Shutdown Fairness Act

Shutdown Fairness Act

This bill provides appropriations to pay federal employees who work during a government shutdown.

Specifically, the bill provides appropriations for federal agencies to provide pay and allowances to excepted employees who are required to work during any period in which interim or full-year appropriations are not in effect for a fiscal year (i.e., a government shutdown). 

Under current law, excepted employees are required to work during a government shutdown and are not paid until the government shutdown is over. This bill provides appropriations to pay excepted employees during a government shutdown. The bill also specifies that the term excepted employee includes certain contractors who support federal employees during a government shutdown. 

A federal agency may not use the funds provided by this bill during any period in which continuing appropriations are in effect for the purpose of paying excepted employees of the agency.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3001 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3001

    To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of excepted Federal 
                   employees, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 9, 2025

  Mr. Johnson (for himself, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Risch, and Mr. 
Young) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
                   to the Committee on Appropriations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of excepted Federal 
                   employees, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Shutdown Fairness Act''.

SEC. 2. APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``agency'' means each authority of the 
        executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of 
        the United States; and
            (2) the term ``excepted employee''--
                    (A) means an employee of an agency who the head of 
                that agency determines is an excepted employee or an 
                employee performing emergency work, as those terms are 
                defined by the Office of Personnel Management; and
                    (B) includes a contractor who--
                            (i) provides support to an employee 
                        described in subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) is required to perform work during a 
                        lapse in appropriations, as determined by the 
                        head of the agency with respect to which the 
                        contractor provides support.
    (b) Appropriations.--For fiscal year 2026, or any fiscal year 
thereafter, for any period during which interim or full-year 
appropriations for that fiscal year are not in effect for an agency, 
there are appropriated to the head of the agency, out of any money in 
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as are necessary to 
provide pay and allowances to excepted employees of the agency who are 
required to perform work during that period.
    (c) Termination.--Appropriations and funds made available and 
authority granted under subsection (b) shall be available to the head 
of an agency until whichever of the following first occurs:
            (1) The enactment into law of appropriations for the agency 
        until the end of the applicable fiscal year (including a 
        continuing appropriation) that provide amounts for the purposes 
        for which amounts are made available under subsection (b).
            (2) The enactment into law of appropriations for the agency 
        until the end of the applicable fiscal year (including a 
        continuing appropriation) without any appropriation for such 
        purposes.
    (d) Subsequent Lapses.--Appropriations made available under 
subsection (b) may not be obligated by the head of an agency during any 
period during which continuing appropriations for the purposes for 
which amounts are made available under subsection (b) are in effect for 
the agency.
    (e) Charging to Full-Year Appropriations.--Expenditures made by the 
head of an agency pursuant to subsection (b) shall be charged to the 
applicable appropriation for the agency whenever a regular 
appropriation bill or a measure making continuing appropriations until 
the end of the applicable fiscal year for the agency becomes law.
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