# 119-hr-5572: Help FEDS Act

119-hr-5572, Help FEDS Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5572
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5572
- Congress: 119
- Title: Help FEDS Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-26
- Sponsor: Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD)
- Cosponsors: 37
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**State unemployment benefits for excepted federal employees during shutdowns.** This bill would require States to allow excepted Federal employees to apply for and receive unemployment compensation for weeks they perform Office of Personnel Management–defined emergency work during a lapse in appropriations in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. - Federal employees: Excepted employees who work emergency duties while not being paid could get state unemployment for those weeks. If they later receive pay under 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2) for the same period they must repay the benefits and that repayment is treated as an overpayment. - States: States must administer these claims, recover unrepaid amounts the same way they handle other unemployment overpayments, and deposit recovered funds into the State unemployment fund. - Federal funding: The Treasury would reimburse States 100 percent of the unemployment paid plus related administrative expenses, using the Unemployment Trust Fund and based on certification from the Secretary of Labor.

## Cosponsors (37)

- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8] (D-VA), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5] (D-MO), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3] (D-OR), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hoyer, Steny H. [D-MD-5] (D-MD), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4] (D-MD), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Olszewski, Johnny [D-MD-2] (D-MD), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Walkinshaw, James R. [D-VA-11] (D-VA), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27] (D-CA), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] (D-IL), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13] (D-NY), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] (D-MD), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Horsford, Steven [D-NV-4] (D-NV), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10] (D-IL), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large] (D-DE), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-14] (D-CA), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Landsman, Greg [D-OH-1] (D-OH), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3] (D-PA), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] (D-FL), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1] (D-HI), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (D-WA), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9] (D-MA), 2025-12-03T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Unemployment help for unpaid federal workers: mixed, medium. If enacted, this would let certain unpaid federal employees claim state unemployment for weeks they work emergency duties during a shutdown in fiscal years 2026 or 2027. You would need to be an excepted employee doing emergency work under OPM rules and not getting paid during the lapse. If you late…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025
- 119-hr-12: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-5572 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5572)

## Related
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [119-hr-12: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-12)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5572 (as of 2026-04-21).