Impoundment Control Act
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is the main legal mechanism for the President to seek to delay or permanently cancel federal funding once it has been enacted by Congress.
Recent Impoundment Control Act Decisions
What Is Impoundment?
When the President (or any officer or employee of the executive branch), through action or inaction, delays or withholds enacted funding, that is an impoundment.
Congress holds the power of the purse—approving a budget and appropriating funds. The President and executive branch agencies are responsible for administering those funds.
Occasionally, the President may wish to delay or avoid spending some of the funds appropriated by Congress. This may be for a variety of reasons—for cost savings, policy disagreements between the President and Congress, and changes in relevant circumstances, to name a few.
Our March 2025 WatchBlog post looks at what an impoundment is and GAO’s role under the Impoundment Control Act. Read more on the WatchBlog
Impoundment Control Act Overview
The framers vested Congress with the power of the purse by providing in the U.S. Constitution that “[n]o Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” U.S. Const., art. 1, § 9, cl. 7. This arrangement ensures that the government remains accountable to the will of the people and provides a key check on the power of the other branches.
In 1974, Congress enacted the Impoundment Control Act in response to attempts by the executive branch to refuse to spend congressionally appropriated funds. The act operates on the constitutional premise that the President must obligate funds appropriated by Congress, unless otherwise authorized to withhold them. The act permits the President to temporarily impound—i.e., withhold the obligation or expenditure of—appropriated funds in certain circumstances if the President notifies the Congress by transmitting a “special message.”
The Impoundment Control Act provides for two types of impoundments: deferrals and rescissions. 2 U.S.C. §§ 683(a), 684(a).
Deferral:
- A deferral occurs when an agency temporarily withholds funds from obligation or expenditure. 2 U.S.C. §§ 682(1), 684.
- Deferrals are authorized only to provide for contingencies, to achieve savings made possible by changes in requirements or greater efficiency of operations, or as otherwise specifically provided by law. 2 U.S.C. § 684(b).
- A deferral may not extend beyond the end of the fiscal year in which it is proposed. 2 U.S.C. § 684(a).
Rescission:
- A rescission is the proposed cancellation of budget authority that has been provided by Congress before that authority would otherwise expire.
- The President may propose a rescission for policy or other reasons. 2 U.S.C. § 683(a).
- Once a recission is proposed to Congress, the President can withhold the budget authority for 45 days while Congress is in continuous session. Unless Congress completes action on a rescission bill to approve the proposed rescission within that time, the budget authority must be made available for obligation. 2 U.S.C. §§ 682(3), 683(b), 688.
GAO’s Responsibilities Under the Impoundment Control Act
The Comptroller General is required to review each special message and report the findings to Congress as soon as practicable. The Comptroller General also ensures that the impoundment is not misclassified, such as a rescission proposal reported as a deferral. 2 U.S.C. § 685(b), 686(b).
The Comptroller General must also report to Congress if the President has failed to report an impoundment to Congress in a special message as required. 2 U.S.C. § 686(a).
If an agency does not release budget authority for the obligation, the Comptroller General may bring a civil action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel such action. 2 U.S.C. § 687.
GAO’s Work on Impoundment Issues
- GAO responds to requests for technical assistance from Congress.
- GAO provides informal technical assistance to federal agencies.
- GAO issues legal decisions on impoundment issues in response to Congress or by request of a federal agency.
- When it would enhance congressional oversight, GAO may issue legal decisions on impoundment issues where an improper impoundment did not take place or is no longer ongoing.
Highlights of Significant Issues in Impoundment Work
GAO Participation in Impoundment Control Act Processes
GAO plays a role in Impoundment Control Act processes by, among other things, reviewing and reporting on special messages transmitted to Congress by a President and notifying agencies when funds may not be withheld under the Impoundment Control Act. For example:
- Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Review of the President’s Special Message of August 28, 2025, B-337805, September 12, 2025
- Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Review of the President's Special Message of June 3, 2025, B-337581, Jun 17, 2025
- Impoundment Control Act of 1974—Release of Withheld Amounts Due to Expiration of 45-day Period, B-330045.3, Jul 3, 2018
- Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Release of Certain Withheld Amounts, B-330045.1, May 24, 2018
- Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Review of the President’s Special Message of May 8, 2018, B-330045, May 22, 2018
GAO Legal Decisions on Impoundment Issues
GAO carries out its statutory responsibilities under the Impoundment Control Act to support Congress in its exercise of its constitutional power of the purse. Among other topics, recent decisions have addressed the following:
Whether agency actions constitute a programmatic delay:
- Department of the Interior—Applicability of the Impoundment Control Act to Pause of Large-Scale Water Recycling and Reuse Program, B-337233, Jul 23, 2025
- Department of Homeland Security—Application of the Impoundment Control Act to Reductions in Force for the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, B-337366, Jul 31, 2025
- Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Department of Homeland Security—Pause of Border Barrier Construction and Obligations, B-333110, Jun 15, 2021
Whether the Impoundment Control Act allows for “pocket recissions.” The Impoundment Control Act does not permit the withholding of funds proposed for rescission through their expiration date. If Congress does not affirmatively rescind the funds, funds proposed for rescission must be made available for prudent obligation before the amounts expire.
- Testimony before the House Committee on the Budget—Proposals to Reinforce Congress’s Constitutional Power of the Purse, GAO-21-538T
- Impoundment Control Act—Withholding of Funds through Their Date of Expiration, B330330, Dec 10, 2018
For more information about pocket rescissions, please visit our August 6, 2025 WatchBlog post.
Whether a delay in filling vacant positions constitutes an impoundment:
- Department of Commerce—Application of the Impoundment Control Act to Appropriations Enacted in Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019, B-331298, Dec 23, 2020
Additional Information
For more information on the Impoundment Control Act's purpose, history, and requirements, see Red Book Chapter 2, The Legal Framework: Principles of Federal Appropriations Law: Fourth Edition, GAO-16-464SP, 2016
For definitions of key terms, including obligation and expenditure, see the Federal Budget Glossary, GAO-05-734SP, 2005.
Questions?
For inquiries about the act, send an e-mail to Impoundments@gao.gov.
Recent Impoundment Control Act Decisions
The below lists contain our recent Impoundment Control Act decisions. All published appropriations products, including prior Impoundment Control Act decisions, can be found on our Decisions Search page.