OMB Directs Agencies to Craft Contingency Plans as Congress Struggles to Reach Deal to Avoid Shutdown
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed agencies to begin drafting contingency plans for a potential government shutdown when FY 2021 funding for federal agencies expires on Thursday, September 30. The House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution last week to fund the government at FY 2021 levels until December 3 and avert a shutdown. The bill included a measure to suspend the debt ceiling which Republicans have opposed. The Senate rejected the continuing resolution on Tuesday, September 27 over the debt ceiling debate, increasing the likelihood of a shutdown.
While a shutdown is not guaranteed, OMB prefers that agencies have a plan in place in case one does occur. OMB updated its guidance on partial shutdowns and many individual agencies also have updated their specific plans. Some agencies have kept their plans the same from the last shutdown from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, the longest in the history of the United States.
This year, twelve agencies have updated their contingency plans this year, including seven in September alone. The Department of Justice would keep on about 85 percent of their workforce and the Smithsonian would keep on about 22 percent.
Abdullah Hasan, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, said of the potential shutdown, “We fully expect Congress to work in a bipartisan fashion to keep our government open, get disaster relief to the Americans who need it, and avoid a catastrophic default, especially as we continue to confront the pandemic and power an economic recovery.”
According to the contingency plans, employees whose jobs are not funded through annual appropriations would continue to work with pay. However, for jobs funded annually, those in first responder and security positions would remain employed and others would be furloughed—in both cases without pay for the meantime but guaranteed back pay once the government is funded.
The OMB guidance and agency contingency plans can be found here.
