Sponsor
Angela Craig
Representative · D-MN
Representative · D-MN
The bill trades stronger, administrable financial penalties on Members of Congress (withheld/escrowed pay and clearer shutdown definitions) to deter shutdowns and protect public services, against risks that the penalties may be unfair, administratively costly, legally narrow, and ultimately insufficient to stop politically motivated shutdowns.
Taxpayers, middle-class families, and federal employees face fewer or shorter government shutdowns because withholding/escrowing Members' pay creates a financial deterrent that may reduce service disruptions.
Members of Congress have a direct, visible political and financial incentive to avoid shutdowns because pay is withheld during shutdown periods.
Federal employees and agencies get a clear, uniform legal definition of a 'government shutdown', reducing ambiguity when applying the law and coordinating responses.
Taxpayers and the public may still suffer shutdown harms because automatic pay penalties may not stop shutdowns driven by ideological or electoral goals.
Members of Congress will lose pay during shutdowns even if they are not personally responsible, and some may experience short‑term cash‑flow strain as take‑home pay is reduced.
Tracking, withholding, escrowing, and later disbursing withheld pay imposes administrative burdens and potential costs on House and Senate payroll offices and Treasury, which may ripple to taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Automatically reduces Members' pay by one day's pay for each 24‑hour Government shutdown day after the Nov 2026 general election and requires withholding into escrow during the 119th Congress.
Official title: To reduce the annual rate of pay of Members of Congress if a Government shutdown occurs during a year, and for other purposes.
Introduced October 3, 2025 by Angela Craig · Last progress October 3, 2025
Reduces Members of Congress’ pay for each 24‑hour period a government shutdown is in effect during a year, applied only to shutdown days after the regularly scheduled November 2026 general election. Payroll administrators must withhold the per‑day amounts, deposit them in escrow, and release any remaining escrowed funds on the last day of the 119th Congress to avoid violating the Twenty‑Seventh Amendment. The bill defines what counts as a “Government shutdown,” ties the per‑day reduction to the statutory annual rate without changing that statutory pay formula, and specifies which officials count as "Members of Congress." The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to assist payroll administrators in implementing the withholding and escrow process.