House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) has introduced the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2025, aiming to prevent government shutdowns and hold Congress accountable for completing appropriations work. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Arrington in presenting the legislation.
“In the real world, if you fail to do your job, there are consequences. Yet, when Congress fails to pass appropriations on time, the burden falls squarely on hardworking Americans – taxpayers, seniors, and our men and women in uniform,” said Chairman Arrington. “My Prevent Government Shutdowns Act is commonsense legislation that would shift the burden of a shutdown away from We the People and onto the politicians where it belongs – by forcing Members of Congress to stay in Washington until their work on appropriations is complete.”
Senator Lankford added: “We have to change the way Washington spends money. Our debt is now more than $37 trillion. Congress cannot keep avoiding the hard choices to fix it. Shutting down the government does not fix the debt problem, it just makes it worse. The best way to finish negotiating the hard issue is to keep Congress in Washington until the budget is finished. That puts the pressure on lawmakers, not on families and important services.”
Kurt Couchman, Senior Fellow in Fiscal Policy at Americans for Prosperity, stated: “Congress never meant for shutdowns to be possible: they came from an executive branch decision in 1980 about a 19th Century law. Today, the shutdown threat pushes members to vote for bills they didn’t get to read or have the chance to amend. Keeping programs going while Congress finishes up funding bills would help involve more members in the process and truly earn their support. We commend Chairman Arrington for proposing the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act.”
The proposed act requires all Members of Congress to remain in Washington if appropriations are not completed on time. This measure would avoid a government-wide shutdown by implementing an automatic continuing resolution based on previous fiscal year spending levels every 14 days until new appropriations are enacted.
While under an automatic continuing resolution period:
– Lawmakers and certain staff would lose taxpayer-funded travel allowances except for one return flight.
– Official funds could not be used for congressional delegation travel.
– Campaign funds could not supplement official duties or travel.
– No motions could recess either chamber longer than 23 hours.
Additionally, no votes unrelated to appropriations or required Senate quorum calls would occur during this period unless certain conditions were met after 30 days under a continuing resolution.
Arrington has held his seat since winning election victories with significant margins over several challengers across recent cycles including Nathan Lewis (2024 general election: 80.7%–10.3%), Nathan Lewis again (2022: 80.3%–19.7%), Tom Watson (2020: 74.8%–22.9%), Miguel Levario (2018: 75.2%–24.8%), and Troy Bonar (2016: 86.7%–8.5%).
