Pay Our Troops Act of 2026
The Pay Our Troops Act of 2026 would provide a stopgap funding mechanism to keep military pay flowing if a government shutdown occurs in fiscal year 2026. The bill authorizes the use of funds out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated to pay active-duty service members, DoD civilian personnel, Coast Guard civilian personnel, and contractors deemed by the relevant secretary to be providing support to those service members during the shutdown period. Payments would continue until the first of: a new appropriation for the covered purposes is enacted; an applicable regular or continuing appropriation is enacted that does not provide for those payments; or January 1, 2027. In short, it is a narrowly targeted continuing appropriation to ensure troops and essential support keep receiving pay during a funding lapse.
Key Points
- 1Creates a continuing appropriation for FY2026 to pay active-duty members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, during any period when interim or full-year appropriations are not in effect.
- 2Extends pay and allowances to Department of Defense civilian personnel and Coast Guard civilian personnel (via the Department of Homeland Security) who are determined by the relevant secretary to be providing support to the armed forces described in paragraph (1).
- 3Includes payments to contractors of the Department of Defense (and Coast Guard contractors) whom the secretary determines are providing support to those military personnel.
- 4Defines “Secretary concerned” as the Secretary of Defense for DoD matters and the Secretary of Homeland Security for Coast Guard matters.
- 5Termination triggers: funds remain available until (a) an appropriation for the covered purposes is enacted, (b) an applicable regular/continuing appropriation is enacted without the specific payments, or (c) January 1, 2027.