31 U.S.C. § 1341
Section 1341 · Limitations on expending and obligating amounts
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 183 court decisions — leading case Hercules Incorporated v. United States (1996)
Most recently applied in Abrantes v. United States (November 2022)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 28 U.S.C. § 1491 · 28 U.S.C. § 1346 · 5 U.S.C. § 706
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a)(1) Except as specified in this subchapter or any other provision of law, an officer or employee of the United States Government or of the District of Columbia government may not—
(A) make or authorize an expenditure or obligation exceeding an amount available in an appropriation or fund for the expenditure or obligation;
(B) involve either government in a contract or obligation for the payment of money before an appropriation is made unless authorized by law;
(C) make or authorize an expenditure or obligation of funds required to be sequestered under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985; or
(D) involve either government in a contract or obligation for the payment of money required to be sequestered under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
(2) This subsection does not apply to a corporation getting amounts to make loans (except paid in capital amounts) without legal liability of the United States Government.
(b) An article to be used by an executive department in the District of Columbia that could be bought out of an appropriation made to a regular contingent fund of the department may not be bought out of another amount available for obligation.
(c)(1) In this subsection—
(A) the term "covered lapse in appropriations" means any lapse in appropriations that begins on or after December 22, 2018;
(B) the term "District of Columbia public employer" means—
(i) the District of Columbia Courts;
(ii) the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia; or
(iii) the District of Columbia government;
(C) the term "employee" includes an officer; and
(D) the term "excepted employee" means an excepted employee or an employee performing emergency work, as such terms are defined by the Office of Personnel Management or the appropriate District of Columbia public employer, as applicable.
(2) Each employee of the United States Government or of a District of Columbia public employer furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations, and each excepted employee who is required to perform work during a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for such work, at the employee's standard rate of pay, at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates, and subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.
(3) During a covered lapse in appropriations, each excepted employee who is required to perform work shall be entitled to use leave under chapter 63 of title 5, or any other applicable law governing the use of leave by the excepted employee, for which compensation shall be paid at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
In subsection (b), the words "another amount available for obligation" are substituted for "any other fund" for consistency in the revised title.
References in Text
Section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(C), (D), is classified to section 902 of Title 2, The Congress.
Amendments
2019—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–1, §2(1), in introductory provisions, substituted "Except as specified in this subchapter or any other provision of law, an officer" for "An officer".
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–1, §2(2), added subsec. (c).
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 116–5 inserted ", and subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse" before period at end.
1990—Subsec. (a)(1)(C), (D). Pub. L. 101–508 added subpars. (C) and (D).