On Oct. 1, the U.S. federal government passed a continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown due to Congress’s failure to pass funding legislation for the upcoming year.
During a government shutdown, the money that the federal government disburses to pay employees and fund research and federally funded programs stops flowing, resulting in many federal employees not getting paid or being furloughed.
“Imagine you are a contractor for the federal government and receive payments monthly,” Dan Carigg, a University of Rhode Island political science professor, said. “For the first month of the shutdown, you may be able to continue your work without getting paid. However, as the shutdown continues, you might have to quit this job and find a job elsewhere, thus disrupting the workflow of the federal government and harming the economy.”
This continuing resolution will last until Nov. 1, at which time if Congress has still failed to pass new funding legislation, the government will shut down. While it cannot be determined how long that shutdown would last, past shutdowns show that the longer it lasts, the more detrimental the effects could be to the economy. Additionally, this shutdown wouldn’t necessarily benefit the House Republicans or Democrats.
Carrigg said that the House and Senate Republicans have not reached an agreement regarding the spending of federal funds. Where the House wants to use some spending for tighter border control, the Senate wants money to help the war effort in Ukraine.
While the effects of the shutdown will be primarily felt by furloughed federal employees and their families, some effects of the shutdown may be felt on URI’s campus.
According to Political Science Professor Raymond Cox, if the shutdown lasts for less than a month, many students won’t even know there was a government shutdown unless they have family members who are federal employees. Should the shutdown last past the end of November, the effects may be more apparent.
Carigg and Cox said that graduate students completing research will see the effects the most of any URI students. However, as stated in an email sent to students on Sept. 29, the University wrote “…researchers with active federally sponsored grants and contracts will generally be instructed to continue work…” Despite this, students planning to apply for research grants to be used in the spring semester may have some difficulty doing so.
Federal agencies that deal with grant funding are not deemed essential and will be furloughed during the shutdown. Therefore, no proposals will be issued while the government is shut down.
Additionally, students applying for financial aid for the spring semester will see a delay in their application being processed as these employees will be furloughed as well.
Students receiving food aid will still be able to get access to the resources they need, according to Cox. He explains that the University will be able to provide these students with the same resources they received when the government was not shut down. However, Carigg warns that depending on the longevity of the shutdown, these students may begin to feel the effects of the shutdown.
While the government shutdown has the potential to have large effects on the economy, URI students overall should not worry about their day-to-day lives being drastically impacted. Both professors agree that many students will not know about the shutdown unless they have family members who work for the federal government. As part of the continuing resolution, however, Congress still has until Nov. 1 to decide how the government should distribute its funding. Should this happen, the government will not shut down and the spending budget for 2024 will be set.