Government Shutdown

Effective midnight December 21, 2018, the federal government began a partial shutdown of government operations which will continue until a budget at is passed into law. Not exactly sure what a government shutdown is? This video could help explain why shutdowns generally happen.

This government shutdown is officially the longest shutdown in U.S. history. There are many side effects of the government shutdown, such as 380,000 non-critical federal employees furloughed without pay until a budget agreement happens between Congress and the President.

Another side effect of the shutdown, which could impact research capabilities, is that some websites are not being maintained. If the responsible agency is closed or functioning in a limited capacity, the website may be impacted. A couple of websites currently impacted include:

• The Department of Justice - This website states that "Department of Justice websites will not be regularly updated."
• National Archives and Records Administration - NARA is closed. Portions of the website, including Federalregister.gov and e-CFR, are not being updated during the shutdown. Instead, use GovInfo.gov.

Thanks to a Legislative Branch appropriations bill passed prior to the October 1 fiscal year, some offices still have funding and their websites are currently being maintained. These include:

• Library of Congress
• Law Library of Congress
• GovInfo.gov from Government Publishing Office

The Congress.gov website is also still available, since it is provided by the Library of Congress.

Every online researcher knows the importance of using secure website. An additional problem presented by the continuing government shutdown is presented by website security certificates which expire and cannot be renewed. Some websites will cease to be available as the security certificates expire. For others only portions of the sites will cease to function. As of January 11, over 80 government websites were being reported down as a result of this problem.

For more information about navigating your research during the government shutdown, don’t hesitate to talk to a librarian by stopping by the reference desk, or contacting us via Ask a Librarian. We are also available by email to LawLibraryHelp@rwu.edu, or by calling 401-254-4547.