University officials are taking on the effects of the Oct. 1 federal shutdown, causing research projects and grants at UVM to face funding delays.
The disruption stems from congressional disputes over health care funding, leaving some federal agencies partially inactive.
Programs like student aid, loans and work-study are essential federal services that remain unaffected and continue without interruption.
Wendy Koenig, UVM’s executive director of government relations, said the uncertainty has increased communication with federal partners.
“Student aid is not impacted by the shutdown, research is impacted by the shutdown,” she said.
The University initially self-funds research, and then is reimbursed by the federal government.
“I think the biggest impact is that people get nervous, but consistently throughout all shutdowns, we’ve seen that we do get paid back,” said Kirk Dombrowski, Vice President for Research.
Automated reimbursements through digital processes have ensured that payments continue as usual, while delayed payments will require individual approval.
Dombrowski’s office continues to monitor communication with federal agencies to determine which payment systems remain operational.
During past shutdowns, the administration did not need to delay anything due to short shutdown durations. If the interruption spans multiple weeks, the administration is preparing to delay large purchases and new hires.
“None of the issues that are stopping them from [opening the government] have to do with higher education,” Dombrowski said. “Most of the budget bills that are sitting around in Congress waiting to be passed [are] quite good for us.”
The president’s budget request included significantly reduced funding for federal research agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy.
The approval of the bills will ensure the same level of funding that we’ve seen in previous years.
As the administration continues to provide updates to faculty, staff and students about the issue, Koenig’s office is planning a public forum in mid-November to answer student questions about ongoing federal actions.
“If anything we learn [or] think is potentially deleterious to the University, we [will] let people know right away,” Koenig said. “There is no immediate resolution in sight, as Congress remains gridlocked.”
The administration is also monitoring updates from national higher education organizations to anticipate any policy changes that could affect federally supported projects.
“We talk to our congressional delegation almost daily about what is happening,” Koenig said. “We also work with a government affairs firm in D.C. that is very dialed into what’s happening with the shutdown.”
Although the current closure is similar to past shutdowns, this one has continued longer than most, having been ongoing for 18 days as of Oct. 19.
In the last 15 years, shutdowns have ranged from 24 hours to a few weeks, with the longest shutdown in history being 34 days during President Donald Trump’s first term, according to an Oct. 10 report from Time Magazine.
As the University continues to pursue all federally funded research projects, payments from federal agencies may take longer to process.
“In all of the shutdowns we’ve seen, when the government reopens, [it] has covered any money that would have been spent on grants while they were shut down,” Koenig said. “So in other words, we keep working.”
