The Biden administration is warning that without Congressional intervention to increase spending in certain areas, many federal government offices will be forced to stop hiring before President-elect Trump’s inauguration.

Congressional leaders have suggested in recent weeks that lawmakers would pass an interim resolution to keep agencies afloat beyond the current Dec. 20 deadline, once again banking on one-year funding to keep agencies afloat. spending levels at current levels. The needs of different agencies have fluctuated, however, and the administration has suggested they will have to take drastic measures to control costs without additional funds.

The Internal Revenue Service, for example, warned last week that absent congressional intervention, it may have to stop recruiting, jeopardizing significant progress it did to fill long-standing vacancies and increase its workforce. This is due to language that Republican appropriators slipped into the previous CR that essentially froze $20 billion that Congress had previously provided to the IRS as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The White House is now calling on lawmakers to release that money, suggesting the language was included in error and would have devastating impacts on the agency and its efforts to increase revenue collection from wealthy tax evaders.

“Our concern at this time is that because of this risk to the IRS and its uncertainty, the IRS is potentially going to have to make dramatic decisions regarding stopping hiring and starting a budget for a world in which they do not have the means. $20 billion,” Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters recently.

The White House requests additional addendums to any CR, called “anomalates” in federal budget parlance. He called on the Federal Aviation Administration to be able to allocate enough funds to pay for salary increases and other obligations.

“Without this anomaly, the FAA would not be able to continue hiring and training air traffic controllers,” the White House said in its budget document, a copy of which has been preserved. obtained by QC. Like the IRS, the FAA is currently in the midst of a hiring push it was said that it was necessary to keep pace with growing demand.

In total, the Biden administration is requesting $24 billion in additional funds for CR. Separately, he is asking Congress for nearly $115 billion in emergency funding to help with recovery efforts after Hurricanes Helene, Milton and other storms.

Veterans Affairs officials have also warned that it will have to stop hiring health care and other personnel if Congress does not address a budget shortfall. The White House is now seeking $6.6 billion to supplement its existing VA funding, down from a previous estimate but more than the expected amount. 3 billion dollars granted by Congress earlier this year for veterans benefits.

Veterans Health Administration hiring slowed significantly in 2024 and has sought to keep its workforce steady, but officials recently said Congress’ plans for growth in 2025 would be on hold without additional funding.

Martin O’Malley, former Social Security administrator said Government Executive just before he resigned from his position last week, his agency would stop hiring without additional funds. The White House included SSA spending in its recent anomaly request.

“We’re constantly trying to climb a downward staircase,” O’Malley said. “When Congress only gives us a three-month budget (at last year’s level), that effectively puts us in a position of a hiring freeze across much of the agency, with very limited capacity to replacement against attrition.”

Even without the constraints of a stopgap funding bill, government agencies have announced their intention to reduce labor costs operate in a tight budget environment. Under a two-year bipartisan budget deal that President Biden negotiated last year with congressional Republicans, non-defense agencies are expected to receive a modest 1% increase over the course of the year. fiscal year 2025. Donors have not yet agreed on a high level of funding despite this agreement. However, the election of Trump and his promise to cut funding could shake up the situation.

At the Justice Department, Mary Cheng, acting director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, told staffers last month that she was implementing an “integration freeze” through March 2025.

The CR “means that our agency’s funding levels remain the same as the previous fiscal year despite increased operating costs,” Cheng said in an email obtained by Government Executive. “This decision was not taken lightly, but unfortunately we have no choice in this budgetary context.”

She added that she hoped the ruling would allow EOIR, which houses the nation’s immigration courts, to avoid layoffs or layoffs in the future.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., confirmed Monday that Congress is likely to pass a stopgap funding bill.

“When it comes to government funding, both parties are making progress in negotiations on a bill that will pass the House and Senate with bipartisan support,” Schumer said. “We must avoid divisive and unnecessary provisions in any extension of government funding, otherwise it will become more difficult to pass a CR on time. For now, I am happy that the negotiations are on the right track.

Congressional leaders have not yet said how long a CR would last, although the White House estimates it would remain in effect until February.

Agencies that enter the Trump administration with a hiring freeze may find themselves in holes that are difficult to climb out of. President-elect Trump began his first term with a government-wide hiring freeze. Trump did not say whether he would do so freeze hiring again upon taking office, although his team – including Office of Management and Budget Director-designate Russ Vought and the Government Efficiency Commission led by Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk – has pledged to remove large swathes of federal jobs.