Shutdown Fairness Act
The Shutdown Fairness Act would authorize immediate funding to pay and provide allowances for excepted Federal employees (and certain supporting contractors) during periods when an agency does not have interim or full-year appropriations in place. For FY2026 and later, the bill allows the head of each agency to draw from the Treasury—money not otherwise appropriated—to cover pay and allowances for those employees who are deemed excepted or who are performing emergency work, as determined under the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) definitions. Funds would remain available until either new appropriations are enacted that include or exclude these purposes. Expenditures would not be allowed to occur if continuing appropriations for these purposes are currently in effect, and once regular or continuing appropriations become law, the spending would be charged to the agency’s applicable appropriation. In short, the bill is designed to ensure that essential or emergency-work employees (and their contractors supporting them) continue to receive pay during a government funding lapse, even if Congress has not yet enacted new appropriations for the agency.
Key Points
- 1Purpose and scope: Provides funding to pay and provide allowances to excepted federal employees (and certain contractors) during periods when an agency lacks appropriations.
- 2Who qualifies: An “excepted employee” is either an employee the agency head designates as excepted or someone performing emergency work (per OPM), plus contractors who support those employees and must work during a lapse in appropriations.
- 3Funding source and timeframe: For FY2026 and beyond, funds come from the Treasury to the agency head and are available for periods when appropriations are not in effect.
- 4Termination and control: Funds stay available until either new appropriations are enacted for the agency (with or without these purposes) or until the end of the applicable fiscal year, whichever occurs first.
- 5Obligations during lapses and post-enactment charging: Agencies cannot obligate these funds while continuing resolutions for the same purposes are in effect; once regular or continuing appropriations become law, the expenditures are charged to the agency’s regular appropriation.