Pay Workers What They’ve Earned Act
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Pay Workers What They’ve Earned Act
This bill requires the federal government to reimburse states and employees of the federal government, the District of Columbia government, or federal contractors for certain costs incurred as a result of a lapse in appropriations (i.e., a government shutdown).
Employee costs that must be reimbursed include costs incurred by an employee as a direct result of a lapse in appropriations, including expenses for loans and credit cards, and any fees, fines, or interest resulting from the employee's inability to make payments as a direct result of a loss in salary due to the lapse in appropriations.
With respect to a lapse in appropriations that begins on or about October 1, 2025, employees must be reimbursed for any shutdown costs on the earliest date possible after the enactment of this bill (subject to the enactment of an appropriations act ending the lapse). For subsequent lapses in appropriations, the bill requires that each employee be reimbursed for any shutdown costs on the earliest date possible after the end of a lapse in appropriations that lasts at least 14 days.
States must be reimbursed for payments for assistance programs that would otherwise be provided by the federal government but for a lapse in appropriations that lasts at least 14 days. The states must be reimbursed no later than 90 days after the end of the lapse in appropriations.
The reimbursements required by this bill are subject to the availability of appropriations.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 30, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 30, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Steven Horsford (D-NV) introduced it on September 30, 2025, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 9 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 30, 2025, 345 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 345 days ago, on September 30, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers