Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2026

This bill establishes a system of automatic continuing appropriations (ACA) to prevent federal government shutdowns. If full-year appropriation acts are not enacted, federal programs and activities would receive funding at the rate of their preceding appropriation acts, provided in 14-calendar-day increments that automatically extend if a lapse continues. To incentivize timely passage of regular appropriations, the bill imposes significant restrictions during any ACA period. Official travel is prohibited for Members of Congress, their staff, and Office of Management and Budget employees, with limited exceptions, and campaign funds for official travel are also restricted. Congressional procedures in both chambers are altered, severely limiting legislative activity to measures making appropriations, addressing the public debt limit , or, after 30 days, certain high-level nominations or program extensions. Daily quorum calls are mandated, and any waiver of these procedural limitations requires a two-thirds supermajority vote , creating strong pressure to resolve appropriations impasses. These automatic appropriations are classified as discretionary acts for budgetary estimation and considered part-year appropriations for enforcing spending limits, integrating the mechanism with existing budget enforcement rules.