Sept. 30 update: Congress appears to have reached a last-minute deal to fund the government for 45 days, averting a shutdown for now.
As some conservative members of Congress block passage of spending bills intended to keep the government open, a federal government shutdown will begin this weekend, disrupting many public services.
When are not signed into law by the start of the federal fiscal year on October 1—our current situation—Congress must pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) providing temporary funding and enabling affected federal agencies to continue operations and programs. The CR has failed to pass, forcing those agencies to implement shutdown procedures and operate in a severely smaller scale.
While many government operations are suspended, those related to health, safety, and security (such as law enforcement, military, and border operations) will continue, as will mandatory government programs like Social Security. Agencies will need to determine which of its employees are essential and therefore required to report to work during the shutdown (without pay).
During the shutdown, libraries may see some delays in federal services:
- Processing competitive grant programs. The Institute of Museum and Library Services had set a September 20 deadline for its Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program and its National Leadership Grants for Libraries. A shutdown will likely delay processing and further action for these grant applications.
- Questions and clarifications by phone or email to federal staff—those about the status of grant applications or the details of Public Service Loan Forgiveness, for example—will likely not be answered during the shutdown.
- Libraries and school libraries on federally owned land, such as military bases, may be temporarily closed.
- Federal employees may need to cancel attendance or speaking engagements at meetings, conferences, or other activities, even if arrangements had been previously confirmed.
Some federal services, however, will see minimal impacts:
- Funding to state libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act’s (LSTA) Grants to States program will not be affected, since this funding has already been disbursed to states. State authorities will continue supporting local programs and subgrants.
- Most grant funding for this fiscal year administered by the US Department of Education (DOE) was already disbursed to state education agencies. Programs such as Comprehensive Literacy Development grants, Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL), and Title I grants to Local Education Agencies are not likely to see disruption. A few education grant funds are scheduled to be disbursed on October 1, the first day of the shutdown, but these disbursements are expected to still occur.
- Student loan disbursements are considered an essential service and will continue as normal. In 2018, the DOE Federal Student Aid office provided guidance that “in the event of a closure … there will be minimal impact on students, borrowers, schools, lenders, and guaranty agencies.”
A protracted federal shutdown may cause more dramatic effects to the nation and potentially our economy. Any solution to the current impasse will require compromise between the administration, House, and Senate. The American Library Association will continue to lead efforts for funding for important library programs like LSTA and IAL, and oppose efforts to slash funding in Congress for education and library programs.
