The Securities and Exchange Commission’s contingency plan, for instance, cautions: “During the shutdown, employees who have not been designated as excepted may not volunteer to work without pay. Shutdowns are sufficiently likely that the White House Office of Management & Budget posts detailed contingency plans that government agencies maintain for shutdowns, as well as a 51-page Q&A on shutdown procedures. Shutdowns can be disruptive, leading to delays in processing applications for passports, small business loans, or government benefits shuttered visitor centers and bathrooms at national parks fewer food-safety inspections and various inconveniences. In addition, the Treasury can continue to pay interest on U.S. All this applies only to the roughly 25% of federal spending subject to annual appropriation by Congress.īenefits such as Social Security and Medicare continue to flow because they are authorized by Congress in laws that do not need annual approval (although the services offered by Social Security benefit offices may be limited during a shutdown). Government employees who provide what are deemed essential services, such as air traffic control and law enforcement, continue to work, but don’t get paid until Congress takes action to end the shutdown. What happens when that occurs?ĭuring shutdowns, many federal employees are told not to report for work, though under a 2019 law they get paid retroactively when the shutdown ends. If Congress enacts some but not all of the 12 appropriations bills, only agencies without appropriations have to shut down this is known as a partial shutdown. When Congress fails to enact the 12 annual appropriation bills, federal agencies must cease all non-essential functions until Congress acts. Under the Antideficiency Act (initially passed in 1884 and amended in 1950), federal agencies cannot spend or obligate any money without an appropriation (or other approval) from Congress. In a surprise, Congress avoided a government shutdown on October 1, 2023, by passing a stopgap spending bill (known as a continuing resolution) that funds federal agencies at last year’s levels for 45 days.
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