Prevent Government Shutdowns Act

Key Points

• This bill would prevent the federal government from shutting down if Congress fails to pass a budget on time. Instead of closing offices and pausing services, the government would automatically keep running at its current spending levels.
• To encourage lawmakers to reach a final deal, the bill bans Members of Congress, their staff, and budget officials from using taxpayer or campaign money for official travel during these periods. They would only be allowed to pay for a single trip back to Washington, D.C.
• While the automatic funding is in place, the House and Senate would be restricted from working on other issues. They would generally be required to focus only on budget bills and would be prohibited from taking breaks or vacations longer than 23 hours.
• The automatic funding would renew every 14 days until a permanent budget is signed into law. This ensures that federal employees continue to get paid and public services like national parks and food safety inspections remain open without interruption.