AGU’s Statement on Second Averted U.S. Government Shutdown of 2023

AGU is relieved that the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have agreed once more to extend funding of the government and avert a shutdown, but we urge lawmakers to end the stalemate over the federal budget and ensure the government stays open for good.     

The continuing political brinkmanship leaves much of the U.S. scientific enterprise – and the countless people and places it serves – teetering on the verge of a damaging standstill.   

The costs of a shutdown are too high to ignore. Government-funded research to safeguard human health and the environment would cease, putting a freeze on important actions for the good of public health, global climate, and economic security and cooperation.   

Once more, science—and all of us who benefit from it—will be at the edge of a cliff in the fledgling days of 2024 when the latest stopgap measure ends. And once again, AGU urges lawmakers to do everything in their power to ensure we do not fall off that precipice.   

AGU stands in solidarity with all who are continuing to pressure lawmakers to keep the government open and working, and we encourage everyone to join in the effort.  

Sincerely,  
Lisa J. Graumlich, Ph.D.  
AGU President