Antideficiency Act

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, to end the executive branch's long history of creating coercive deficiencies. Many agencies, particularly the military, 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; they also imposed criminal penalties 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, Section 9, Clause 7 (the "power of the purse"), which provides that "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law."

Enforcement

The Government Accountability Office, 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.{{cite book

The ADA is cited as the reason for a government shutdown when Congress misses a deadline for passing an interim or full-year appropriations bill.

References

References

1. See note to [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/subtitle-II/chapter-13/subchapter-III subchapter III of chapter 13 of Title 31 of the United States Code] (31 U.S.C. note prec. 1341): Certain provisions of this subchapter and subchapter II of chapter 15 of this title were originally enacted as section 3679 of the Revised Statutes, popularly known as the Anti-Deficiency Act. That section was repealed as part of the general revision of this title by Pub. L. 97–258, and its provisions restated in sections 1341, 1342, 1349 to 1351, and 1511 to 1519 of this title.
2. Cohen, Andrew. (2013-09-28). "The Odd Story of the Law That Dictates How Government Shutdowns Work". Atlantic Media.
3. Jordan, David Alan. "Free Course Book for Course 3: Statutory Law and Intelligence 2011".
4. "Antideficiency Act Background". U.S. Government Accountability Office.
5. [https://www.justice.gov/olc/appropriations2.htm Government Operations In The Event Of A Lapse In Appropriations] {{webarchive. link. (January 28, 2011)
6. Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce. (March 2005). "Semi Annual Report to Congress".
7. "Antideficiency Act Reports 2010". Government Accountability Office.