OMB’s Guidance on Possible Government Shutdown

09/18/2013

9/18/13:  Yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released this guidance regarding a possible government shutdown that would impact agencies funded through Congressional appropriations, including the SEC. As you know, current funding authority for federal agencies will run out on September 30, the end of the 2013 fiscal year. No individual agency funding bills have been enacted so far for fiscal year 2014, which is less than two weeks away. 

The House of Representatives was scheduled to vote last week on a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would fund the entire federal government into December, but that vote was canceled and a different CR is apparently being drafted. At this point, the Senate is waiting for the House to act first. Some in Congress are insisting that any 2014 funding measure include provisions to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

While NTEU will be pushing to avoid a shutdown and to end sequestration, a government shutdown on October 1st is a very real possibility and we appreciate OMB making this guidance available. NTEU is currently in the process of contacting all of the agencies with NTEU members in order to get information on each agency’s potential shutdown plans, including which positions will be considered “excepted” with employees required to continue to work during a shutdown. We are urging SEC leadership to be forthcoming with the Union concerning its contingency plans. Thus far, the SEC has provided no information to the Union.

We will provide you with more information as it becomes available.