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S 3012
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Shutdown Fairness Act

S. 3012 To appropriate funds for pay and allowances of excepted Federal employees for periods of work performed during a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes.

Introduced Oct 15, 2025

Latest action (Nov 7, 2025) Upon reconsideration, cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 43. Record Vote Number: 609.

Policy area
Government Operations and Politics
Issues
Economy & Taxes
Legislative subjects (5)
AppropriationsCongressional operations and organizationGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementMilitary personnel and dependentsPublic contracts and procurement

Summary

The Shutdown Fairness Act appropriates funds to pay federal employees required to work during government shutdowns, beginning in fiscal year 2026. The bill automatically provides necessary funding for pay, allowances, benefits, and other regular compensation to excepted employees and members of the Armed Forces who perform work during lapses in appropriations. Excepted employees include those designated by their agency head to perform emergency work and contractors supporting such employees. The appropriated funds remain available until either regular appropriations are enacted or Congress passes appropriations that do not include funding for these purposes. The bill is retroactively effective as of September 30, 2025.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
13 cosponsors

Actions (10)
  1. Nov 7, 2025 Upon reconsideration, cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 53 - 43. Record Vote Number: 609. · senate
  2. Nov 7, 2025 Motion by Senator Thune to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3012 was not invoked (Record Vote No. 585) agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote. (CR S7996) · senate
  3. Nov 7, 2025 Motion to proceed to consideration of the motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3012 was not invoked (Record Vote No. 585) agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote. (CR S7996) · senate
  4. Oct 23, 2025 Motion by Senator Thune to reconsider the vote by which cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3012 was not invoked (Record Vote No. 585) made in Senate. · senate
  5. Oct 23, 2025 Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 54 - 45. Record Vote Number: 585. (CR S7720) · senate
  6. Oct 21, 2025 Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S7185) · senate
  7. Oct 21, 2025 Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S7184-7185) · senate
  8. Oct 16, 2025 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 191. · senate
  9. Oct 15, 2025 Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time. · senate
  10. Oct 15, 2025 Introduced in Senate

How your representatives voted

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Roll-call votes (2)

How the chamber voted on this bill — the outcome, the tally by party, and every member's recorded position. A factual record.

  • On Cloture on the Motion to ProceedCloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected
    Senate · Roll call 609 · Nov 7, 2025

    53 Yea · 43 Nay · 4 Not voting

    • Democrats0Yea3Nay1NV
    • Republicans2Yea0Nay1NV
    • Independents0Yea1Nay

    The party tally and member list below cover the 8 of 100 positions we've recorded so far; the outcome above is the official chamber result.

    See how each member voted (8)

    Yea(2)

    Nay(4)

    Not voting(2)

  • On Cloture on the Motion to ProceedCloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected
    Senate · Roll call 585 · Oct 23, 2025

    54 Yea · 45 Nay · 1 Not voting

    • Democrats1Yea3Nay
    • Republicans3Yea0Nay
    • Independents0Yea1Nay

    The party tally and member list below cover the 8 of 100 positions we've recorded so far; the outcome above is the official chamber result.

    See how each member voted (8)

    Yea(4)

    Nay(4)

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

  • S 1071 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (shares 4 subjects)
  • S 2296 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 3838 — Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (shares 4 subjects)
  • S 524 — Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 (shares 4 subjects)
  • S 4638 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (shares 4 subjects)
  • S 2139 — Comprehensive Contingency Contracting Reform Act of 2012 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 7314 — Advancing Commonsense Policies Act (shares 3 subjects)
  • HR 7147 — Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026. (shares 3 subjects)

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • HR 5801 — Shutdown Fairness Act · Introduced Oct 21, 2025 · Cong. 119 92%
  • S 3039 — True Shutdown Fairness Act · Introduced Oct 23, 2025 · Cong. 119 89%
  • S 3165 — True Shutdown Fairness Act · Introduced Nov 7, 2025 · Cong. 119 88%
  • HR 7137 — Shutdown Fairness Act · Introduced Jan 16, 2026 · Cong. 119 87%
  • S 3168 — Shutdown Fairness Act · Introduced Nov 10, 2025 · Cong. 119 86%
  • HR 7322 — True Shutdown Fairness Act · Introduced Feb 2, 2026 · Cong. 119 84%

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 15, 2025

Mr. Johnson (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Risch, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill; which was read the first time

October 16, 2025

Read the second time and placed on the calendar

A BILL

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

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Shutdown Fairness Act”.

SEC. 2. 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;

(2) the term “excepted employee”—

(A) means an employee of an agency who the head of that agency determines is an excepted employee or an employee performing emergency work, as those terms are defined by the Office of Personnel Management; and

(B) includes—

(i) a contractor who—

(I) provides support to an employee described in subparagraph (A); and

(II) is required to perform work during a lapse in appropriations, as determined by the head of the agency with respect to which the contractor provides support; and

(ii) a member of the Armed Forces on active duty; and

(3) the term “excepted work” means work performed by an excepted employee during a period during which interim or full- year appropriations for the applicable fiscal year are not in effect for the applicable agency.

(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 excepted employees of the agency with respect to any period of excepted work performed by the excepted employees.

(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. Calendar No. 191

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3012

A BILL

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

October 16, 2025

Read the second time and placed on the calendar

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