Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
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Notes -
To what extent does the US Congress still have its (purported) power of the purse? For example, last time there was a “government shutdown” but to Congress not passing a budget, I still got my SSI checks from Social Security. According to many of the common descriptions of “the power of the purse” and why the “shutdown” happened, this should have been unconstitutional. And yet, it still happened.
So, to what extent can portions of the executive branch disburse, transfer, or spend funds without clear Congressional authorization? Where are the limits? And should someone in the executive try to go past these limits, in violation of Congress’s power of the purse, what are the enforcement mechanisms available to stop them?
Somewhere in the bowels of the U.S. Code, Congress decided that “essential services” stay online in a shutdown. In 42 U.S.C. §5189e the President was given carte blanche to label services essential. So if nothing else, that’d allow it. Maybe there are harder limits on this somewhere. Maybe it’s one of those things that operates on a gentleman’s agreement until someone fucks it up.
Of course, whatever Code governs the shutdowns might explicitly let SSI continue, in which case the point is moot.
See also this article on the Antideficiency Act, which is what enforces most government budgets.
Edit: new favorite section
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