NCD Agency Shutdown Plan in Absence of Appropriations

Agency Shutdown Plan

March 2024

1. PURPOSE: To provide the National Council on Disability’s (“NCD”) policy guidance and instructions for actions to be taken when Congress fails to enact either regular appropriations, a continuing resolution, or needed supplemental, resulting in an interruption of fund availability. In the absence of appropriations:

   • NCD officers may not incur any obligations that cannot lawfully be funded from prior appropriations unless such obligations are otherwise authorized by law.

   • NCD officers may incur obligations as necessary for orderly termination of an agency’s functions, but funds may not be disbursed.

2. SCOPE: This plan applies to all NCD personnel including the nine Special Government Employees (private citizen Presidential and Congressional appointees.)

3. POLICY: In order to execute an orderly shutdown, the following information is provided: • Estimated time to complete shutdown: One half-day;

   • Number of on-board employees prior to execution: 10;

   • Number of employees retained under plan: 0;

   • Executive Director, on behalf of the Chair, will notify OMB that shutdown procedures have initiated;

   • Director of Administration, Finance and Operations or designee will notify building management of shutdown status;

   • Director of Administration, Finance and Operations will notify all agency personnel of shutdown status and will initiate action to issue furlough notices and other instructions as appropriate;

   • Director of Administration, Finance and Operations will direct Contracting Officer’s Representatives to notify agency contractors of shutdown status and other instructions as appropriate;

   • Director of Administration, Finance and Operations will direct Network Consultant to ensure servers and other IT equipment are secured; and

   • For NCD employees scheduled for approved travel late in the funded period, official business associated with travel can continue as scheduled up until midnight on the last day of funding. Any employee in travel status is excepted to facilitate return travel, then furloughed or exempted as appropriate upon return.

   • For NCD employees scheduled to be on leave at the beginning of the shutdown, all leave will be cancelled and those employees will be placed on furlough status. Those employees may come off furlough status to complete shutdown activities the first day they were scheduled to return to work, including return travel. For that period, they will temporarily be placed on excepted status to complete their shutdown activities. Once that is complete, they will immediately return to furloughed status.

   • NCD’s agency website will be offline during any shutdown as its operation does not constitute nor facilitate any excepted activity.

   • Agency personnel will be instructed to obtain information from news outlets for when a continuing resolution or an FY 2024 appropriation has been approved and that they will be expected to return to work on their next regularly scheduled workday.

4. REFERENCES:

   • OMB Circular No. A-ll (2015), Section 124.2, pages 1-2

   • OMB Memo M-13-22, Planning for Agency Operations during a Potential Lapse in Appropriations (and attachments), September 17, 2013.

5. REVIEW: This Agency Shutdown Plan has been prepared, with the assistance of NCD’s Director of Administration, Finance, and Operations as well as the Executive Director, and reviewed by the undersigned. It complies with guidance provided in the reference documents.

Respectfully,

Claudia Gordon
Vice Chair / Acting Chair