The Antideficiency Act (ADA) () is

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

enacted by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

to prevent the incurring of obligations or the making of expenditures (outlays) in excess of amounts available in appropriations or funds. The law was initially enacted in 1884, with major amendments occurring in 1950 () and 1982 (). It is now codified at , , and . The Act was previously enacted as section 3679 of the

Revised Statutes Revised Statutes is a term used in some common law jurisdictions for a collection of statutes that have been revised to incorporate amendments, repeals and consolidations. It is not a change to the law, but designed to make the body of statutes m ...

. The ADA prohibits the U.S. federal government from entering into a contract that is not "fully funded" because doing so would obligate the government in the absence of an appropriation adequate to the needs of the contract. Accordingly, it is often cited during U.S.

government shutdowns A government shutdown occurs when the Legislature, legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government. Government shutdo ...

as a reason for the closure of certain departments or facilities.

Provisions

The Antideficiency Act has evolved over time in response to various abuses. The earliest version of the legislation was enacted in 1870 (), after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, to end the executive branch's long history of creating coercive deficiencies. Many agencies, particularly the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, would intentionally run out of money, obligating Congress to provide additional funds to avoid breaching contracts. Some went as far as to spend their entire budget in the first few months of the fiscal year, funding the rest of the year after the fact with additional appropriations from Congress. The act provided: Amendments in 1905 and 1906 mandated all appropriations to be apportioned in monthly installments and criminal penalties were imposed for violations. The Antideficiency Act actually includes provisions of Title 31 that are not always associated with the principal provision of the Act which is found at 31 USC 1341. Thus, the ADA also includes 31 USC 1342, a provision which prohibits voluntary services. It also includes 31 USC 1501–1519, provisions which require that appropriated funds be subdivided, "apportioned", and "allocated" before any of the appropriated funds can be expended by the Executive Branch.

Legislative history

The earliest version of the legislation was enacted in 1870 (). The Antideficiency Act () was initially enacted in 1884. The Act was amended and expanded several times, most significantly in 1905 and 1906. It was further modified by an executive order in 1933 and significantly revamped in 1950 (). The current version was enacted on September 12, 1982 (). It is now codified at .

Constitutional authority

To some extent, but not entirely, it implements the provisions of

Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of the Constitution of the United States establishes the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consist ...

, Section 9, Clause 7 (the "

power of the purse The power of the purse is the ability of one group to control the actions of another group by withholding funding, or putting stipulations on the use of funds. The power of the purse can be used positively (e.g. awarding extra funding to programs ...

"), which provides that "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law."

Enforcement

The

Government Accountability Office The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the s ...

, inspectors general, and individual agencies investigate potential violations of the Antideficiency Act every year. The act has ramifications for agencies and individual employees alike. Although the ADA and its predecessors are over 120 years old, no one has ever been convicted or indicted for its violation. However, agreements have been changed and reported due to ADA violations, and punitive administrative actions are routinely taken against government employees. The ADA is cited as the reason for a

government shutdown A government shutdown occurs when the legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government. Government shutdowns in the U ...

when Congress misses a deadline for passing an interim or full-year appropriations bill.

References

External links

Full text of Public Law 97-258
(PDF) * {{cite web, title=Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs, publisher=United States Office of Personnel Management, date=October 4, 2013, url=http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/furlough-guidance/guidance-for-shutdown-furloughs.pdf United States federal government administration legislation 1884 in American law Government procurement in the United States