Shutdown Fairness Act

Summary#

This bill, the Shutdown Fairness Act, directs the Treasury to provide whatever money is needed to pay "standard employee compensation" to covered employees and to pay covered contractors for work they must do during a lapse in regular appropriations (a funding gap). It applies for fiscal year 2026 and later years. "Covered employees" includes agency workers whether they were furloughed or excepted, members of the Armed Forces on active duty, and reservists performing duty during the lapse, if they were employed or enlisted before the lapse began. "Agency" includes executive, legislative, and judicial branch authorities and an element of the District of Columbia public employer. The bill requires agencies to pay covered employees and contractors from Treasury funds during a funding gap, with rules about timing: if a lapse is already ongoing when the law is enacted, agencies must pay as soon as practical and no later than 7 days after enactment; for future lapses, pay is on regularly scheduled pay dates. Payments made from Treasury are later charged to the agency’s applicable appropriation when Congress enacts appropriations. The funds may be used only for these payments and not for other purposes. The bill also says covered employees and contractor employees should perform their typical duties to the maximum extent practicable during a lapse, but it does not authorize obligations that are not explicitly allowed.

What it means for you#

  • If you are a federal employee who was employed before a funding gap, the bill would provide that you are entitled to your normal pay and regular pay-related amounts during the gap. Pay may be provided even if you were furloughed. For a funding gap already in progress when this law takes effect, agencies must pay within 7 days of enactment. For later gaps, pay arrives on regular paydays.
  • If you are a contractor required to keep working during a funding gap, the bill would provide payment for that contract work, subject to contract terms and agency determinations.
  • If you are an active duty service member or a reservist performing duty during a lapse, you are included as a covered employee and would receive standard compensation for the period.
  • Agencies must follow the existing rules and limits that applied under the most recent appropriations or continuing resolution for how pay and contractor payments are handled.

Expenses#

  • The bill authorizes the Treasury to provide "such sums as are necessary" to pay covered employees and covered contractors during a lapse in appropriations. It does not give specific dollar amounts in the bill text.
  • Expenditures made from Treasury under this authority must later be charged to the applicable agency appropriation when Congress enacts the regular or continuing appropriations for that agency.
  • The funds are limited for these pay and contractor-payment purposes and may not be transferred or used for other purposes.
  • No publicly available information on total cost estimates or specific budget numbers is included in the bill text or metadata provided.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.