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Funding gap

National Debt Glossary: Key terms for understanding America's financial crisis


A term sometimes applied to a period when federal agencies lack authority to obligate or spend funds because their appropriations for that period have not been enacted.

Spending gaps occur most frequently at the beginning of a fiscal year, but agencies occasionally run out of money later in the year. During such periods, agencies sometimes furlough many of their employees and shut down many of their operations.

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SOURCE: House Budget Committee

 

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