White House Office of Management and Budget director Sylvia Burwell said in a recent memo that federal agencies should be updating their plans for operations in the event of a government shutdown.
“The Administration does not want a lapse in appropriations to occur, ” wrote Burwell. “There is enough time for Congress to prevent a lapse in appropriations,… however, prudent management requires that agencies be prepared for the possibility of a lapse.”
The memo notes that only activities that are required by law would be allowed to continue during a shutdown. The only exception would be if an agency has a separate funding source for an activity that would remain in place during a shutdown.
House leaders intend to vote this Friday on a stopgap spending measure to defund ObamaCare which increases the likelihood of a government shutdown in two weeks.
