S. 388: A bill to prohibit Members of Congress and the President from receiving pay during Government shutdowns.

112th Congress · introduced 2011-02-17 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Held at the desk.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-02-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Held at the desk. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

A bill to prohibit Members of Congress and the President from receiving pay during Government shutdowns.

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Prohibits Members of Congress and the President from receiving basic pay for any period in which: (1) there is more than a 24-hour lapse in appropriations for any federal agency or department that results from failure to enact a regular appropriations bill or continuing resolution, or (2) the federal government is unable to make payments or meet obligations because the public debt limit has been reached. Bars such forfeited pay from being paid retroactively.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

A bill to prohibit Members of Congress and the President from receiving pay during Government shutdowns.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate without amendment)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] · 16 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Continuing resolution: A temporary law that keeps government agencies funded, usually at the previous year's levels, when the regular yearly spending bills are not finished by the start of the fiscal year.
Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate without amendment)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s388.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s388 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112