Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) was joined by Senator James Lankford (R-OK) in introducing the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2025, which would take government shutdowns off the table and force Congress to stay in town until their work is done.

“In the real world, if you fail to do your job, there are consequences. Yet, when Congress fails to pass appropriations on time, the burden falls squarely on hardworking Americans - taxpayers, seniors, and our men and women in uniform,” said Chairman Arrington. “My Prevent Government Shutdowns Act is commonsense legislation that would shift the burden of a shutdown away from We the People and onto the politicians where it belongs - by forcing Members of Congress to stay in Washington until their work on appropriations is complete.” 

“We have to change the way Washington spends money. Our debt is now more than $37 trillion. Congress cannot keep avoiding the hard choices to fix it,” said Senator Lankford. “Shutting down the government does not fix the debt problem, it just makes it worse. The best way to finish negotiating the hard issue is to keep Congress in Washington until the budget is finished. That puts the pressure on lawmakers, not on families and important services.”

“Congress never meant for shutdowns to be possible: they came from an executive branch decision in 1980 about a 19th Century law,” said Kurt Couchman, Senior Fellow in Fiscal Policy, Americans for Prosperity. “Today, the shutdown threat pushes members to vote for bills they didn’t get to read or have the chance to amend. Keeping programs going while Congress finishes up funding bills would help involve more members in the process and truly earn their support. We commend Chairman Arrington for proposing the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act.”

Background:

The Prevent Government Shutdowns Act requires that if appropriations work is not done on time, all Members of Congress must stay in Washington, DC, and work until the spending bills are completed. This will prevent a government-wide shutdown, continue critical services and operations for Americans, and hold federal workers harmless while Congress completes appropriations. 

Upon a lapse in government funding, the bill would implement an automatic continuing resolution (CR), on rolling 14-day periods, based on the most current spending levels enacted in the previous fiscal year. This would prevent a shutdown and continue critical services and operations.

During the covered period of an automatic CR, the following restrictions are put in place:

• No taxpayer-funded travel allowances for official business (except one flight to return to Washington, DC) for the following: 
  • White House OMB staff and leadership
  • Members of the House and Senate
  • Committee and personal staff of the House and Senate
• No official funds may be used for CODEL or STAFFDEL travel
• No use of campaign funds by congressional offices to supplement official duties or travel expenses
• No motions to recess or adjourn in the House/Senate for a period of more than 23 hours

In addition, under the bill, no other votes would be in order in the House and Senate unless they pertain to passage of the appropriations bills or mandatory quorum calls in the Senate. However, after 30 days under the automatic CR, certain expiring authorization bills and executive calendar nominations would be eligible for consideration on the Senate floor, including a nomination for a Justice of the Supreme Court or a Cabinet Secretary, and narrow reauthorization legislation for programs operating under an authorization that has already expired or will expire within the next 30 days. These restrictions can be waived by a two-thirds vote in either chamber, but not for longer than seven days. 

###