Government Shutdowns and Legislative Branch Operations: Frequently Asked Questions

Government Shutdowns and Legislative Branch Operations: Frequently Asked Questions

INSIGHTi

Government Shutdowns and Legislative
Branch Operations: Frequently Asked
Questions
September 27, 2023
This Insight provides brief answers to selected questions related to legislative branch operations during a
lapse in appropriations.
For a general explanation of the Antideficiency Act, including Title 31, Sections 1341-1342 and 1511-
1519, of the U.S. Code, including excepted activities, see
• CRS Report RL34680, Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and
Effects, coordinated by Clinton T. Brass.
For additional information and CRS resources, see
• CRS Report R41759, Past Government Shutdowns: Key Resources, by Justin Murray and
Carol Wilson;
• CRS Report R41723, Funding Gaps and Government Shutdowns: CRS Experts,
coordinated by Dominick A. Fiorentino and Clinton T. Brass; and
• CRS Report RS20348, Federal Funding Gaps: A Brief Overview, by James V. Saturno.
1. When has the legislative branch experienced a lapse in appropriations?
Between FY1996 and FY2023, the legislative branch experienced three funding gaps; see below. Note
that the first date is the final date of budget authority (budget authority expired at the end of that day)
prior to a gap, and the second date is the day the gap was terminated by the enactment of a continuing
resolution or one or more regular appropriations acts:
• FY1996, between November 13 and 19, 1995 (5 full days). Legislative branch
appropriations were enacted after this funding gap and before the subsequent 21-day
lapse in appropriations that impacted some other portions of the federal government.
• FY2014, between September 30 and October 17, 2013 (16 full days).
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• FY2018, between January 19 and 22, 2018 (2 full days). Funding expired at midnight on
Friday, January 19. Funding was enacted on Monday, January 22, although shutdown
procedures (e.g., activities to enable an orderly shutdown, building closures, cancellation
of public events) had already commenced.
Legislative branch appropriations were enacted prior to the start of FY2019, and before the 34-day lapse
in appropriations that impacted some other portions of the federal government.
2. What actions did Congress take during the October 2013 shutdown?
During the first FY1996 shutdown and the FY2014 shutdown, the House and Senate continued to engage
in many aspects of the legislative process.
For example, in 2013, legislation was introduced, reported, and passed in both the House and Senate,
House and Senate committees held hearings and meetings (see those published by the Government
Publishing Office, or listed by date in the Daily Digest), and nominations were received and considered in
the Senate.
3. What shutdown guidance is available to House and Senate offices?
In prior Congresses, guidance has been issued by the House Committee on House Administration, the
Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and House and Senate support offices (e.g., the Senate
Chief Counsel for Employment, the House and Senate disbursing or payroll offices). For example, see the
guidance issued in 2013 and in 1995 by the House.
The Committee on House Administration has posted guidance for the 118th Congress.
4. What information is available regarding legislative branch agency
shutdown plans?
During a lapse in appropriations, activities of legislative branch agencies would likely be restricted, in
consultation with Congress, to activities required to support Congress in the performance of its
constitutional duties or those necessary to protect life and property (see 1990 Government Accountability
Office General Counsel letter).
Although executive branch agencies are required to submit their shutdown plans to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to OMB Circular No. A-11, this requirement does not apply to
the legislative branch.
In 2013, some agencies posted information related to their operations during a shutdown online. In
addition, information on some agency services (e.g., expected levels of facilities services provided by or
contracted by the Architect of the Capitol) were communicated through “Dear Colleague” letters.
5. How does a lapse in appropriations impact salaries for Members of
Congress?
Due to their constitutional responsibilities, Members of Congress are not subject to furlough.
Members of Congress continue to receive their pay during a lapse in appropriations for a number of
reasons:
• Member salaries have been provided by a permanent, mandatory appropriation since the
enactment of P.L. 97-51 (95 Stat. 966, September 11, 1981, 2 U.S.C. §4501 note).

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• Article I, §6 of the Constitution states, “Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury
of the United States.”
• The Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the Constitution added: “No law, varying the
compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until
an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”
• Additionally, the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) Principles of Federal
Appropriations Law (p. 6-105) states: “The salary of a Member of Congress is fixed by
statute and therefore cannot be waived without specific statutory authority. B-159835,
April 22, 1975; B-123424, March 7, 1975; B-123424, April 15, 1955; A-8427, March 19,
1925; B-206396.2, November 15, 1988 (nondecision letter). However, as each of these
cases points out, nothing prevents a Senator or Representative from accepting the salary
and then, as several have done, donate part or all of it back to the United States Treasury.”
For information and links to legislation introduced since the 112th Congress, see CRS Report 97-1011,
Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables, by Ida A. Brudnick.
For more historical information from 1995, see CRS Report 97-615, Salaries of Members of Congress:
Congressional Votes, 1990-2023, by Ida A. Brudnick.
6. How does a lapse in appropriations impact salaries for legislative
branch employees?
There is no authority to disburse pay absent an appropriation, including for employees who are exempt
from furlough and required to work.
Pay dates and frequency vary across the House, Senate, and legislative branch agencies.
Following the end of a lapse in appropriations, retroactive pay is statutorily required for all employees
(including, pursuant to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, P.L. 116-1, any furloughed
employees).
For additional information, see CRS In Focus IF11703, Federal Employee Furloughs: Types and
Implications, by Taylor N. Riccard.

Author Information

Ida A. Brudnick

Specialist on the Congress

Disclaimer
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to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of

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