News: Government Shutdown Updates 2018-2019

Appropriations Update - Post Government Shutdown

Impact on Research and Awards Process

Friday, February 15, 2019 - Congress passed a seven-bill spending package this week to finalize FY19 appropriations, which the president signed into law today. The omnibus bill, H.J.Res.31, included funding for the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill, among other spending bills. Below is a table put together by the Office of Research with funding levels for specific federal research agencies and programs.

 
If you have any additional questions, or would like to see a full summary of the FY19 Appropriations, please reach out to Madeline Nykaza.

Friday, February 1, 2019

The deadline for the competition was recently extended to February 28, 2019. Learn more at WeAreMathematics2019.skild.com.

Thursday, January 31, 2019

NSF made important revisions to their Resumption of Operations webpage, including identification of new deadline dates for specific solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters.  

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

From NSF today:

"NSF has re-opened after an extended government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations. We are working on getting everything up and running again, but it will take time. There is no decision yet on the Fiscal Year 2019 budget; we are operating under a continuing resolution until February 15, 2019. We are hopeful that Congress will pass a final budget soon.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Although program directors were not available to interact with the community about proposal preparation and during the lapse, Fastlane was open, and proposals could be submitted. Remember that there are no deadlines for the core programs within the Engineering Directorate, although many solicitations still have specific deadlines. Some of those deadlines may be extended due to the lapse, information will be posted at NSF.gov.

PROPOSAL REVIEW

Many review panels have been canceled. Some will be rescheduled (perhaps as virtual panels), and some may be replaced by ad-hoc reviews. Due to the long duration of the shutdown, NSF may take longer than usual to make decisions on pending proposals. We are working to expedite awards for proposals that were previously recommended. We ask for your patience. We also ask for your cooperation and flexibility in case you are asked to help review proposals, either in a panel or in an ad-hoc fashion.

More information will be available and updated at NSF.gov. Please check back frequently."

Monday, January 28, 2019

A Resumption of Operations at NSF page has been developed that includes Important Notice No. 145, Resumption of Operations at the National Science Foundation, dated January 28, 2019, as well as supplemental guidance that addresses grant and cooperative agreement-related policy and systems issues. This page will continue to be updated as new information becomes available. 

Friday, January 25, 2019

A three-week, temporary hiatus to the partial government shutdown was announced today, on day 34 of the longest shutdown in history.
Some of the recent updates and news have changed; some remain in effect.

• Yesterday's NSPIRES message about the website outage has been removed.
• We urge those funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) to consult NSF's page on Information About the Government Shutdown for NSF Proposers and Grantees, which is updated daily.

Thursday, January 24, 2019

• The NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES), which hosts research opportunities within NASA, posted a notice on its website that reads: "If the partial federal shutdown extends past January 31, then NSPIRES will be unavailable due to a lack of funding." Update: This message has now been removed.
   
• The NASA fellowship due date of 1 February has changed to 1 August 2019.  This has not changed with the temporary re-opening.

Monday, January 21, 2019 - If you know of students who are not receiving stipends due to the government shutdown, please remind them of U-M's emergency loan program. Students can get an interest free $500 loan via Wolverine Access. Learn more: https://finaid.umich.edu/emergency-assistance/ These loans must be repaid in 90 days or less.  Should a student need more than $500 they need to be approved by an aid officer in our office. If the student needs more than 90 days to repay, visit the Financial Aid office to discuss options.

Friday, January 18, 2019 - See updated section for agencies or offices affected but offering limited operations with their reserve resources.**

Wednesday, January 16, 2019 - The partial government shutdown, has continued since December 22, 2018. With regard to sponsored research, this lapse of federal funding for some agencies* impacts institutions like U-M that focus on research, education, and patient care. 

• Proposals
  Affected agencies^*, such as the National Science Foundation, are unable to review proposals.

• New Awards
  Affected agencies cannot award new research projects to U-M.

• Current Research Projects
  Affected agencies cannot address modifications to existing awards.

• Reimbursements
  Reimbursements from affected agencies are delayed, resulting in a shortfall of cash of approximately $20 million per month.

We do not know when operations of federal agencies impacted by the partial shutdown will resume. At this time, the university recommends that research activities continue unless otherwise mandated by the sponsors.

As the shutdown continues, the impact will become more pronounced. We are monitoring the situation closely and will take the appropriate actions to mitigate the impact of the partial shutdown across the university.

^*Agencies/Departments affected

• Agriculture (USDA)
• Commerce (including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA, part of DHHS)
• Homeland Security
• Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Indian Health Services (IHS, part of DHHS)
• Interior
• Justice
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• Department of State
• Department of Transportation (DOT)
• Treasury

^**Agencies or Offices affected but offering limited operations

• Office of Justice Programs (DOJ) - limited operations under reserve resources
• Jet Propulsion Lab  (NASA) - limited operations under reserve resources

Agencies not affected

• Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS encompasses NIH, CDC, etc. For the shutdown, the FDA and IHS, as shown above, are affected)
• Education 
• Energy
• Defense
• Veterans Affairs

Saturday, December 22, 2018, 8 a.m. – Funding for a number of federal agencies lapsed December 22, and as a result, the federal government is on a partial shutdown.

For anyone wondering whether, and if so how, a government shutdown may impact their federally funded project, ORSP encourages you to read the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations, which includes a section starting on page 3 that addresses grants and contracts.

Agency-specific contingency plans are available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/agency-contingency-plans/.

Please note, per a recent Nature article, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Energy are not affected by the shutdown. Agencies that are impacted include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is technically subject to this government shutdown, it is using unexpired multi-year and "no-year" funding for the time being.

Neither we nor our contacts at the federal agencies know when operations will resume, and in many cases, the proposal submission procedures vary from agency to agency. The best course of action is for our research community to proceed with ongoing research unless notified differently; for new proposals, please submit to ORSP, and we will process according to the best and most recent directions provided to us by each agency. 

The following summarizes some of the impacts that may be experienced by the university research community.

What can I expect as a researcher or research administrator?

• Do continue awarded research as usual unless otherwise advised by your agency or program.
• Do still submit proposals to ORSP so that we can be responsive on your behalf as operations resume.
• Know that approvals of new applications will likely be delayed, and in many cases, applications are not being accepted, but proceed as if they are.
• Know that communications with federal offices, including those by phone, email or via websites, will likely be delayed, or may not be possible.
• Know that access to funds may be delayed.

Additional questions

I am working on a new proposal that is due. Should I continue?

Yes. We encourage researchers to proceed with application preparations and be ready with every aspect possible, including submitting to ORSP for review and working with your research administrators. The submission requirements may vary from agency to agency, but your Project Representative at ORSP will process according to the best direction we are given. Note that any communications with federal agencies, including, questions, submissions, and approvals, will not be possible.

Can I continue to work on my federally funded research?

Yes, work may continue on all awards, unless otherwise notified, to the extent that doing so will not require federal staff intervention and that funds are available.

Will any of the above circumstances change my deadline for a new federal proposal?

The answer to this question is unknown at this time. We recommend that you move forward as if the deadline is the same and submit to ORSP. If a deadline is extended, applicants will be notified by the agency. Deadlines have not formally changed yet, any such changes will be communicated by the Federal agencies only after operations resume.