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S. 3165Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

True Shutdown Fairness Act

Sponsored by Chris Van HollenSen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Introduced November 7, 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM UTC

The True Shutdown Fairness Act makes sure federal workers and contractors are paid their normal wages and benefits during a government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025. It provides emergency Treasury funds to agencies so covered employees—including regular staff, furloughed workers, contract workers, and military personnel—receive their usual compensation until funding is restored. The bill also obligates agencies to reimburse contractors for costs they incur because of the shutdown and prohibits using these funds to permanently reduce agency staff or place employees on extended administrative leave.

Key Provisions

  • Provides Treasury money to each agency that experiences a shutdown starting October 1, 2025, so that all covered employees—including regular staff, furloughed workers, contract employees, active‑duty military and reservists—receive their normal pay, benefits, and allowances until appropriations are restored.
  • Requires agency heads to adjust the price of any contract that was suspended or delayed because of the shutdown, reimbursing contractors for reasonable costs incurred to pay or compensate their employees and to restore any paid leave used during the shutdown.
  • Bars the use of any funds made available by this Act (or any other act) to permanently cut agency staff numbers or to place an employee on administrative leave for more than ten work days during the shutdown period.
  • Sets the effective date of these provisions retroactively to September 30, 2025, and requires that any spending be charged to the appropriate future appropriations once those appropriations are enacted.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

November 7, 2025

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

November 7, 2025

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

November 7, 2025

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued November 7, 2025

II

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3165

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 7, 2025

Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Ms. Alsobrooks) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of Federal employees during the lapse in appropriations that began on October 1, 2025, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the True Shutdown Fairness Act.

2.

Appropriations

(a)

Definitions

In this section—

(1)

the term agency means—

(A)

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

(B)

each District of Columbia public employer described in clause (i) or (ii) of section 1341(c)(1)(B) of title 31, United States Code (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act);

(2)

the term contract employee means a contract employee for which the lapse of appropriation suspended, delayed, or interrupted all or part of the work of the contract, or stopped all or part of the work called for in such contract, including—

(A)

a service employee, as defined in section 6701(3) of title 41, United States Code, except that an individual covered under this subparagraph includes an individual described in subparagraph (C) of such section 6701(3);

(B)

a laborer or mechanic with respect to whom section 3142 of title 40, United States Code, applies; and

(C)

an employee of a business concern that holds a contract, subcontract, or other agreement with an agency that provides for services or supplies, including a service contract under chapter 67 of title 41, United States Code;

(3)

the term covered individual—

(A)

means each employee of an agency, without regard to whether, during the period of the covered lapse in appropriations with respect to that agency occurring before the date of enactment of this Act—

(i)

the head of that agency determined that the individual was an excepted employee or an employee performing emergency work, as those terms are defined by the Office of Personnel Management or the appropriate District of Columbia public employer, as applicable; or

(ii)

the individual was subject to furlough; and

(B)

includes—

(i)

a contract employee;

(ii)

a member of the Armed Forces on active duty; and

(iii)

a member of a reserve component who, during the covered lapse in appropriations with respect to the applicable agency, performs active service or inactive-duty training;

(4)

the term covered lapse in appropriations means, with respect to an agency, the lapse in appropriations with respect to that agency beginning on October 1, 2025, and ending on the termination date; and

(5)

the term termination date means the date on which, after the start of the covered lapse in appropriations—

(A)

there are enacted into law appropriations for the agency (including a continuing appropriation) that provide amounts for the purposes for which amounts are made available under subsection (b); or

(B)

there are enacted into law appropriations for the agency (including a continuing appropriation) without any appropriation for such purposes.

(b)

Appropriations

For fiscal year 2026, there are appropriated to the head of each agency with respect to which there is a covered lapse in appropriations, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as are necessary to provide, with respect to the covered lapse in appropriations, 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, subject to the limitation under paragraph (2).

(c)

Price adjustment

(1)

In general

As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of any agency subject to the covered lapse in appropriations shall adjust the price of any contract described in paragraph (2) to compensate the contractor for reasonable costs incurred as described in paragraph (3), regardless of whether the contract provides for, or otherwise prohibits, the contractor to incur such reasonable costs or receive such an adjustment for incurring such reasonable costs.

(2)

Contract described

A contract is described in this paragraph if it is a contract of an agency for which the contractor suspended, delayed, or interrupted all or part of the work under such contract, or stopped all or any part of the work called for in such contract, as a result of the covered lapse in appropriations.

(3)

Reasonable costs described

Reasonable costs described in this paragraph are costs actually incurred by the contractor—

(A)

to provide compensation for the period of the covered lapse in appropriations, at an employee’s standard rate of compensation, to any employee who, as a result of the lapse in appropriations—

(i)

was furloughed or laid off;

(ii)

was otherwise not working;

(iii)

experienced a reduction of hours; or

(iv)

experienced a reduction in compensation; or

(B)

to restore paid leave taken by any employee during the lapse in appropriations, if the contractor required or permitted employees to use paid leave as a result of the lapse in appropriations.

(4)

Evidence

A contractor seeking an adjustment under paragraph (1) shall provide the head of the applicable agency any evidence of the reasonable costs incurred by the contractor as described in paragraph (3) as the head of the agency, in consultation with the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, considers appropriate.

(d)

Termination

Appropriations and funds made available and authority granted under subsection (b) shall be available to the head of an agency until the termination date.

(e)

Charge to future appropriations

Expenditures made pursuant to this Act shall be charged to the applicable appropriation, fund, or authorization whenever a bill in which such applicable appropriation, fund, or authorization is enacted into law.

(f)

Retroactive effective date

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

3.

Limitation on reductions in force

(a)

Definitions

In this section, the terms agency and covered lapse in appropriations have the meanings given those terms in section 2(a).

(b)

Prohibition

During the covered lapse in appropriations, none of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to—

(1)

propose or implement a reduction in force, or any similar effort, to permanently reduce the number of employees employed by an agency; or

(2)

place any employee of an agency in administrative leave for more than 10 work days in any calendar year.

(c)

Rule of construction

Nothing in this section may be construed to affect a voluntary separation payment offered to an employee under section 3523 of title 5, United States Code.