Requires the Secretary of the Senate to hold back Senators' pay during any government shutdown and release it after the shutdown ends, starting the day after the November 2026 general election.

Official title: A resolution withholding the pay of Senators if a Government shutdown occurs.

Outcome Agreed to by the Senate

Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions

Senate

Introduced 03-DEC-2025

Referred 03-DEC-2025

Reported 17-DEC-2025

On the calendar 17-DEC-2025

Passed 14-MAY-2026

Key points

Defines a government shutdown as a lapse in appropriations for one or more federal agencies or departments.
Requires the Secretary of the Senate to disburse and hold Senators' compensation for any period a shutdown is in effect.
Requires release of the held pay as soon as practicable after the shutdown ends.
Applies on and after the day after the regularly scheduled general election for federal office held in November 2026.

AI-generated from the Agreed to Senate text of 14-MAY-2026 · verify · report an error

Official CRS summary

Covers an older version. The newest CRS summary describes the bill as of "Reported to Senate" (17-DEC-2025); the text has changed since (Agreed to Senate, 14-MAY-2026).

CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.gov

Committee referrals (1)

Rules and Administration Committee (Senate)

Policy area

Congress

Sponsor John Kennedy (R-LA) Cosponsors · 4

■ 4 R

4 Republicans

congress.gov page Agreed to Senate (14-MAY-2026) Reported to Senate (17-DEC-2025) Introduced in Senate (03-DEC-2025) Senate: Cloture on the motion to proceed invoked in Senate, 99-0, 13-MAY-2026