Three Ways a Government Shutdown Will Impact Science
The federal government will shut down on 12/21/2024 if Congress is not able to pass a spending bill, and that looks increasingly likely thanks to President-elect Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. You can read more about the political dynamics of what’s going on here, here, here, here, and in many other places (lots of coverage of that right now).
I’m not here to tell you about the political dynamics, dismal as they are. Rather, I’m here to tell you how a government shutdown will impact government science – and not in a good way. Here are three ways that a government shutdown will affect science.
1. Ongoing Federal Scientific Work/Experiments/Research Will Stop
Science-based agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several others will not be able to retain most of their staff during the shutdown. Their scientists, researchers, and staff working on science policies will leave their labs and offices, go home, and be instructed not to do a single second of government work. Research on clean air, water, and energy, animal disease vectors, chemical safety, climate change, etc., will stop. Fortunately, some agencies have staff who are considered essential, and they will continue to work. For example, some CDC staff responding to potential disease outbreaks will likely be retained and continue their work. However, this is generally a small portion of the total staff.
Some agencies may have enough unspent cash to keep their laboratories and scientific facilities open for a limited time. But if the shutdown lasts long enough, employees and contractors will find themselves furloughed. When the government faced a potential shutdown in 2023, Science reported that DOE had only enough cash to keep its labs and facilities open for five days. This included the 17 national laboratories that do groundbreaking research across the U.S., and its large facilities that helped scientists make breakthroughs in fusion research.
2. New Grant Funding Will be Halted
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) fund most of the basic research across the nation. Government agencies also fund a significant amount of applied research. While researchers with government grants will not see their payments stopped, any review of new grant proposals or paperwork to finalize funding of recently approved grant proposals will stop. Why? Because most agency staff will be furloughed. There will not be enough staff around to help coordinate grant review meetings, answer emails or phone calls, or do anything else required to ensure the grantmaking process continues. If you’re planning to submit a grant proposal, go for it, but just be aware that it will likely take longer to process.
3. No Access to Federal Resources or Data
Many scientists outside the federal government depend on federal resources and data, as do government officials and other decision-makers. I have personal experience with this. My prior work studying scientific capacity at federal agencies largely depended on the Office of Personnel Management’s FedScope dataset. Data collection and updates will likely be stopped for FedScope and many other databases researchers depend on. Scientists in academia and other non-governmental organizations also collaborate with experts inside federal agencies. These collaborations will cease during the government shutdown, disrupting critical research and collaboration.
A Critical Time for Federal Scientists
Many federal scientists do their work because they are passionate about safeguarding public health and safety. With an incoming administration ready to slash the federal workforce and likely to be openly hostile to federal science, I am certain our science-based agencies and cadre of federal scientists are doing everything they can right now to ensure that public safeguards remain in place. A government shutdown will prevent them from finalizing any of these important efforts. Maybe that’s part of Trump’s plan?
Below is a list (not exhaustive) of the public safeguards that federal researchers work on day in and day out:
Climate Change
Disaster Management
Clean Water
Clean Air
Food Safety
Food Nutrition
Food Assistance
Clean Energy
Clean Transportation
Wildlife Conservation
Weather Forecasting
Chemical Safety
Environmental Health
Worker Safety
Public Health
Chronic and Infectious Diseases
Drug and Medical Device Safety
Agriculture
Waste Management
Of course, each bulleted category could have more detailed benefits listed below it. The point is that federal scientists do a lot to provide us with safeguards and benefits we experience every day. If these scientists are not at work, then public health and safety are at risk.
Consider calling your congressional members and asking them to fund the government.
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As a retired scientist, I have personally experienced the problems that these government shutdown have on the funding of academic research. For example, the shutdowns have a huge impact on the reviewing and evaluation of grant applications. At the National Institutes of Health, there are dozens of grant review panels called Study Sections. These panels meet three times a year, and they require extensive planning by the NIH staff who schedule and run the panels. Government shutdowns completely disrupt this critical process. During the period when I was actively engaged in research, NIH staff were not even allowed to come into their offices to work during a shutdown, so, naturally, they fell behind. I hope that ridiculous practice has changed!