U.S. Department of the Interior Followed Office of Management and Budget Guidance for Shutdown Plans During 2018 – 2019 Lapse in Appropriations

We reviewed actions the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and three of its bureaus took during the longest partial Government shutdown in U.S. history (from December 22, 2018, through January 25, 2019). Our objective was to determine whether the three DOI bureaus—the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management—deviated from their published shutdown contingency plans during the shutdown and, if so, whether they changed the plans in accordance with guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). We confirmed that the bureaus did change their initial shutdown plans, primarily to clarify how they would pay employees who worked during the shutdown and to recall employees to complete certain necessary tasks. We found, however, that the bureaus changed the plans in accordance with OMB guidance and by following a thorough process of review and approval by senior DOI and bureau officials.