[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3165 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3165
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
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 ``True Shutdown Fairness Act''.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
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