Possible U.S. government shutdown

Dear colleagues,
 
In December, the U.S. Congress passed legislation (H.R. 10545, the “American Relief Act, 2025”), which extended appropriations to federal agencies through March 14, 2025. If Congress fails to pass new legislation to fund the government beyond that date, the government will shut down until Congress can approve a spending bill.
 
As you may recall, the government has periodically faced this type of deadline in recent years, with shutdowns occurring in 2018 and 2019 — and a shutdown remains a real possibility in this case. To make sure you’re prepared, please read through this FAQ as soon as possible.
 
Particularly given the changes to federal research policy over the past six weeks, you can be assured that MIT is following this situation closely and making plans now to minimize the impact on our research enterprise if a shutdown does occur. As a general matter, our aim is to ensure that research projects that are funded by active federal awards can continue at current levels during a short-term shutdown. The Institute would, however, face constraints in supporting the current level of expenditures in the event of a prolonged shutdown.
 
A government shutdown would likely disrupt award processing. Agency contacts would likely not be available to take administrative actions such as issuing awards, providing approvals, and issuing no-cost extensions. If you anticipate such needs, Research Administration Services (RAS) can try to assist you with these matters, ahead of a shutdown; recognize, however, that there have been delays in some agency responses in recent weeks.
 
A shutdown might also impact visa processing for international students and scholars. Initial information is included in the FAQ.
 
We will update the FAQ as events warrant; please bookmark it and plan to check it regularly. If you have any questions about the impact of changes to federal policy on your research funding, please contact research-policy-questions@mit.edu, which reaches senior staff in my office as well as attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel. Questions regarding the administration of federal awards should be directed to ra-help@mit.edu or to your RAS Contract Administrator.
 
Sincerely,
 
Ian A. Waitz
Vice President for Research