# 119-hr-1973: No Pay for Congress During Default or Shutdown Act

119-hr-1973, No Pay for Congress During Default or Shutdown Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1973
- As of: 2026-09-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1973
- Congress: 119
- Title: No Pay for Congress During Default or Shutdown Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-03-10
- Sponsor: Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA)
- Cosponsors: 14
- Policy area: Congress
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-13

## Summary

**Automatically cut Members of Congress pay for each day the debt limit is reached or a government shutdown lasts.** The bill would take effect for days occurring after the November 2026 general election. - Members of Congress would have pay reduced by one day's pay for each 24-hour period affected, using the daily equivalent of the annual rate set under section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. - For the 119th Congress payroll offices would withhold the equivalent amounts into an escrow account and release them on the last day of that Congress to comply with the Twenty-Seventh Amendment. - The bill names the House Chief Administrative Officer and the Secretary of the Senate as payroll administrators and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to assist with implementation. - It defines "debt limit reached" as when the government cannot make payments and applies the same daily-reduction method to government shutdowns.

## Cosponsors (14)

- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2025-03-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2025-03-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1] (D-NH), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27] (D-CA), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17] (D-PA), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-11] (R-PA), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray [D-CA-31] (D-CA), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26] (D-NY), 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI), 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Landsman, Greg [D-OH-1] (D-OH), 2025-11-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Members lose pay during shutdowns or default: cost, medium. If enacted, Members of Congress would have their annual pay reduced for each 24‑hour period the public debt limit is reached or a government shutdown is in effect. Each day’s reduction would equal one day’s pay based on the annual rate under section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1…
- Definitions and payroll officials named: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would define key terms and name who runs payroll. A "Government shutdown" would mean a lapse in appropriations when Congress fails to pass a regular appropriations bill or continuing resolution. The "public debt limit reached" would mean the government is unable to make payment…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-1973 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1973)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1973 (as of 2026-09-13).