Government Shutdown: Operations of the Department of Defense During a Lapse in Appropriations. Pat Towell, Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget; Amy Belasco, Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget. September 26, 2013

“Through most of the second half of FY2013, funding for the Department of Defense (DOD), as for most other federal agencies, has been provided by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, (P.L. 113-6), which will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 30. If additional funding is not provided by then, DOD, like other agencies, will be subject to a lapse in appropriations during which agencies are generally required to shut down. In the past, however, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has identified a number of exceptions to the requirement that agencies cease operations, including a blanket exception for activities that “provide for the national security.” If the Administration approves of such exceptions in the current circumstances, many Department of Defense activities would continue, though other activities would halt. As a result, during a lapse in appropriations, some DOD personnel would be “excepted” from furloughs, including all uniformed military personnel, while others would be furloughed and, thus, not be permitted to work. Even “excepted” military and civilian personnel who would continue to work and whose pay is normally provided through annual appropriations would not be paid, however, until after appropriations are subsequently provided for that purpose. Personnel who are not “excepted” would not be entitled to receive pay for the period during which they were furloughed although, in the past, Congress has provided for them to receive the pay they would have received if they had not been furloughed.”