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S. 162: Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act of 2019

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S. 162: Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-01-16 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-01-16 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act of 2019

Plain summary

Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act of 2019 This bill appropriates funding to provide compensation to certain employees of contractors who lost pay or leave due to the lapse in appropriations that began on December 22, 2018. Each agency subject to such lapse shall adjust the price of any contract for which the contractor was ordered to suspend, delay, or stop work as a result of the lapse. The agency shall compensate the contractor for reasonable costs incurred to (1) provide compensation, at an employee's standard rate of compensation, to any employee who was furloughed or laid off, or who was not working, who experienced a reduction of hours, or who experienced a reduction in compensation, as a result of the lapse, for the period of the lapse; or (2) restore paid leave taken by any employee during the lapse, if the contractor required employees to use paid leave as a result of the lapse. The maximum amount of weekly compensation of an employee for which an adjustment may be made may not exceed the lesser of the employee's actual weekly compensation or $965.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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

Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] · 48 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] reported raising $48,878 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (2)
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).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-s162 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116