As a result of past shutdowns and experiences with near shutdowns, agencies have developed policies and procedures to address such occurrences. The White House Office of Management and Budget maintains a central repository of individual agency policies, available here.
Category: Congressional To Do
Is there a Plan C?
A slimmed-down version of a legislative package to keep the federal lights on past midnight tonight was defeated last night on the House floor. While this bill was much shorter than the original continuing resolution, it also contained a provision that threw a new wrinkle into the debate: an increase in the debt ceiling through early January 2027. Ultimately, when the legislation was brought to the floor, it was defeated 174-235, with one abstention.
The bill was brought up for a vote under “suspension of the rules,” meaning that it would have required a two-thirds of the votes to pass. The bill was opposed by almost all Democrats and 38 Republicans bucked their leadership and the President-Elect.
While conversations are still on-going, no alternative has emerged as of this morning.
Please keep an eye on this space for updates.
Ok, what now? Will we or won’t we shut down?
The three-month Continuing Resolution (CR) was unveiled late Tuesday. After its contents were digested throughout the day yesterday, the dynamics around the CR passing changed drastically last night. A government shutdown starting at midnight Saturday is now a very real possibility. While a shutdown is possible, it is important to keep in mind that only certain parts and functions of the federal government would be shut down and federal employees will be furloughed. Many parts of the academic research community will feel the impact of the shutdown.
A host of basic federal functions and services will be temporarily shut down, with federal employees furloughed. For example, while National Parks may remain open (they have been closed during shutdowns), they will be devoid of staff and services. Visa processing will cease and State Department employees in consulates overseas will not be able to do any screening.
Many of the functions related to the federal research enterprise, such as the processing and reviewing of grant applications, will be temporarily unavailable. Significant portions of the funding agencies’ staff will be furloughed, and they will be legally prohibited from performing any of their duties, so all work products including emails, phone calls, etc. are prohibited. Questions related to proposals, applications, and other issues will not be answered during the shutdown.
Activities deemed essential will continue, however, even during a shutdown. Employees of the Transportation Security Administration will continue to screen passengers at airports. Members of the military will continue to be on duty and serve, but those who manage shipbuilding will be furloughed. The Social Security Administration will continue to process monthly checks to seniors. However, none of these essential workers will be paid for their efforts during the shutdown.
Even at the agencies forced to shut down many of their functions, a number of employees and activities are classified as “essential” employees, meaning that they would still be working and functioning throughout the shutdown to maintain the agencies’ critical services. In the academic context, examples include continuing to support labs with animal subjects. Agencies prepare for shutdown scenarios and each agency updates its policies regarding employees and functions that are considered “essential.” Each agency is prepared for this latest potential shutdown.
As a result of change in law after the last shutdown, each federal employee is guaranteed back-pay from their furlough. Unfortunately, federal contractors have no such guarantee.
Please continue to check this space for updates.
We Have a Speaker
After more than three weeks without a leader, the House finally elected its new Speaker a few minutes ago. Unlike the last three Speaker designees, Mike Johnson of Louisiana received the support of every Republican today. The final vote was 220 to 209.
Nominee to Head NIH Clears Committee
Earlier this morning, the nomination of Monica Bertagnolli to head the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee by a bipartisan vote of 15 to 6. Bertagnolli, the current director of the National Cancer Institute, was nominated by President Biden earlier this year to take over the NIH, which has not had a permanent head since the retirement of Francis Collins.