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Norton Provision Ensures D.C. Government Will Stay Open if Federal Government Shuts Down Saturday Morning

April 26, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As the threat of a federal government shutdown looms and with many spending issues still unresolved, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today assured District of Columbia residents that the D.C. government will avoid shutting down if the federal government shuts down because of a provision she got included in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus appropriations bill. The provision allows D.C. to spend under its local fiscal year 2017 budget during a federal government shutdown in fiscal year 2017, subject to the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2016 omnibus appropriations bill. Since the federal government last shut down, in 2013, Norton has gotten a provision included in each spending bill to exempt D.C. from a shutdown for the next fiscal year.

"Until my provision was enacted, shutdown threats forced the District to invest time and money preparing contingency shutdown plans, even if shutdowns were avoided. If the District shut down, it could have defaulted on certain financing agreements and leases. The city's partners, Wall Street and vendors alike charge a risk premium for the uncertainty created by shutdown threats. Wall Street took special note of the elimination of the D.C. shutdown threat in evaluating the District's finances."

During the federal government shutdowns in the 1990s, the D.C. government was treated as if it were a federal agency and was forced to shut down, too. The D.C. government remained open during the federal government shutdown in 2013 because it was able to use contingency reserve funds previously appropriated by Congress, which did not exist in the 1990s. However, the District had to ration the funds and was at risk of running out of them if the federal government shutdown continued for much longer. Then-D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray also designated all D.C. employees as "essential." In interpreting federal appropriations law, the federal Office of Management and Budget has indicated that employees necessary for the protection of life and property are essential and may continue to work during a shutdown.