During this week’s continuing shutdown drama, White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has reportedly instructed agencies to identify the hardest hit programs, presumably to add to the growing lists of tasks the Trump administration believes it can legally perform to mitigate the pain.
One move in the works would benefit contractors, according to a draft revision of shutdown guidance from the Office of Management and Budget obtained by Government Executive. It would alter past guidance of both the Trump and Obama administrations to allow non-furloughed agency employees to pay contractor invoices for work on contracts awarded before the Dec. 22 appropriations lapse.
The prospective move (OMB did not respond to inquiries on Thursday) also comes as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce organized a letter to President Trump and members of Congress signed by 645 businesses, including small business contractors in 50 states demanding an end to shutdown.
Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/01/white-house-wants-reduce-shutdown-pain-contractors/154412/
See text of the full OMB Jan. 19, 2019 memorandum here: Planning for Agency Operations during a Potential Lapse in Appropriations OMB – Planning for Agency Operations during a Potential Lapse in Appropriations -M-18-05-01.19.2019