Government Shutdown

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reported on the: (1) results of a questionnaire sent to government agencies in October 1990 on effects of a partial shutdown of the government during the Columbus Day weekend, and (2) potential effects of any future shutdowns.

GAO found that: (1) to avoid obligations of funds during a lapse in appropriations, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed agencies to close down operations; (2) 6 of 22 agencies surveyed estimated that they authorized approximately $843,000 in compensation to employees who were regularly scheduled to work; (3) 7 of 22 agencies surveyed reported that the shutdown costs totalled approximately $3.4 million due to lost revenue, administrative costs for shutdown plans, compensation for time employees did not work, and salaries of nonessential employees for time spent devoted to the termination of operations; (4) the agencies reported that, had the government shut down for a comparable 3-day period during a normal work week, the costs and disruptions would have been much more severe; (5) legislation providing agencies with authority to obligate funds during a lapse in appropriations would have prevented disruptions in government services; (6) shutting down the government during temporary funding gaps was an inappropriate way to encourage compromise on the budget; (7) the shutdown did not convey an image of a well-managed government to the public; (8) forcing agency managers to choose who would be furloughed during temporary funding lapses severely tested management's ability to treat employees fairly; and (9) the shutdown disrupted government services and was counterproductive from a financial standpoint.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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