of Representatives scrapped its work week, opting to get an early start on a week-long recess and planning a February 22 return, said Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

And the government's Office of Personnel Management notified non-emergency employees at all federal agencies that they could stay home, as key committees scrapped planned hearings covering a wide range of hot-button issues.

Lawmakers put off sessions on troubled auto giant Toyota's handling of dangerous defects in its cars, on China's feud with Google, on the US Air Force's budget, on a jobs package, and to hear from Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke or Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

But the snow that piled up on Washington's streets, clogged up its main airports, slowed its metro to a crawl, and shuttered some stores just blocks from the White House did not deter everyone.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said on his Twitter feed that he had slept in his office after a difficult 12-hour trip from his home state of Iowa in order to make sure he did not miss votes or a 7 am television interview.

The First Lady's office brought forward a concert celebrating the music of the civil rights era, including appearances by among others, Bob Dylan, by 24 hours, due to the looming snowstorm.

And the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee planned to go ahead with its hearing on what to do about invasive Asian carp threatening Great Lakes eco-systems and fisheries.

"We were prepared, the witnesses were available," said committee spokeswoman Mary Kerr. "Plus, the chairman is from (snow-prone) Minnesota."

Modern technology -- as well as looming deadlines and a sense of duty -- helped some workers who did not need to be physically in their offices to play their part in the governmental workings of the world's lone superpower.

"I'm actually working at home today," said James Reynolds, an analyst with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), who told AFP he had brought home some key files on Friday in anticipation of being snowed in.

"I have my stuff, I can log into our work computer system, and essentially I can totally work from home. I could totally be sitting at my desk at GAO," he said. "They're really good about giving us the tools to do that."

And "snow day or not, the jobs I'm running on all have their deadlines," he said. "If I opt to goof off, I pay the price. So I'm working."

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