What This Bill Does · Plain English
Summary · Congress.gov
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.
Action Timeline
2025-10-21
Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.
2025-10-21
Introduced in House
2025-10-21
Introduced in House
Frequently Asked Questions
Did HR.5801 pass?
HR.5801 is still alive. Current stage: COMMITTEE. Pass likelihood: pending.
What does HR.5801 do?
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 emp…
Who sponsored HR.5801?
HR.5801 was sponsored by Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota).
Full Bill Text
119 HR 5801 IH: Shutdown Fairness Act U.S. House of Representatives 2025-10-21 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5801 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 21, 2025 Mr. Johnson of South Dakota (for himself, Mr. Mackenzie , Mr. Wied , Mrs. Bice , Mr. Issa , Mr. Lawler , Mr. Mann , Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia , and Mrs. Miller-Meeks ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations 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. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Shutdown Fairness Act . 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.
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