United States federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

finance, coercive deficiency is a process by which budget holders can allow themselves to run out of money prior to the end of a fiscal period, on the assumption that

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

will then feel morally obligated to supply the missing funding in order to prevent cessation of services or breach of contracts. The phrase was coined by American political economist and historian Lucius Wilmerding, Jr. in his 1943 book ''The Spending Power: A History of the Efforts of Congress to Control Expenditures''. The first attempt to control for coercive deficiency requests to Congress was the Anti-Deficiency Act of 1870, which prevented agencies from obligating more funds than had been appropriated by Congress. Historians have documented examples of coercive deficiencies at the

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

in 1879 and 1947 and at the

Defense Department A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

References

{{Authority control Government procurement in the United States