Government Issue was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. active from 1980 to 1989. The band experienced many changes in membership during its nine-year existence, with singer John Stabb as the only consistent member in an ever-fluctuating lineup that at various times included notable musicians Brian Baker, Mike Fellows, Steve Hansgen, J. Robbins, and Peter Moffett. Government Issue originated from the Washington, D.C. hardcore scene but added elements of heavy metal, new wave, and psychedelic rock on later records. Though this has caused the band to be sometimes overlooked in relation to other Washington, D.C. hardcore acts, their stylistic diversity made them influential to later punk rock groups. Government Issue performed occasional reunion shows in the 2000s and 2010s with various lineups, until Stabb's death from stomach cancer in 2016.

John Dukes Schroeder, known professionally as John Stabb, was an American punk rock vocalist and frontman. Best known as one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Government Issue; he also played in other bands including, Betty Blue, The Factory Incident, Stabb, Stain, Emma Peel, Weatherhead, and History Repeated. He was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Rockville, Maryland, where he attended Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School. Stabb occasionally acted and was a freelance writer for Washington City Paper and Forced Exposure.