# 119-hr-5891: Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act

119-hr-5891, Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Steil, Bryan [R-WI-1] (R-WI); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5891
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5891
- Congress: 119
- Title: Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-10-31
- Sponsor: Rep. Steil, Bryan [R-WI-1] (R-WI)
- Cosponsors: 13
- Policy area: Congress
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**This bill would impose a temporary pay cut for Members of Congress during government shutdowns** and require pay withheld before the cut takes effect to be held in escrow to protect the 27th Amendment. - Members of Congress: On any day a shutdown occurs within a pay period, payroll administrators must withhold an amount equal to one day’s pay multiplied by the number of 24‑hour shutdown periods in that pay period. - Pre‑effective escrow and release: For shutdown days before the pay‑reduction effective date, the same amounts are withheld and deposited into an escrow account. Amounts remaining in escrow must be released on the pay‑reduction effective date to avoid varying compensation under the 27th Amendment. - Administration and Treasury support: The bill names the payroll administrators for each chamber (the Secretary of the Senate or designee and the House Chief Administrative Officer or designee) and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide necessary assistance to carry out the withholding and escrow rules.

## Cosponsors (13)

- Rep. Kim, Young [R-CA-40] (R-CA), 2025-11-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fedorchak, Julie [R-ND-At Large] (R-ND), 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Murphy, Gregory F. [R-NC-3] (R-NC), 2026-01-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL), 2026-01-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mills, Cory [R-FL-7] (R-FL), 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2026-03-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2026-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Biggs, Sheri [R-SC-3] (R-SC), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hurd, Jeff [R-CO-3] (R-CO), 2026-04-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mackenzie, Ryan [R-PA-7] (R-PA), 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Boebert, Lauren [R-CO-4] (R-CO), 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Members' pay cuts during shutdowns: mixed, low. This bill would reduce pay for Members of Congress on days a government shutdown is in effect. For each pay period, payroll administrators would subtract one day’s pay for each 24‑hour shutdown day. For days after the regular November 2026 federal election (the pay reduction effective date), those…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-5401: Pay Our Troops Act of 2026
- 119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025
- 119-hr-703: Main Street Tax Certainty Act
- 119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250

## Sources
- [119-hr-5891 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5891)

## Related
- [119-hr-5401: Pay Our Troops Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5401)
- [119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1628)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [119-hr-703: Main Street Tax Certainty Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-703)
- [119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1502)
- [119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9250)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5891 (as of 2026-09-21).