Sponsors (2)
Keeps memorials accessible and protected during government shutdowns by exempting access staff from furloughs, at the cost of higher taxpayer spending and potential resource diversion and inconsistent access outcomes.
Visitors (families and veterans) retain access to memorials and cemeteries during government shutdowns, preserving opportunities for mourning and commemoration.
Visitors and staff benefit from continued protection of memorial property and public safety because access duties are classified as emergency services during funding lapses.
Federal employees who perform access duties remain employed and paid during a lapse, avoiding furloughs and preventing service interruptions at memorial sites.
Taxpayers may face higher costs because certain federal employees remain on duty and paid during shutdowns, increasing spending in lapse periods.
Agencies may need to reallocate scarce resources to keep memorials open during a lapse, potentially diverting staff from other shutdown-priority tasks.
Visitors and families could face inconsistent or confusing access outcomes because the exemption applies only to memorials that are not federally funded and were previously publicly accessible.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Requires agencies to keep nonfederally funded memorials accessible via federal property open during funding lapses and treats staff who provide access as excepted from furlough.
Requires federal agencies to keep publicly accessible non‑federally funded memorials and cemeteries open during any lapse in appropriations when those sites are normally reachable via federal facilities or federal land. It also designates federal employees whose duties provide that access as excepted from furlough, treating the work as emergency services for safety of human life or protection of property.
Official title: To providing access to certain memorials on Federal property during Government shutdown, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 30, 2026 by Maggie Goodlander · Last progress April 30, 2026