Sponsors (16)
The bill trades broad, enforceable short‑term financial and procedural protections for federal employees during funding gaps (preventing evictions, defaults, and loss of coverage) against increased costs, legal uncertainty, and heavier burdens on courts, creditors, and agencies that may be passed on to other consumers or complicate routine enforcement.
Federal employees (and their families) can pause or delay a wide range of financial obligations during a shutdown — including federal income tax payments, rent, mortgages, loans (including Title IV and many private student loans), fines, insurance premiums, and repossessions — often via court-ordered stays or automatic deferments with interest suspension, reducing immediate risk of eviction, loss‑
Federal employees keep health, life, disability, and vehicle insurance coverage in force during the covered shutdown period (unless a court orders otherwise), preventing gaps in access to care and benefits when pay is interrupted.
Federal employees gain protections for credit, wages, and legal rights: courts may stay garnishments, vacate or stay executions, prohibit credit denials/penaltying solely for seeking these protections, and pause civil‑rights or administrative proceedings tied to the shutdown period, helping preserve employment benefits and creditworthiness.
Creditors, landlords, mortgage servicers, private lenders and insurers face delayed payments, greater administrative and litigation costs, and increased credit risk during covered periods, costs they may offset by raising prices, tightening underwriting, or passing fees to other consumers.
State and federal courts are likely to see a surge of emergency motions for stays, adjustments, and related proceedings during shutdowns, straining judicial resources, slowing case resolution, and increasing workload and costs for the judiciary.
Federal employees still ultimately owe deferred federal income taxes (and the deferment excludes OASDI/Social Security withholding), so workers may face lump‑sum tax obligations after the 90‑day window and continued Social Security withholding shortfalls.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Temporarily stays or defers collections and enforcement (taxes, loans, evictions, foreclosures, liens, insurance lapses) for Federal workers affected by a shutdown.
Official title: To suspend the enforcement of certain civil liabilities of Federal employees and contractors during a lapse in appropriations, or during a breach of the statutory debt limit, and for other purposes.
Introduced October 8, 2025 by Brendan Francis Boyle · Last progress October 8, 2025
Provides temporary civil-relief protections for Federal workers (including contractor employees) who are furloughed or required to work without pay during a government shutdown or when the federal debt limit is breached. It allows temporary deferral of tax collection and student loan payments without interest or penalties, prevents insurance lapses, limits evictions, foreclosures, lien enforcement, and stabilizes other civil and contractual obligations during the shutdown period, while creating enforcement tools and criminal penalties for knowing violations.