Dear CIRES Colleagues,
So! After today’s announcement by the President and positive signals from Congressional leaders, the federal government is poised to reopen fully under spending bills that would be effective for three weeks, until February 15.
Those of you who have been working outside your normal offices and laboratories, with limited or no access to critical tools and data… you may be back at work in the David Skaggs Research Center as early as Monday. You can check site status here, and I will email again as soon as we have clear re-entry directions from our federal partners. You may also hear from NOAA leadership directly—as usual, I urge you to follow federal direction first.
Thank you for your extraordinary work these last five weeks. I hope some of you have seen OAR Director Craig McLean’s exceptional messages. He said, in one, “I need you back here working, serving the mission we share, and I care deeply about the struggles and frustrations you are enduring.” And: “By God, you deserve better.” I could not agree more, and I know your federal leaders here in Boulder feel the same. We are all grateful to you, for your flexibility, determination, and perseverance.
My staff and I will continue to monitor the federal funding situation, and we will continue to be in touch. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or the appropriate member of the CIRES administration team.
Sincerely,
Waleed Abdalati
CIRES Director
