Should federal employees and armed services members who are required to work during government shutdowns be paid?

Congressman Ryan Mackenzie (R-07) says yes and he wants to do something to make it a reality.

Alongside Congressman Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Mackenzie introduced the Shutdown Fairness Act to appropriate funds for pay and allowances of excepted Federal employees for periods of work performed during a lapse in appropriations.

“American workers don’t deserve to be held hostage by partisan games,” said Mackenzie. “Throughout the Schumer Shutdown, federal employees have continued to enforce the law, keep us safe, and deliver essential services to the American people. Many of these workers are now wondering how they will pay their bills and provide for their families. This bill stands up for those who show up — paying federal workers what we owe them, shutdown or not.”

“Hardworking federal employees and our military men and women didn’t ask to miss a paycheck, and they shouldn’t have to suffer because Congress didn’t do its job,” said Johnson. “My bill would make sure none of these employees are working without pay, unable to make ends meet for themselves and their families.”

According to the text of the bill, “excepted employee” means an employee of an agency who the head of that agency determines is an excepted employee or an employee performing emergency work, as those terms are defined by the Office of Personnel Management. The term “excepted work” means work performed by an excepted employee during a period during which interim or full-year appropriations for the applicable fiscal year are not in effect for the applicable agency.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday he opposes the Senate Republican bill that the House bill is based upon to extend pay to troops and some federal workers during the government shutdown.

“It’s my understanding that that is not a comprehensive bill that actually is designed to reopen the government while at the same time addressing the issues that need to be confronted,” Jeffries said at a press conference.

“It’s not legislation that I support,” he continued, “because it appears to be more like a political ploy to pick and choose, giving Donald Trump discretion which employees should be compensated.”

The bill has a retroactive date of September 30, 2025.