As February 15th approaches, individuals on and off of Capitol Hill remain uncertain as to whether there will be another partial federal government shutdown. President Trump recently stated that the odds of another partial shutdown are less than 50-50. Instead, he has focused on the possibility of declaring a national emergency to obtain funding for a southern border wall, further pressuring the already fragile negotiation on the Hill. In general, both sides want to avoid another partial shutdown if at all possible.
After the State of the Union address on Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans on the Hill continued work towards a compromise bill to fund impacted agencies for the remainder of FY 2019. However, late Friday, several press stories indicated that negotiators were at an impasse over funding of ICE detention facilities and some form of physical barrier at select spots along the southern border.
Another partial government shutdown would have drastic effects on the higher education community. From the first shutdown alone, there was more than $1.3B in funding for scientific research put on hold. Simultaneously, universities across the country advanced millions of their own dollars to keep labs and research facilities open. The effects of this funding turmoil will likely last for months.
