PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 30.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 7, 2011
Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2011 - Declares that, if any regular appropriation bill for a fiscal year does not become law before the beginning of the fiscal year, or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations (continuing resolution) is not in effect: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury shall fully pay principal and interest on the federal debt held by the public; and (2) Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits shall be fully paid and new enrollees shall be accepted.
Declares also that, if the defense appropriations bill has not been enacted, the Department of Defense (DOD) shall operate at 90% of the level of funding for the preceding fiscal year, except for funding for overseas contingencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, which shall be funded at 100% of the preceding fiscal year levels. Authorizes DOD to pay all military personnel at the full level of pay.
Requires federal employees of unfunded agencies to: (1) report for business as normal; and (2) be paid, when funding is provided, at 75% of their salaries for the time worked while under the requirements of this Act. Requires DOD civilian employees based in the United States also to be paid at 75% for the same period.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Limits Congress and the Executive Office of the President to operation at 50% of the level of funding for the preceding fiscal year during a period that any agency is not funded.
Prohibits Members of Congress and the President from receiving salaries or back pay during the period an agency is not funded.
Requires all other non-personnel accounts not funded by a regular appropriations bill or a continuing resolution to operate at 2/3 of the level of the preceding fiscal year. Dedicates the use of savings from this reduction to reduce the federal budget deficit. Prohibits expenditure of any funds during such a period to: (1) carry out the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (2) pay for any abortion, or (3) be provided to any nongovernmental organization that promotes or performs abortion.
People & committees
Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] · R–KY
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 30.
Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.768 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.768 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.768 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.768 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.