S. 2963 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Oct 1, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryCompensates federal contractor employees for shutdown pay losses
When the government shuts down and a lapse in funding happens, federal contractors sometimes have to stop work or reduce hours for their employees. This bill says the government should reimburse contractors for the back pay and lost compensation they give to affected workers. It sets a weekly limit on how much can be reimbursed per employee and requires a report to Congress on how the money was used.
How it affects you
If you work for a federal contractor and experienced lost pay during a government shutdown in fiscal year 2026, your employer would be reimbursed by the government for the back pay they provide to you. Your contractor would have the money to make you whole again without it coming out of their own pocket.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Oct 1, 2025)
Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act of 2025
This bill provides back pay to employees of federal contractors who lost pay due to a lapse in appropriations (i.e., government shutdown) in FY2026.
Specifically, the bill provides appropriations for federal agencies that are subject to a lapse in appropriations in FY2026 to adjust the price of contracts to compensate federal contractors for providing back pay to employees who were affected by the lapse in appropriations.
The agencies must adjust the price of any contract for which the contractor stopped, suspended, delayed, or interrupted all or part of the work under the contract due to the lapse in appropriations. The price adjustment must compensate the contractor for reasonable costs incurred to (1) compensate employees who were furloughed or laid off, were not working, or experienced a reduction of hours or compensation due to the lapse in appropriations; or (2) restore paid leave taken by employees during the lapse in appropriations if the contractor required or permitted employees to use paid leave as a result of the lapse in appropriations.
The maximum amount of weekly compensation of an employee for which an adjustment may be made under this bill may not exceed the lesser of (1) the employee's actual weekly compensation, or (2) $1,442 (or a lesser amount pro-rated for an employee who works less than 40 hours per week).
The bill also requires the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to submit a report to Congress on the adjustments made under this bill.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 2963
A BILL
Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) · Introduced Oct 1, 2025 · Government Operations and Politics · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Oct 1, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.”