Federal Employee Financial Protection Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill stops credit reporting companies from lowering the credit scores of federal workers who miss payments during a government shutdown. It applies to employees who are sent home without pay or forced to work for free until the government reopens.
• If a worker misses a payment because they are not getting their paycheck, credit agencies must act as if the payment was made on time. This helps protect workers from long-term financial damage caused by political budget fights.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would have 30 days to set up specific rules for how this works. Congress also says private banks and lenders should give these workers extra time to pay and waive late fees during shutdowns.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.