New Action Alert: Write to Congress TODAY about the Need to Reopen the Federal Government

Funding for most government activities expired at midnight on September 30. Since Congress has failed to reach an agreement to keep the government open, all federal agencies are now shut down.

The shutdown and lack of clarity on FY 2026 funding damages the ability of federal science agencies like the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Institute of Education Sciences, and federal statistical agencies to meet their missions. Those harms are passed on to researchers who rely on support from the federal government.

Federal science and statistical agencies have already experienced destructive effects this year as a result of Trump Administration policies, including termination of thousands of research and training grants, program cancellations, mass layoffs, pauses or cancellations of important data collections, and elimination of federal advisory bodies, to name a few. The government shutdown only exacerbates these damages and further degrades U.S. scientific leadership by delaying grant competitions and award decisions, leaving current grantees without access to technical assistance from program officers, and causing issues with accessing already-obligated funds, among others.

Write to your Members of Congress TODAY to urge them to end the shutdown and work with their colleagues to complete the FY 2026 appropriations process without further delay.