President signs CR. Government set to reopen. First REC notification.
Government operations may resume as early as Thursday.
Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 11:00 PM EST
The President has signed the Continuing Resolution (CR) legislation that was passed in both houses in order to reopen the government. As this event was reported at 10:30PM EST, it is unknown yet how this will impact the Thursday workday for federal employees. Federal employees should receive guidance either through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or their agencies regarding returning to work.
Some legal experts in the field of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have suggested that filing deadlines will be the day the business day that the government reopens. REC is not prepared this soon to enjoin in that advice.
We do note that in the aftermath of past shutdowns, the FCC has issued specific advice in regards to filing deadlines including those where filings may be due over the next several days. We do feel that this will very likely happen in this case given the unprecedented length of thus shutdown period and what the potential impacts could be with a significant amount of filings going into LMS, ULS and other FCC systems. However, we do advise applicants to remain on the side of caution and be prepared to file.
We have a particular concern regarding the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) as the deadline for filing ETRS Form One fell on October 3, three days into the shutdown. We will be watching this system closely, especially given that it is a contracted system, operated outside of the standard FCC IT structure. We need to make sure that the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, (1) reopens Form One filing for the 2025 Test Cycle and (2) provides a reasonable extension (such as at least 5 business days) for Form One filings for the 2025 Test Cycle. We may find that any advisory that extends out the deadlines will also encompass ETRS, but we need to make sure that the system is reenabled for the updated deadline.
As of 11:00 PM EST, access to certain FCC systems suspended for the shutdown have not yet been restored. We will make another check again in the early morning on Thursday. In the meantime, REC will keep our online services in shutdown mode until we know that systems are operating and that REC systems, such as eLMS are able to communicate with the FCC.
In accordance with our “bonnet on” policy, we will not comment on any issue in this bill that is under political contention which is not directly related to the Federal Communications Commission, including the welfare of its career staff. We will only state that we are grateful that career federal employees are returning to work, they will receive retroactive pay and that any reductions in force (RIFs) announced during the shutdown have been rescinded. We are not aware of any such RIFs for the FCC.
Hopefully, we will have more information in the morning. Good night from Riverton.