S. 3066Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Pay the People Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM UTC

The Pay the People Act provides a backup source of money to ensure that federal employees, their supporting contractors, and active‑duty military members continue to receive their regular pay and benefits during any lapse in congressional appropriations, starting with fiscal year 2026. It lets agency heads use Treasury funds not otherwise appropriated until a regular or continuing appropriations bill is passed, after which those expenses are charged back to the normal budget.

Key Provisions

Defines “agency” as any executive, legislative, or judicial authority and “covered individual” as a federal employee, a contractor supporting that employee, or an active‑duty service member.
Allows each agency’s head to draw from unallocated Treasury money to pay standard salaries, allowances, benefits, and other regular compensation for covered individuals whenever there is no interim or full‑year appropriation in effect for that fiscal year.
The authority to use these funds ends when either a regular appropriation (or continuing appropriation) that provides the needed amounts is enacted, or when an appropriation is enacted that provides no money for those purposes.
Agencies may not obligate the interim funds while a continuing appropriation for the same purposes is already in effect.
Any expenses made under this authority are later charged back to the agency’s regular appropriation once it becomes law.
The Act is retroactively effective as of September 30, 2025.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

Appropriations Committee

October 28, 2025

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

October 28, 2025

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

Appropriations Committee

October 28, 2025

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued October 28, 2025

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3066

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 28, 2025

Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations

A BILL

To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of Federal employees during a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Pay the People Act.

Appropriations

(a)

Definitions

In this section—

(1)

the term agency means each authority of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States; and

(2)

the term covered individual—

(A)

means an employee of an agency; and

(B)

includes—

(i)

a contractor who provides support to an employee described in subparagraph (A); and

(ii)

a member of the Armed Forces on active duty.

(b)

Appropriations

For fiscal year 2026, and any fiscal year thereafter, for any period during which interim continuing appropriations or full-year appropriations for that fiscal year are not in effect for an agency, there are appropriated to the head of the agency, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as are necessary to provide standard rates of pay, allowances, pay differentials, benefits, and other payments otherwise payable on a regular basis to covered individuals with respect to the agency.

(c)

Termination

Appropriations and funds made available and authority granted under subsection (b) shall be available to the head of an agency until whichever of the following first occurs:

(1)

The enactment into law of appropriations for the agency until the end of the applicable fiscal year (including a continuing appropriation) that provide amounts for the purposes for which amounts are made available under subsection (b).

(2)

The enactment into law of appropriations for the agency until the end of the applicable fiscal year (including a continuing appropriation) without any appropriation for such purposes.

(d)

Interim continuing appropriations

Appropriations made available under subsection (b) may not be obligated by the head of an agency during any period during which continuing appropriations for the purposes for which amounts are made available under subsection (b) are in effect for the agency.

(e)

Charging to full-Year appropriations

Obligations or expenditures made by the head of an agency pursuant to subsection (b) shall be charged to the applicable appropriation for the agency whenever a regular appropriation bill or a measure making continuing appropriations until the end of the applicable fiscal year for the agency becomes law.

(f)

Retroactive effective date

This Act shall take effect as if enacted on September 30, 2025.