NEWS OF THE WEEK
GOVERNMENT: Budget impasse halts work for most government researchers and agencies
T
HE FEDERAL R&D enterprise nearly ground to
a halt last week when Congress failed to pass a 2014 budget. Because there was no budget when the fiscal year started on Oct. 1, the government partially shut down for the first time in 17 years. Adding to the uncertainty is growing concern about another approaching political showdown over the nation’s debt-ceiling limit, which could further impede government operations. As C&EN went to press, thousands of scientists were among the 800,000 federal workers who remained at home on furlough as congressional leaders continued to butt heads over a stopgap budget measure to keep the government running. Support for the Affordable Care Act was the main subject of disagreement. Among chemists, the biggest impact is likely on federal scientists at agencies such as NIH and EPA. Many have had to temporarily abandon their research and may not be paid for missed days resulting from the shutdown. Chemists in industry and academia are also left in the lurch. Many regulatory agencies have halted inspections, such as FDA’s food safety checks, and processing of applications, such as EPA’s premanufacture notices approving new chemicals. The Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates, an industry group, is concerned that the shutdown will halt free-trade negotiations with Europe scheduled for this week, says William E. Allmond IV, vice president of government and public relations. “It puts all of those industry priorities on the back burner.” The National Science Foundation and other science funders have quit processing new grants, although
grantees who have already received funds can spend that money. Scientists with pending grant applications cannot work on them because most government websites are not operating. George Washington University’s chemistry department chair, Michael M. King, is most worried about junior faculty members who have grants under review. “What’s disappointing is the time and effort that is being devoted to figuring out what to do rather than doing something productive for our teaching and research,” he says. While talks continue, some agencies are still at work because they run on user fees, including the Patent &
WHO’S WORKING The government shutdown has sidelined a majority of federal employees, including many scientists. Here are a few research-related people still on the job. ◾ Workers in the Office of Polar Programs at NSF ◾ Lab technicians keeping test animals alive at EPA ◾ Environmental management workers at DOE ◾ Nuclear engineering technicians at NIST ◾ Health care workers taking care of patients at NIH Clinical Center ◾ Researchers who investigate adverse event reports at FDA DOE = Department of Energy. NIST = National Institute of Standards & Technology. SOURCE: Agency contingency plans
Trademark Office and the FDA office that processes New Drug Applications. Although 70% of Department of Energy employees are furloughed, its national laboratories will continue operating on contingency funds, at least for the short-term. “I ask you to maintain your focus during these uncertain budgetary times,” Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charles F. McMillan wrote to employees. “Watch out for each other and concentrate on things we can control.”—ANDREA WIDENER
SHUTTERSTOCK
SHUTDOWN SLAMS FEDERAL R&D
LEGISLATION President Obama signs bill to keep Federal Helium Reserve open A helium crisis was averted last week when President Barack Obama signed a bill to allow the Federal Helium Reserve to continue operating. The Texas-based reserve supplies 42% of the helium used in the U.S. and 30% worldwide. Without congressional intervention, a 1996 law would require the facility to close on Oct. 7. Chemical producers, federal and academic helium users, and industries that rely on helium, such as manufacturers
of semiconductors and nuclear magnetic resonance instruments, lobbied Congress for several years to prevent a shutdown of the reserve. Observers argued that a shutdown would have thrown world helium markets into a tailspin, exacerbating ongoing shortages and causing a price spike. The bill (H.R. 354) came out of a lastminute compromise between the House of Representatives and the Senate. It requires the Bureau of Land Management,
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which operates the reserve, to start auctioning off its remaining 10 billioncu-ft helium supply starting in 2015. The auction will continue until 3 billion cu ft is left for federal purposes. “I am both elated and relieved that Congress has gotten this done,” says Michael S. Turner, president of the American Physical Society, echoing the sentiments of many academic researchers who use helium.—ANDREA WIDENER
