# 119-hr-5843: Shutdown Student Loans for Feds Act

119-hr-5843, Shutdown Student Loans for 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 2026-10-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5843
- As of: 2026-10-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5843
- Congress: 119
- Title: Shutdown Student Loans for Feds Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-10-28
- Sponsor: Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD)
- Cosponsors: 15
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-17

## Summary

**Provides temporary suspension of federal student loan payments and interest for certain federal employees and contractors during agency funding lapses of 14 days or more.** It would apply in fiscal year 2026 and later years when an agency experiences a lapse in appropriations of at least 14 days and takes effect as if enacted on September 30, 2025. - Covers specific "covered individuals": federal employees treated as excepted, performing emergency work, or furloughed, plus contractors who stop performing ordinary duties; it excludes those who are paid their normal basic pay during the lapse. - Workers who qualify would have all Part D loans under Title IV of the Higher Education Act placed in payment suspension and interest would not accrue while payments are suspended. - Borrowers aiming for loan forgiveness would get credit: each suspended month is treated as if the borrower made a qualifying payment toward Part D forgiveness. - Credit reporting and refunds: the Secretary of Education must report suspended months as regularly scheduled payments to consumer reporting agencies, and borrowers can request refunds for payments made during qualifying lapses.

## Cosponsors (15)

- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4] (D-MD), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7] (D-MD), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Olszewski, Johnny [D-MD-2] (D-MD), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Walkinshaw, James R. [D-VA-11] (D-VA), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] (D-MD), 2025-10-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] (D-NV), 2025-10-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray [D-CA-31] (D-CA), 2025-10-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Friedman, Laura [D-CA-30] (D-CA), 2025-11-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA), 2026-01-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Student loan pause for shutdown-affected federal workers and contractors: benefit, medium. If enacted, your Direct federal student loan payments would pause during any funding lapse of 14 days or more at your agency. During the pause, no interest would accrue. Each paused month would count toward loan forgiveness, and your credit would show an on-time payment. You would qualify only if y…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5843 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5843)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [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)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5843 (as of 2026-10-17).