Overview
- The Senate advanced a short-term funding plan that would run through January 2026, guarantee back pay for furloughed and excepted employees, reinstate shutdown-era layoffs, and temporarily block new layoffs.
- Final approval is pending in the House and from the president, and once enacted agencies must issue retroactive pay as soon as possible under the 2019 GEFTA law.
- The shutdown has reached a record 41 days, with an estimated 670,000 employees furloughed and about 730,000 working without pay, deepening financial strain.
- The administration covered earlier military paychecks by redirecting Pentagon funds and tapping a $130 million private donation, but officials warn service members could miss the Nov. 15 pay date without new funding.
- Readiness concerns are mounting as tens of thousands of dual-status technicians remain unpaid, Guard and Reserve training and maintenance are curtailed, and DECA has outlined potential commissary closures starting in early December if the lapse continues.