Pay the People Act
Key claim: The Pay the People Act would automatically appropriate funds to pay federal employees, contractors, and active-duty military during any government shutdown caused by a lapse in appropriations.
Abstract
(S3066 · 119th Congress) Pay the People Act This bill provides appropriations to pay federal employees during a government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations. Specifically, the bill provides appropriations for federal agencies to provide standard rates of pay, allowances, pay differentials, benefits, and other payments to agency employees (including contractors and members of the Armed Forces on active duty) during any period in which interim continuing appropriations or full-year appropriations are not in effect for a fiscal year (i.e., a government shutdown). A federal agency may not use the funds provided by this bill during any period in which continuing appropriations are in effect for the purpose of paying employees of the agency. The bill must take effect as if it had been enacted on September 30, 2025. Latest action (2025-10-28): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Why this matters
Government shutdowns recurrently disrupt paychecks for roughly two million federal employees, hundreds of thousands of active-duty service members, and a contractor workforce that historically has not received back pay at all. The Pay the People Act would shift shutdown risk away from workers by making pay a standing obligation rather than a bargaining chip in appropriations fights. Its introduction signals continued congressional interest in structural fixes to shutdown-driven wage disruption, though passage prospects remain uncertain.