The Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits federal officials from spending or committing money the government does not have authority to spend, and from accepting volunteer or unpaid labor outside a narrow emergency exception. It enforces Article I's appropriations clause by criminalizing executive end-runs around Congress's power of the purse.
Congress first enacted the statute in 1870 to stop agencies from running up bills past their appropriations, then strengthened it in 1905 and 1906 by requiring monthly apportionment and adding criminal penalties. Today the law is codified at 31 U.S.C. 1341, 1342, and 1511-1519, with violations carrying administrative discipline, fines, and up to two years' imprisonment. The Act is the reason federal employees stop working during a shutdown — they cannot lawfully volunteer their labor or commit the government to future payments.
The statute does not stop an administration from delaying spending through OMB apportionment timing, refusing to issue grants, or zeroing out programs in budget proposals. Those tactics live in a separate body of law involving the Impoundment Control Act, judicial review, and ultimately appropriations decisions Congress must enforce.
The Anti-Deficiency Act is the criminal backstop behind Congress's power of the purse. Without it, presidents could simply order agencies to keep spending after appropriations ran out or to do work without paying for it. Federal shutdowns happen because officials would face prosecution otherwise.
People often think shutdowns happen because there is no money. The money exists; the legal authority to spend it has lapsed. The Anti-Deficiency Act, not exhausted funds, is what forces federal workers to stop.
The Anti-Deficiency Act is the criminal backstop behind Congress's power of the purse. Without it, presidents could simply order agencies to keep spending after appropriations ran out or to do work without paying for it. Federal shutdowns happen because officials would face prosecution otherwise.
People often think shutdowns happen because there is no money. The money exists; the legal authority to spend it has lapsed. The Anti-Deficiency Act, not exhausted funds, is what forces federal workers to stop.