Sponsors (20)
The bill offers broad, legally enforceable short‑term financial and procedural protections for federal workers and contractors during shutdowns—shielding pay, benefits, housing, and debt obligations—while shifting costs, administrative burdens, and litigation risk onto creditors, insurers, courts, and ultimately taxpayers.
Federal employees and covered contractors can pause or delay major financial obligations (income taxes, rent/mortgage, student loans, fines, and other collections) and avoid interest or credit-reporting harms during a shutdown, reducing immediate cash‑flow crises and risk of eviction/foreclosure.
Federal employees keep health, life, disability, and auto insurance (and related protections) in force during a shutdown even if premiums are missed, preserving coverage for workers and their families.
Federal employees are shielded from aggressive collection and adverse actions during shutdowns: stays and pauses on garnishments, lien enforcement, foreclosures, evictions, and some contractual penalties are available and cannot be used alone to worsen credit or employment status.
Creditors, lenders, insurers, and servicers lose or delay payments and interest during shutdowns, face increased administrative and legal costs, and may pass higher prices, fees, or tighter underwriting onto consumers and taxpayers.
The IRS, courts, agencies, insurers, and private parties will face heavier administrative and judicial workloads (processing deferments, stays, notices, and enforcement claims), producing delays, backlog, and increased government operating costs during and after shutdowns.
Delaying tax collections and other payments shifts revenue timing and cash flow for the Treasury (and excluding OASDI from deferral reduces relief), which could modestly raise short‑term borrowing needs or complicate fiscal operations during shutdowns.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Temporarily halts or delays many civil collection actions and provides deferments and court-ordered stays for Federal workers affected by shutdowns, including tax, eviction, foreclosure, insurance, and student loan protections.
Official title: 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 7, 2025 by Brian Emanuel Schatz · Last progress October 7, 2025
Provides temporary civil-relief protections for Federal workers (including some contractors) affected by a federal government shutdown or a debt-limit breach. It allows deferred tax collection and suspends interest/penalties for covered Federal income tax (excluding OASDI payroll tax), pauses or adjusts eviction, foreclosure, lien enforcement, insurance lapse, student loan, and other civil-collection actions while the worker is furloughed or required to work without pay, and creates civil and criminal remedies for violations.