Federal Science on Pause Amid Shutdown

The federal government shut down on Wednesday for the first time since 2019, triggering a full stop for most research activities inside science agencies. Several of these agencies will furlough most of their staff while allowing work on external research grants to continue. Agency plans do not reference any permanent workforce reductions, which the White House directed agencies to consider in a memo last week.

In their shutdown “lapse plans,” science agencies largely say they will pause most basic research conducted internally while keeping some employees working without pay to maintain research equipment. Some agencies can continue work using funding outside annual appropriations: for instance, the National Institute of Standards and Technology can continue to pay for work on semiconductor R&D using funding from the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Department of Defense has funding for the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield and quantum benchmarking initiatives through the reconciliation megabill enacted in July.

For extramural research, agencies such as the National Science Foundation and NASA will not issue new solicitations, review grant applications, or award new grants during the shutdown. At NSF, which almost entirely funds extramural research, work can continue on any awards that still have funds available and do not need intervention from federal staff. Researchers can still submit proposals, and NSF says it will issue guidance regarding any deadlines that passed during the shutdown after it ends. Researchers are also permitted to conduct ad hoc reviews, but review panels will be rescheduled. NASA specifies that the agency will only provide post-shutdown funding for research activities that are “aligned with presidential priorities.”

Guidance from COGR, an association of research institutions that advocates for research policy, states that faculty working in federal labs or facilities, cooperative agreements, or joint awards may be most immediately affected. NSF allows recipients of cooperative agreements for major or mid-scale facilities construction to continue work for up to 30 days.

NSF and NASA plan to furlough around 80% of their staff, compared to around 90% in the 2019 shutdown. The remaining staff at NSF will mostly support facilities and activities to “support preservation of life and property,” including polar operations. Additionally, approximately 250 “rotator” employees and 60 fellows at professional associations will continue to work for NSF, paid via already-obligated or outside funds. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has spelled out numerous furlough exceptions for its satellite, supercomputing, and weather data programs.

Last week, the White House Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to consider reductions in force, in addition to standard furloughs, as part of their shutdown plans. These RIFs should target programs that do not have alternative sources of funding and are “not consistent with the president’s priorities,” the OMB memo states.

In a statement last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressed doubt that any such RIFs would be permanent. “These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today,” he said. Two unions for public sector employees filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against OMB for threatening RIFs and against the Office of Personnel Management for issuing instructions that federal employees will be allowed to work during the shutdown if they are needed to carry out RIFs.

Any proposed RIF plans must be submitted to OMB, the memo adds. None of the updated shutdown plans from science agencies mentions RIFs, even though most of them were published online after the memo was sent. NSF and NASA do note the number of staff who will depart through the deferred resignation program: 340 at NSF, between deferred resignations and voluntary early retirements, and 306 at NASA. Even without additional efforts to reduce the workforce, agencies such as NASA have shed employees during previous shutdowns.

The most recent shutdown lasted 35 days before Congress passed a three-week funding agreement, making it the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Other shutdowns have been as short as a few hours. The longer the shutdown, the more likely federal contractors are to run out of funding, which can impact federally funded R&D centers and other contractor-operated research facilities. Some, but not all, contractors received back pay after the 2019 shutdown.

Each agency’s lapse plan is hosted on its own website. The White House previously hosted all agencies’ plans on its website but removed them earlier this year.