An Update on Potential Government Shutdown: Prepared for Members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology
Impact on SGO members: A partial government shutdown will affect health programs, disrupting grant awards and research at the National Institutes of Health and Medicare telehealth services.
The likelihood of a partial government shutdown has risen dramatically following Saturday’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis. Six appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) and the Defense funding bills are operating under a continuing resolution that expires on Friday, January 30. The Labor-HHS and Defense appropriations bills cleared the House on bipartisan basis last week, but they were packaged with the remaining funding bills, including that for the Department of Homeland Security, for consideration in the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Senate Democrats will not allow the current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill to move forward in light of the shooting in Minneapolis over the weekend, threatening passage of the entire funding package. Negotiations are underway to see if an agreement can be reached. One option that Schumer is trying to advance is to split the Department of Homeland Security bill from the funding package, allowing the Senate to advance the Labor-HHS, Defense, and other funding bills. However, this would require unanimous consent by all 100 senators, which is unlikely. Even if this were to succeed, the House would need to vote on the package again, and the chamber is in recess until February 2 guaranteeing at least a short-term shutdown.
Should there be a partial government shutdown, health programs will be affected. The National Institutes of Health’s grant processing and research activities will be disrupted; the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention’s disease surveillance could be affected; and the Medicare telehealth flexibilities likely will lapse again.
SGO will be monitoring the situation closely and will provide updates on the evolving funding situation.