For information about how the government shutdown is affecting the operations and services of the federal government, see the USA.gov shutdown information page at
http://www.usa.gov/shutdown.shtml. The White House has also posted links to agency contingency plans at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans.
Most government websites indicate being closed completely or not updating information because of the shutdown. A partial list of shut down websites include those from the:
- Census Bureau
- Copyright Office (Will accept registrations to be processed once the shutdown ends.)
- Library of Congress (except the legislative sites Thomas.gov and beta.congress.gov)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
- Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
- National Center for Education Statistics(NCES) sites including ERIC,the Digest of Educational Statistics, and International Comparisons in Education. Fondren has three commercial ERIC databases and an extensive collection of ERIC microfiche.
- National Science Foundation
- Interior Department including USGS (United States Geological Survey) (Information about Interior Department closures is available from http://www.doi.gov/index.cfm).
A partial list of sites open but not updating include:
- FDSys (Federal Digital System)(Provides official access to documents from all three branches of government). Exception: Federal Register services necessary to safeguard human life, protect property or provide other emergency services will be updated
- USA.gov (Normally provides comprehensive information on government resources, services and forms for citizens, businesses and government.)
- Ed.gov but statistical sites are closed - see above
- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(but CDC Wonder for disseminating health information is closed)
- Health and Human Services sites such as NIH (National Institutes of Health),PubMed, and AHRQ (Agency for Healhcare Research and Quality)
- HUD.gov (Housing and Urban Development)
- Grants.gov (Will accept applications, but applications will not be processed by any of the federal agencies.)
The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) has funds to continue operating for several weeks. The Department of Energy pages presently have no statement as to their status.
On Oct. 3, 2013 Inside Higher Education documented interruptions in academic research as a result on the shutdown in an article by Michael Stratford entitled Locked Out of the Library.
If you wish to contact Congress to describe how the lack of access affects you, Who Represents Me, Texas provides a database to identify your U.S. House of Representatives member as well as the Senators from Texas.
