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 standard rates of pay, allowances, pay differentials, benefits, and other payments to excepted employees for work performed during any period in which interim continuing appropriations or full-year appropriations are not in effect for a fiscal year (i.e., a government shutdown). An excepted employee is an employee who is required to work during a government shutdown.
Under current law, excepted employees 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 and members of the Armed Forces who are on active duty.
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.
The bill must take effect as if it had been enacted on September 30, 2025.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3012 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 191
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3012
To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of excepted Federal
employees for periods of work performed during a lapse in
appropriations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 15, 2025
Mr. Johnson (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cotton,
Mr. Risch, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill;
which was read the first time
October 16, 2025
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of excepted Federal
employees for periods of work performed during a lapse in
appropriations, 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;
(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--
(i) 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; and
(ii) a member of the Armed Forces on active
duty; and
(3) the term ``excepted work'' means work performed by an
excepted employee during a period during which interim or full-
year appropriations for the applicable fiscal year are not in
effect for the applicable agency.
(b) Appropriations.--For fiscal year 2026, and any fiscal year
thereafter, for any period during which interim continuing
appropriations 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 standard rates of pay,
allowances, pay differentials, benefits, and other payments otherwise
payable on a regular basis to excepted employees of the agency with
respect to any period of excepted work performed by the excepted
employees.
(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) Interim Continuing Appropriations.--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.--Obligations or
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.
(f) Retroactive Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect as if
enacted on September 30, 2025.
Calendar No. 191
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3012
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of excepted Federal
employees for periods of work performed during a lapse in
appropriations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 16, 2025
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
Introduced in Senate
Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 191.
Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S7184-7185)
Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S7185)
Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 54 - 45. Record Vote Number: 585. (CR S7720)
Roll Call #585 (Senate)Motion by Senator Thune to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3012 was not invoked (Record Vote No. 585) made in Senate.
Motion to proceed to consideration of the motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3012 was not invoked (Record Vote No. 585) agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote. (CR S7996)
Motion by Senator Thune to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3012 was not invoked (Record Vote No. 585) agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote. (CR S7996)
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Upon reconsideration, cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 43. Record Vote Number: 609.