Congress voted on Feb. 14 to avoid a second government shutdown of 2019. While it may seem like Lehigh is far enough removed from Washington to be affected by a shutdown, the university was directly impacted in two ways.
During the 35-day government shutdown that ended on Jan. 25, Lehigh was unable to receive grants from certain government organizations. Many organizations, such as NASA and the National Science Foundation, faced delays in the issuance of new awards due to lack of available staff during the shutdown.
A shutdown also delays consular processing for anyone seeking an H-1B visa. These visas are reserved for highly educated professionals from foreign countries to work in specialty jobs in the United States. Lehigh is in the process of hiring new professors, some of which could have been impacted by these visa delays.
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1 Comment
Who to blame? I blame Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House primarily and with President Donald Trump at a step below. Everyone knows what a ??? Mr Trump is, Ms. Pelosi herself has been telling us this so she knew Mr. Trump would be recalcitrant. In hoping to blame Mr. Trump for the shutdown she has shown herself to be as hardheaded and as uncaring as the President. I expect my elected officials to make my county, state and country a better place for everyone rather than for those who got them elected be it dollars or votes.