U.S. Department of Homeland Security

During a federal funding hiatus, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must be able to cease its government operations in an orderly fashion. Certain functions and activities that will be permitted to continue are “exempt” from work restrictions specified in the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA). If you want to buy a book for getting knowledge of DHS, So You can visit on http://www.gobookee.org/ for buy books related to Homeland Security.

The ADA codifies the Constitutional requirement that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by Law.” Federal officials are prohibited from entering into contracts, incurring obligations, or performing activities without having a current appropriation. The Act further restricts acceptance of voluntary services or personal services beyond authorized levels “except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.” As a result, only activities that qualify as exempt may continue to operate during a lapse in appropriations.

The Department of Homeland Security Contracting Contingency Plan is established in DHS Acquisition Alert 11-10, dated February 24, 2011. Heads of the Contracting Activity must work with their Component Heads to proactively survey and identify contracts that, in whole or in part, support activities that will continue to support exempt functions. If you want to get guide for terrorism and homeland security So, you can visit on http://www.gobookee.org/terrorism-and-homeland-security/ for download eBook related to terrorism and homeland security.

In accordance with Section 124 of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11, “Agency Operations in the Absence of Appropriations,” the Department has developed the procedures outlined in this document as its contingency plan. Included, and as also specified by the A-11 guidance, is the identification of the following information:

1. An estimate, to the nearest half-day, of the time necessary to accomplish an orderly closure.
2. The total number of DHS employees on-board before implementation of the plan.
3. The total number of employees expected to be exempt during the hiatus.

Upon notification from OMB and subsequent direction from the DHS Under Secretary for Management (USM), DHS Components must adhere to the guidelines as set forth in the following pages. This includes the preparation of employee notices of furlough, the processing of personnel and pay records in connection with furlough actions, and the release of non-exempt employees in accordance with applicable law and regulations of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The Department uses the term “exempt” to describe functions and employees who may be required to continue to perform during a federal funding hiatus. Other agencies in the Federal Government use different terminologies, including “excepted.” To avoid confusion from using multiple terms, guidance in this document will use the single term of “exempt.”
Additionally, either an “emergency furlough” or a “federal funding hiatus” may be used to refer to a lapse in appropriations during which employees may be exempt.

Guidelines for exempt activities follow. Proposals to continue activities that do not fit in the guidelines should be directed immediately to the DHS Office of General Counsel (OGC).

Some functions are covered by fee revenues or by multi-year, no-year, or revolving funds, or advance appropriations, and if those accounts have sufficient carry-over balance, they would not be affected by an annual appropriation lapse. Revolving funds that operate almost entirely on offsetting collections from other federal entities may also be forced to close, unless sufficient retained earnings are available to forestall the closure.