Pay Our Military Act of 2025
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Would guarantee that military service members, supporting civilian employees, and defense contractors continue to receive pay and benefits during any federal government shutdown in FY2026 — ensuring that those on active duty are not left without compensation if Congress fails to pass regular appropriations.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would provide continuing appropriations for FY2026 — automatically activated during any period when standard continuing or full-year appropriations are not in effect — to cover pay, allowances, and specified benefits for active-duty members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components. Benefits covered include individual clothing, subsistence, interest on deposits, gratuities, permanent change of station travel, and monthly payments to surviving spouses caring for a child of a service member. It would also cover pay and allowances for Department of Defense and Coast Guard civilian personnel providing direct support to those service members, as well as payments to DoD and Coast Guard contractors performing the same supporting role.
The bill would not provide broad government-wide appropriations; it is narrowly limited to military compensation and related support. Any funds spent under it would be charged back to the applicable appropriation once regular spending legislation is enacted, and the authority would expire at the earliest of enactment of regular appropriations or September 30, 2026.
Key provisions
- 1Would appropriate such sums as necessary to pay active-duty service members and reserve components their pay, allowances, clothing, subsistence, gratuities, and permanent change of station travel during a shutdown.
- 2Would appropriate such sums as necessary to pay DoD and Coast Guard civilian personnel providing direct support to active-duty service members during a shutdown.
- 3Would appropriate such sums as necessary to pay DoD and Coast Guard contractors providing direct support to active-duty service members during a shutdown.
- 4Would prohibit use of these funds during any period when standard continuing appropriations covering the same purposes are already in effect for the agency.
- 5Would require expenditures to be charged back to the applicable appropriation once regular spending legislation is enacted.
- 6Would terminate the appropriations authority upon enactment of applicable regular appropriations or on September 30, 2026, whichever occurs first.
- 7Would take effect retroactively as if enacted on September 30, 2025, covering any shutdown gap from that date.
Who would be affected
Active-duty members of the Armed Forces and activated reserve component members who would otherwise go without pay during a shutdown; civilian DoD and Department of Homeland Security (Coast Guard) employees providing direct support to those members; and defense contractors supporting active-duty personnel. Congress and the White House are indirectly affected in that the bill removes a key leverage point typically associated with shutdown negotiations.
Why it matters
If a government shutdown occurs in FY2026, service members and their supporting civilian staff and contractors would continue receiving paychecks without interruption. Without a bill like this, a shutdown could delay or withhold compensation for hundreds of thousands of military personnel and their families, creating immediate financial hardship for those required to keep working regardless of whether they are paid.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Entire Act takes effect retroactively
- Appropriations authority terminates at the latest
Funding and costs
- such sums as are necessary
Pay, allowances, and specified benefits for active-duty service members and reserve components during a shutdown
- such sums as are necessary
Pay and allowances for DoD and Coast Guard civilian personnel supporting active-duty members during a shutdown
- such sums as are necessary
Payments to DoD and Coast Guard contractors supporting active-duty members during a shutdown
How implementation would work
The appropriations would take effect automatically upon a lapse in standard FY2026 continuing or full-year appropriations, with no additional rulemaking needed. The Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Security for Coast Guard matters) would determine which civilian personnel and contractors qualify as providing support to active-duty members. Funds obligated under the bill would be charged back to the applicable accounts once regular appropriations legislation is enacted. The authority terminates when either regular or continuing appropriations covering military pay are enacted, or on September 30, 2026, whichever comes first. The bill takes effect retroactively as if enacted on September 30, 2025.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 204.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides continuing appropriations for military pay for any period during which continuing or full-year appropriations for FY2026 are not in effect (i.e., a government shutdown).
Specifically, the bill provides FY2026 continuing appropriations for pay, allowances, and certain benefits for members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service during the period. The benefits funded by the bill include individual clothing, subsistence, interest on deposits, gratuities, permanent change of station travel, and monthly payments to surviving spouses who care for a child of a member or former member of the Armed Forces.
The bill also provides FY2026 continuing appropriations for
- pay and allowances for Department of Defense (DOD) civilian personnel (and Department of Homeland Security [DHS] personnel in the case of the Coast Guard) who are providing support to such members of the Armed Forces, and
- payments for DOD contractors (and DHS contractors in the case of the Coast Guard) who are providing support to the members of the Armed Forces.
A federal agency may not use funds provided by this bill during any period in which continuing appropriations are available for the same payments, allowances, and benefits that are funded by this bill.
If a government shutdown occurs, the bill provides the continuing appropriations until the earlier of (1) the enactment into law of specified appropriations legislation, or (2) September 30, 2026.
Legislative subjects
Armed Forces and National Security