Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2026

Key Points

• If Congress misses a budget deadline, the government would automatically keep running at current spending levels instead of shutting down. Funding renews in 14-day increments until a real budget is passed, keeping federal services and paychecks flowing.
• Members of Congress, their staff, and Office of Management and Budget employees would be banned from spending taxpayer or campaign money on travel during a funding gap. The only exception is a single trip back to Washington, D.C.
• While automatic funding is in effect, Congress would be locked into working on the budget. Lawmakers could not vote on most other bills, could not recess for more than 23 hours, and daily quorum calls would be required to ensure they are present and working.
• The bill has strong bipartisan backing, with 21 original cosponsors from both parties including Senators Lankford, Hassan, Fetterman, and Ernst. It was placed directly on the Senate calendar, skipping committee and positioning it for a floor vote.
• Automatic funding is designed to be bare-bones. Programs that normally get large upfront distributions to states or grantees at the start of the fiscal year would not receive those lump sums, and no new grants could be awarded.