What does a government shutdown mean for DOE and DOE-sites? 

ECA Staff | 9/28/23  

Congress has until Saturday at midnight to avoid a shutdown. Although the Senate released a stopgap bill on Tuesday and there are rumors the House will vote on a continuing resolution. There is little time left for these bills to pass prior to the Saturday deadline. View Senate CR.

What does this mean? More specifically, how does this impact funding for DOE and DOE-sites if there is a federal government shutdown as reported on the news?

During a federal government shutdown, federal agencies, the judiciary, and Congress can only spend money on essential services, such as services regarding the safety of human life or protection of property and those activities with funds that carry over from the previous fiscal year (like DOD and certain other defense funds). This impacts most federal employees and agencies. Tens of thousands of federal employees will likely be furloughed. Some with pay and some without. Once funding is resumed, all federal employees will be repaid (based on a new law that passed during the last long shutdown). However, federal contractors do not have that guarantee.

What about DOE? 

On September 6^th of this year, DOE issued a release explaining how the agency would conduct business in the event of a government shutdown or lapse of appropriations. DOE has a written Order, Operating in the Event of a Lapse in Appropriations (DOE Order 137.1B). This order was issued on September 30, 2011 and was last updated April 30, 2020.

It states that in the event of a lapse in appropriations, DOE will do one of two things, (1) DOE will continue operations using balances from prior years if there is any available, (2) if all available funds have been exhausted then DOE will only continue with functions related to emergencies related to the safety of human life or protection of property. DOE will begin an orderly shutdown of all activities not excepted. 

DOE also maintains a plan for operating during a lapse in appropriations under the section 124 of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11 requirements. This plan is updated every two years or as required; it was last updated September 5, 2023. View DOE Lapse Plan Summary Overview (September 5, 2023). 

Since much of DOE’s (and NNSA’s) appropriations are multi-year or no-year, to the extent the program has funds available it can continue to operate. As stated by the DOE order, those federal employees in offices with funding for salaries will continue to report for work as scheduled. If the event of a longer government shutdown, there may be a requirement to furlough some of these employees. However, if there are threats to human life or protection of property, a limited number of employees may be recalled from furlough status. Contracts and financial assistance will continue in accordance with their terms, including provisions about limitations of funding. Depending on the length of the lapse of appropriations, necessity of government oversight, and availability of funding from prior years, DOE may need to review the activities of their contractors. DOE may decide then to suspend activities that do not fall under essential. 

If the government shutdown is anywhere from 1-5 days, then DOE and their contractors' operations would likely not be disrupted. DOE has historically had sufficient previously appropriated funds to support operations during a short-term lapse in appropriations. 

As outlined in DOE’s plan mentioned above, DOE would be able to shut down all non-excepted Federal functions within a half day of the final exhaustion of available funding. The exceptions would include the movement of nuclear materials. It will also take longer than a half day to shut down contractor performed activities in a safe manner. 

NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation (OST) is responsible for the transport of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. OST will ensure that if there is a lapse of appropriations and prior year balances are exhausted, that the stockpile is in secure locations. DOE will also physically protect sites and maintain Government equipment and property even when all prior year balances have been exhausted. 

DOE will notify all excepted personnel when appropriate. While the number of excepted personnel is states in the lapse plan summary, it is subject to change.

Above is an infographic courtesy of Bloomberg Government, that displays the number of CRs, total duration of CRs, and the length of shutdowns in the past 25 years. Fiscal year 1997 was the last time the federal government received its full-year funding prior to the September 30 deadline. Within the last decade the federal government has shut down three times. This chart also highlights the spike in CRs in pre-presidential years. Starting with 2001 with 21 CRs prior to the 2002 election year. This can be seen throughout the 25 years, with 2019’s shutdown being the longest on record lasting a total of 34-days. 

Outside of Appropriations - What about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)? 

The NDAA is separate from the appropriation bills. The NDAA is crucial for defense as it controls everything from troop pay raises, to purchases of ships, to the authorization of energy-related national security programs. This includes authorizations for NNSA, EM defense clean up, and Office of Legacy Management, among others. This year’s NDAA authorizes a record $886 billion in military spending.  

As of right now the House voted 393-27 to send their version of this bill to conference with the Senate. This is after the Republican-controlled House passed its version of the bill by a narrow 219-210. Their version included amendments deemed controversial by the House Democrats. While the Senate passed their version without any of the House amendments, 86-11. 

The bill will now enter conference with representatives from both chambers to sort out the differences between the House and Senate versions and eventually draft a final bill. That final bill will then need to pass both chambers before being sent to the White House. The final bill is expected to pass prior to December as few elected officials want to be seen as hampering national defense – especially going into an election year.   The NDAA has passed every year since 1960.

 As a note, unlike DOD, DOE’s appropriations bill authorizes the expenditure of the DOE funds. 

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