Senate advances bill to prevent future government shutdowns

The Senate is moving to stop government shutdowns from occurring at all.

Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., plan to reintroduce the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act and seek a floor vote. The effort follows a Senate rules change pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that withholds pay from senators during any future shutdown.

Lankford said Americans are tired of shutdown fights that use federal workers as leverage. "The Prevent Government Shutdowns Act ends government shutdowns forever with a simple idea: if Congress doesn't do its job, Congress doesn't get to go home," he said in a statement. "We shift the pressure off the American people and onto the people they elected."

Under the bill, a funding lapse would trigger a 14-day continuing resolution to keep agencies open. Lawmakers and staff would be barred from taxpayer-funded travel outside Washington, overseas congressional trips, and recesses.

Hassan said the measure would force Congress to pass funding on time and protect families and the economy if talks stall. "Government shutdowns are costly, avoidable, and make people in New Hampshire and across the country pay the price for the failures of Congress," she said.

Lankford’s previous version fell short in 2023, with nearly all Democrats opposed and all but one Republican in favor. The new push comes as lawmakers address the effects of the most recent shutdown, which left thousands of Department of Homeland Security employees without pay for months. Republicans are advancing a budget package this week to fund immigration operations at the agency.