Antideficiency Act / Antideficiency Act Violation (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Antideficiency Act / Antideficiency Act Violation

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The Antideficiency Act is a federal law (Pub.L. 97-258, 96 Stat. 923, 1982, 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341-1342, 1511-1519) that:

• Prohibits the making of expenditures or the incurring of obligations in advance of an appropriation
• Prohibits the incurring of obligations or the making of expenditures in excess of amounts available in appropriation or fund accounts unless specifically authorized by law (31 U.S.C. § 1341(a))
• Prohibits the acceptance of voluntary or personal services unless authorized by law (31 U.S.C. § 1342)
• Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), via delegation from the President, to apportion appropriated funds and other budgetary resources for all executive branch agencies (31 U.S.C. § 1512)
• Requires a system of administrative controls within each agency (see 31 U.S.C. § 1514 for the administrative divisions established)
• Prohibits incurring any obligation or making any expenditure in excess of an apportionment or reapportionment or in excess of other subdivisions established pursuant to sections 1513 and 1514 of title 31 of the United States Code (31 U.S.C. § 1517)
• Specifies penalties for deficiencies (see Antideficiency Act Violation below)

The act permits agencies to reserve funds (i.e., withhold them from obligation) under certain circumstances.

See also:

• Administrative Division or Subdivision of Funds
• Apportionment
• Budgetary Reserves
• Deferral of Budget Authority
• Deficiency Apportionment
• Deficiency Appropriation
• Expenditure
• Fund Accounting
• Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
• Outlay
• Supplemental Appropriation

Antideficiency Act Violation:
Occurs when one or more of the following happens:

• Overobligation or overexpenditure of an appropriation or fund account (31 U.S.C. § 1341(a))
• Entering into a contract or making an obligation in advance of an appropriation, unless specifically authorized by law (31 U.S.C. § 1341(a))
• Acceptance of voluntary service, unless authorized by law (31 U.S.C. § 1342)
• Overobligation or overexpenditure of (1) an apportionment or reapportionment or (2) amounts permitted by the administrative control of funds regulations (31 U.S.C. § 1517(a))

Once it has been determined that there has been a violation of the Antideficiency Act, the agency head must report all relevant facts and a statement of actions taken to the President and Congress and submit a copy of the report to the Comptroller General. Penalties for Antideficiency Act violations include administrative discipline, such as suspension from duty without pay or removal from office. In addition, an officer or employee convicted of willfully and knowingly violating the law shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both (31 U.S.C. §§ 1349, 1350, 1518, and 1519).

See also:

• Administrative Division or Subdivision of Funds
• Expenditure

More

• Anti-Deficiency Act – Wikipedia
• Antideficiency Act – GAO
• OMB Circular A-11, Section 145, Requirements for Reporting Antideficiency Act Violations – OMB (8-page PDF )
• OMB Circular A-11
• “Past Government Shutdowns: Key Resources,” CRS Report R41759 (21-page PDF)
• “Federal Funding Gaps: A Brief Overview,” CRS Report RS20348 (13-page PDF)
• “Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects,” CRS Report RL34680 (49-page PDF)
• “Interagency Contracting: An Overview of Federal Procurement and Appropriations,” CRS Report R40814 (38-page PDF)
• “Reserve Funds in the Congressional Budget Process: Frequently Asked Questions,” CRS Report R47277 (11-page PDF)
• “Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Recent Practices,” CRS Report R42647 (38-page PDF)
• “The Antideficiency Act: A Primer,” by Gordon Gray, American Action Forum, August 3, 2016

Courses

• Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing
• Custom Training
• Congressional Operations Poster, with Federal Budget Process Flowchart
• Federal Budgeting, a Five-Course series on CD
• Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series, a Nine-Course series on CD

Publications

The Federal Budget Process 2E

Pocket Constitution

Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials: A Guide for Citizen Lobbyists and Grassroots Advocates

Congressional Procedure

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