This legislation, known as the "Shutdown Fairness Act" , aims to ensure that excepted Federal employees, including certain contractors and active duty military personnel, receive their standard pay and allowances during government shutdowns. An "excepted employee" is defined as an agency employee or contractor required to perform work during a lapse in appropriations, as determined by the agency head. "Excepted work" refers to the duties performed by these individuals when interim or full-year appropriations are not in effect for their agency. For fiscal year 2026 and all subsequent fiscal years, the bill appropriates necessary funds to agency heads to cover the standard rates of pay, allowances, benefits, and other regular payments for excepted employees performing such work. These funds are drawn from the Treasury and remain available until full-year appropriations for the agency are enacted, either covering these costs or explicitly not. However, these appropriations cannot be obligated if continuing appropriations already provide for these purposes, and any obligations made will be charged to the applicable regular appropriation once it becomes law.