I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5801 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 21, 2025 
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota (for himself, Mr. MACKENZIE, Mr. WIED, Mrs. 
BICE, Mr. ISSA, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. MANN, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, 
and Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Appropriations 
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 Representa-
tives 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— 
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(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 ex-
cepted 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 em-
ployee 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 per-
formed by an excepted employee during a period 
during which interim or full-year appropriations for 
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the applicable fiscal year are not in effect for the ap-
plicable 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 per-
formed 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 pro-
vide 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 
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year (including a continuing appropriation) without 
any appropriation for such purposes. 
(d) INTERIM CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS.—Ap-
propriations 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 agen-
cy pursuant to subsection (b) shall be charged to the appli-
cable appropriation for the agency whenever a regular ap-
propriation bill or a measure making continuing appro-
priations 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. 
Æ 
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