REC and others are preparing for a potential government shutdown
The potential of a lapse of appropriations funding may impact the operation of the FCC during the duration of the "shutdown".
Once again, we are at this point where we may see a lapse in appropriations to government agencies, including the FCC. This is normally referred to as a “government shutdown”.
Due to REC’s “bonnet on” policies, we decline to comment on the nature of the contents of the legislation nor on the opinions of either political party.
We are monitoring the activities in the US Senate. REC Networks, through our Fun and Games Department is providing live coverage from the US Senate via the Associated Press on our Michi-TV platform. This platform is normally used to support the Michi-chan Sports operation, which focuses on sports that are not “top tier” with an emphasis on amateur flat track roller derby, Fans FIrst Entertainment’s “Banana Ball” Franchise as well as original programming from Michi-chan Sports. The Senate coverage is live as of September 30, 2025 at 2:00PM EDT on Michi-TV Channel 3:
Until official notification is received directly from the FCC (as opposed to the news media), the Commission will operate “business as usual”. Government agencies can continue to operate until their previous appropriations run out. This could be as soon as tomorrow, or it can be a few days from now if a government shutdown is declared. If there are any projects at the FCC that does not get funded through that appropriation, those operations may continue to operate (an example is in the past, the administration of spectrum auctions was separately funded and was not subject to shutdown.
Depending on the needs of government, there is a good possibility that in the event that the FCC closes as a result of the shutdown, that some vital systems that are provided by the FCC may be unavailable during the shutdown period. This will mean that applications cannot be filed and FCC provided tools that are used in the preparation of broadcast applications may not be available. Such a systems shutdown will also impact REC systems and could have an impact on our ability to deliver maps on FCCdata.org as well as access to other services that depends on the application programming interfaces (API) at the FCC. REC does run our own versions of the FCC Curves Calculator and the TOWAIR Tool used for checking for nearby airports. Those tools are expected to continue operating in the event of a shutdown.
We also note that some essential employees will remain, including at least one member of the Media Bureau. If you need an emergency STA done, we should be eventually seeing information on a hotline for that. Other employees, such as those in Enforcement are considered essential. These workers not paid during this period.
If there is a filing or comment deadline that falls on a day in which the FCC, we first defer to §1.4(e)(1) of the FCC Rules, which defines a “holiday” to include “any other day on which the Commission’s Headquarters are closed and not reopened prior to 5:30P. […] For example a regularly scheduled Commission business day may become a holiday with respect to the entire Commission if Headquarters is closed prior to 5:30PM due to adverse weather, emergency or other closing.” For purposes of the rules, Saturdays and Sundays count as holidays.
If a deadline for filing falls on a day that is considered a holiday, normally Commission policy is that the filing would be due by the close of the next business day. Depending on the length of the shutdown, each Bureau at the FCC does have the discretion to extend the deadlines of filings and pleadings to a specific date and will announce that by public notice. REC advises not to depend on a Bureau at the FCC actually releasing such ground rules for their area. Instead, we should assume next full business unless an FCC Public Notice, specific to that Division, recommends otherwise.
We are not sure yet how such a shutdown will impact outsourced services, such as ServiceNow, which is used to manage the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS). We do advise that all broadcast stations must perform a Form One filing by October 3. This date could be affected by a declared holiday, pursuant to §1.4 of the Rules.
Until you hear otherwise from either directly from the FCC or from REC, continue to treat the FCC like “business as usual”.
REC’s resources may be limited during a shutdown due to a lack of FCC systems, but feel free to contact us if you have any service needs. We may not be able to get everything, but we will use the resources available to us for an applicant to make a non-authorative decision.
This is a fluid story. Stay tuned.