Anti-deficiency — no obligation of funds Congress never appropriated

anti_deficiency.cell

// ============================================================================
// ANTI-DEFICIENCY — no obligation of funds Congress never appropriated
// ============================================================================
//
// The Anti-Deficiency Act (31 U.S.C. §1341, roots in 1870) exists
// because 19th-century agencies routinely spent money first and dared
// Congress to cover the bill — "coercive deficiencies." The Act makes it
// a federal crime to obligate a dollar in excess of, or in advance of,
// an appropriation. It is the reason the U.S. government literally shuts
// down when appropriations lapse: with no enacted appropriation there is
// no legal way to spend.
//
// Both halves are structural here. "In advance of": spending handlers
// gate on the appropriation's lifecycle, and a LAPSED appropriation is
// terminal — soma verify proves money cannot flow from it again. "In
// excess of": the account balance carries `invariant remaining >= 0`,
// so the overdraft is not an error code — it is a write the memory
// refuses, and the balance keeps its last lawful value.
// ============================================================================

cell Treasury {
    face {
        signal pass_bill(account: String) -> Map
        signal enact(account: String, amount: Int) -> Map
        signal obligate(account: String, purpose: String, amount: Int) -> Map
        signal lapse(account: String) -> Map
        signal balance(account: String) -> Int
    }

    memory {
        // dollars left in each account. NEVER negative: an obligation
        // that would overdraw is rejected at the write.
        remaining: Map<String, Int> [persistent, consistent]
        invariant remaining >= 0

        obligations: Map<String, Int> [persistent, consistent]
        invariant obligations >= 1
    }

    // An appropriation's life. `lapsed` is terminal: fiscal year over,
    // the authority to spend is gone and cannot be revived in place —
    // Congress must enact a NEW appropriation (a new account id).
    state appropriation {
        initial: drafted
        drafted -> passed
        passed -> enacted
        enacted -> lapsed
    }

    on pass_bill(account: String) {
        let r = try { transition(account, "passed") }
        if r.error != () { return map("ok", false, "reason", "{r.error}") }
        return map("ok", true, "state", "passed")
    }

    on enact(account: String, amount: Int) {
        if amount <= 0 { return map("ok", false, "reason", "an appropriation is positive") }
        let r = try { transition(account, "enacted") }
        if r.error != () { return map("ok", false, "reason", "{r.error}") }
        remaining.set(account, amount)
        return map("ok", true, "account", account, "amount", amount)
    }

    on obligate(account: String, purpose: String, amount: Int) {
        // "in advance of an appropriation": only an ENACTED account spends
        if get_status(account) != "enacted" {
            let s = get_status(account)
            return map("ok", false, "reason", "no enacted appropriation for {account} ({s})")
        }
        if amount <= 0 { return map("ok", false, "reason", "obligations are positive") }
        // "in excess of an appropriation": THE WALL — a negative balance
        // is unrepresentable, so the overdraft never happens
        let left = remaining.get(account) ?? 0
        let w = try { remaining.set(account, left - amount) }
        if w.error != () {
            return map("ok", false, "reason",
                "ADA violation refused: {amount} exceeds remaining {left}")
        }
        obligations.set("{account}:{purpose}", amount)
        return map("ok", true, "purpose", purpose, "remaining", left - amount)
    }

    on lapse(account: String) {
        let r = try { transition(account, "lapsed") }
        if r.error != () { return map("ok", false, "reason", "{r.error}") }
        return map("ok", true, "state", "lapsed")
    }

    on balance(account: String) {
        return remaining.get(account) ?? 0
    }
}

cell test AntiDeficiencyTests {
    rules {
        // spending in ADVANCE of the appropriation: refused at every stage
        assert obligate("FY27-OPS", "printers", 100).ok == false
        assert pass_bill("FY27-OPS").ok == true
        assert obligate("FY27-OPS", "printers", 100).ok == false  // passed != enacted
        assert_fails transition("FY27-OPS", "lapsed")             // can't lapse the unenacted

        // enact 1000; lawful obligations draw it down
        assert enact("FY27-OPS", 1000).ok == true
        assert obligate("FY27-OPS", "printers", 400).remaining == 600
        assert obligate("FY27-OPS", "travel", 600).remaining == 0

        // spending in EXCESS: the overdraft is a write the memory refuses
        assert obligate("FY27-OPS", "party", 1).ok == false
        assert_fails remaining.set("FY27-OPS", -50)
        assert balance("FY27-OPS") == 0

        // a phantom $0 obligation cannot even be recorded
        assert_fails obligations.set("FY27-OPS:ghost", 0)

        // fiscal year ends: lapsed is terminal, the authority is dead
        assert enact("FY27-RND", 0).ok == false
        assert pass_bill("FY27-RND").ok == true
        assert enact("FY27-RND", 500).ok == true
        assert lapse("FY27-RND").ok == true
        assert obligate("FY27-RND", "lab", 10).ok == false
        assert_fails transition("FY27-RND", "enacted")
        assert_fails transition("FY27-RND", "drafted")
        assert balance("FY27-RND") == 500                  // unspent, unspendable
    }
}