Dear CIRES Colleagues who work at NOAA,
As many of you are likely aware, the U.S. House has passed legislation to avert a partial government shutdown tomorrow, by extending current agency funding levels through next Friday, December 18. News outlets report the Senate is likely to do the same.
CIRES will be monitoring the situation closely as the new deadline approaches next week.
In general, our institute operates as usual during partial government shutdowns: We are university employees, and it is our expectation that we would continue to work and continue to be paid.
However, in the unlikely event that there is a shutdown, you would not have access to your government colleagues and you may not have access to government servers and other federal systems. Please consider what this would mean for your work and prepare in advance. For example, ensure that you can readily access your @colorado.edu email. We have posted directions to check your mailbox through Office365 here, and for turning off any colorado.edu redirect (e.g., to your noaa.gov account), here.
As in the past, my overall guidance to you would be this: Do not report to work at a federal facility; take no action that would result in new federal government expenditures; and follow the guidance of your NOAA laboratory or center. We will be monitoring the situation in Washington, DC, and will reach out with another update when appropriate.
Sincerely,
Waleed Abdalati
CIRES Director
