Sponsor
Pat Fallon
Representative · R-TX
Representative · R-TX
The bill creates a financial disincentive for lawmakers to allow funding lapses and clarifies when shutdown rules apply, at the cost of potential legal challenges, income impacts for Members, administrative complexity, and expanded triggers that could affect agencies and employees.
Members of Congress face withheld pay during funding lapses, creating a direct financial incentive for lawmakers to avoid or end shutdowns and encouraging timelier passage of appropriations.
Federal agencies and departments get a clear, consistent statutory definition of "government shutdown," making it easier for agencies to determine when the Act's provisions apply and reducing ambiguity in implementation.
Taxpayers see modest federal spending reductions during shutdown periods because Member salaries are not paid while the government is closed.
Withholding pay could invite legal or constitutional challenges and politicize compensation procedures for elected officials, creating legal uncertainty and potential court battles.
A statutory trigger/definition of "shutdown" could broaden when the Act's provisions apply, potentially subjecting more agencies or employees to new rules or interruptions during any lapse.
Individual Members of Congress who rely on their salaries could face meaningful income loss during shutdown days, which may disproportionately affect less-wealthy Members or those with tight budgets.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires House and Senate payroll to withhold Members' pay for each day a government shutdown occurs and bars retroactive pay for those periods.
Official title: To prohibit the pay of Members of Congress during periods in which a Government shutdown is in effect, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 31, 2026 by Pat Fallon · Last progress August 31, 2026
Requires House and Senate payroll administrators to withhold congressional pay for any pay period that includes one or more days of a federal government shutdown, deducting one day’s pay for each 24‑hour shutdown period and prohibiting retroactive pay for those periods. The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to assist payroll administrators, and ‘‘Member of Congress’’ is tied to existing statutory definitions. The rule applies to shutdown days occurring in the 120th Congress and each succeeding Congress. The bill defines ‘‘government shutdown’’ as a lapse in appropriations caused by failure to enact a regular appropriations bill or continuing resolution and uses existing statutory language to identify which officials are covered.