H.R. 5130 — Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2025

This section establishes automatic continuing appropriations under new 31 U.S.C. §1311 for programs, projects, and activities (PPAs) during a lapse in appropriations—defined as the absence of a full-year or continuing appropriation Act for the current fiscal year when the PPA received funding in the preceding applicable appropriation Act (i.e., the most recent continuing Act or prior fiscal year's full-year Act). Such appropriations are provided at the rate for operations under the authorities and conditions of the preceding Act—including for direct loans and loan guarantees—for an initial 14 calendar days, with automatic extensions in additional 14-calendar-day periods until enactment of a full-year or continuing appropriation Act for the relevant account or PPA (with expenditures charged to the eventual Act). (1) For entitlements, mandatory payments, and Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 activities, funding is at the rate necessary to maintain program levels under current law; (2) high initial distributions (e.g., to states or grantees) are prohibited if they would impinge on final funding prerogatives; (3) implementation requires the most limited funding action permitted; (4) the provision does not apply if another law provides funding or specifically prohibits it; and (5) agency heads may transfer up to 5% of such funds between agency appropriation accounts with Office of Management and Budget approval (in addition to other transfer authorities). (Thus, the provision codifies short-term continuing resolutions to prevent government shutdowns during appropriations lapses.)

This section establishes restrictions during periods of automatic continuing appropriations (covered periods, as defined to generally exclude certain post-veto or pocket-veto periods for the legislative branch) to promote timely enactment of appropriations acts. It (1) prohibits official travel obligations or expenditures by covered officers or employees (i.e., Office of Management and Budget personnel, Members of Congress, and congressional personal, committee, or joint committee staff) during covered periods, with exceptions for a single return trip to the seat of government if away at the start, travel within the National Capital Region, and national security-related travel; (2) amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to similarly restrict campaign funds for official travel by federal officeholders during covered periods (with a return-to-seat exception); and (3) in the Senate and House, limits motions to proceed to specified matters only (i.e., appropriations measures; quorum calls; reconciliation bills or resolutions under section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974; public debt limit measures; emergency or disaster measures; and, after 30 calendar days, certain Executive Schedule level I or Supreme Court nominations, or extensions of expiring authorizations without substantive changes), prohibits recesses or adjournments exceeding 23 hours, and requires daily convening at noon (or immediately after any constructive convening).

This section classifies the budgetary effects of this Act and its amendments as discretionary appropriations for purposes of sequestration under section 251 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA). It further directs that (1) budgetary resources provided under new section 1311 of title 31, United States Code, are treated as continuing appropriations in effect for less than the entire current year for BBEDCA baseline calculations; (2) such resources are treated as part-year appropriations (i.e., subject to sequestration from both annualized and full-year amounts, per BBEDCA section 251(a)(4)) for enforcing discretionary spending limits; and (3) if a sequestration preview report is required during an appropriations lapse, the due date is the later of the date specified in BBEDCA section 251(a)(1) or 30 calendar days after the lapse begins.