During the most recent shutdown of the US federal government, some agencies/departments continued to operate at full capacity, basically claiming they had found enough loose change between the couch cushions to keep things going for at least a few days. ISTR reading somewhere else that this was illegal, something to do with the Davis-Bacon Act. However, I now can’t find any connection.
So what’s the straight dope? Is it illegal for a federal agency/department to continue operating during a government-wide shutdown, even if they have their own pot of money to continue paying their employees? If it is illegal, what’s the law that says so?
Also, if it IS allowed, do they have to return that money they “found between the couch cushions” if the government pays them back wages after the shutdown is over?
There are a variety of reasons why an agency might be able to keep operating during a shutdown.
Congress may provide that agency with funding that can be spent over multiple years, and to the extent that some of that funding is left over, the agency can continue spending it.
Certain portions of agencies may use various types of reimbursable funding that remains available during a government shutdown. One example would be military golf courses: they are prohibited by law from using taxpayer funds, so all operating income for the golf courses come from customers. So long as customers keep paying, the courses can remain operating. There are other more substantive operations that have different mechanisms, but I won’t delve into those unless you really want.
Certain functions of agencies are deemed critical. The classic example is law enforcement activities – it is generally viewed as absurd to send all Secret Service agents home so that the unwashed masses could freely trash the White House, so they get to keep working.
There’s probably a few other unique situations that address the question, but I’d bet you that those three categories address 95%+ of the reasons why an agency may keep operating during a shutdown.
The law that prevents agencies from continuing to work during a shutdown if they don’t fit one of these scenarios is called the Anti Deficiency Act. It provides criminal penalties for Federal employees who knowingly spend government money that has not been lawfully appropriated.
eta:
No. Funds that are lawfully carried over from one fiscal year to the next are fully available to be spent. Once they are obligated to pay some bill or another, and then expended for that purpose, the funds are exhausted and gone. There is no recovery of funds lawfully obligated and expended, except in very unusual scenarios.
About voluntary services, I am guessing? While there is a general prohibition on the Federal government accepting gifts or volunteered services, there are numerous specific exceptions in law that allow various agencies to accept volunteer labor. For example, VA hospitals have people volunteer all the time to help patients, and the National Park Service organizes cleanup details and so on.
But often Federal employees wonder whether they can just show up to work during a shutdown as volunteers, just because they like their work, and the answer to that question is almost always no.
One thing I remember when I was a USPS clerk (funded differently, not affected by shutdowns) is we would still do passports (sent to State Dept who inspect the forms and issue the passport) because Foggy Bottom made money off passports.
Well, assuming that the processing of passports is funded entirely by the processing fee, it seems the State Department would be within their rights to keep the passport office open under a shutdown.
Passport processing is partly funded by fees. During a government shutdown passport applications are processed, but delays should be expected. In an extended shutdown the processing would stop entirely.
Most immigration and visa functions are funded by user fees, so the shutdown doesn’t affect them at all. Ironically, though, Immigration Court is not funded by user fees, so except for deportation cases involving people who are detained, everything else grinds to a halt at the Office of the Immigration Judge, except for a skeleton staff to deal with detained people (and as long as they’re there, they accept filings).