WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) helped reintroduce the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which would take government shutdowns off the table and force Congress to stay in town until their work is done.
“Where I come from, you stay at work until you get the job done,” said Senator Tuberville.“The American people sent us to Washington D.C. to pass a budget, not to go on vacation. I’m proud to join this legislation that would stop incentivizing petty shutdowns by requiring Congress to stay in town until we can do our jobs and pass a responsible budget.”
BACKGROUND
The Prevent Government Shutdowns Act requires that if appropriations work is not done on time, all Members of Congress must stay in Washington, D.C., and work until the spending bills are completed. This will prevent a government-wide shut down, continue critical services and operations for Americans, and hold federal workers harmless while Congress completes appropriations.
Upon a lapse in government funding, the bill would implement an automatic continuing resolution (CR), on rolling 14-day periods, based on the most current spending levels enacted in the previous fiscal year. This would prevent a shutdown and continue critical services and operations.
During the covered period of an automatic CR, the following restrictions are put in place:
- No taxpayer-funded travel allowances for official business (except one flight to return to Washington, DC) for the following:
- White House OMB staff and leadership
- Members of the House and Senate
- Committee and personal staff of the House and Senate
- No official funds may be used for CODEL or STAFFDEL travel
- No use of campaign funds by congressional offices to supplement official duties or travel expenses
- No motions to recess or adjourn in the House/Senate for a period of more than 23 hours
In addition, under the bill, no other votes would be in order in the House and Senate unless they pertain to passage of the appropriations bills or mandatory quorum calls in the Senate. However, after 30 days under the automatic CR, certain expiring authorization bills and executive calendar nominations would be eligible for consideration on the Senate floor, including a nomination for a Justice of the Supreme Court or a Cabinet Secretary, and narrow reauthorization legislation for programs operating under an authorization that has already expired or will expire within the next 30 days. These restrictions can be waived by a two-thirds vote in either chamber, but not for longer than seven days.
You can view the full text of the bill HERE.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.
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