Coast Guard Pay Guaranteed During Shutdowns: New Bill Creates Anti-Deficiency Act Loophole

The Coast Guard Sustained Funding Act of 2025 is a piece of legislation designed to solve a specific, frustrating problem: ensuring Coast Guard personnel get paid even if Congress can't pass their funding bill on time. Unlike the Department of Defense, the Coast Guard is often caught in the crossfire of government shutdowns, leaving thousands of service members and their families without a paycheck.

The Paycheck Protection Plan

This bill creates a new rule (Section 2780 of title 14) that authorizes the government to spend money necessary to pay all active and reserve Coast Guard members—and certain essential civilian and contract staff—during a "Coast Guard-specific funding lapse." A lapse is defined simply as the failure to pass the Coast Guard’s regular annual appropriation by the start of the fiscal year. This is a huge deal for the service members who are often the only branch of the military to face this financial uncertainty, forcing them to take out loans or rely on food banks during political squabbles.

Bypassing the Bureaucracy

To make sure those checks actually go out, the bill temporarily sidesteps the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA). The ADA is the law that usually prevents the government from spending money it hasn't officially been given by Congress, which is why shutdowns happen in the first place. This legislation carves out specific exceptions to the ADA for three things: payments authorized by this section, emergency work involving life or property, and tasks required by the President for Congressional duties. Essentially, it keeps the lights on and the paychecks flowing for essential Coast Guard operations, recognizing that their mission—maritime safety, security, and environmental protection—can’t just pause for politics.

Who Gets Paid and Who Decides?

While the pay guarantee for military members is straightforward, the bill also covers "qualified" civilian and contract employees. This is where the details matter: the Commandant of the Coast Guard gets to decide who is “qualified.” For civilian staff, this includes those supporting military members or those designated as “excepted employees” (essential staff who must work regardless of a shutdown). For contractors, it’s anyone the Commandant determines is supporting military or civilian staff, or whose work is absolutely required during the lapse. This gives the Coast Guard leadership significant discretion over who continues to receive pay, which is great for operational flexibility but could potentially be interpreted broadly.

The Real-World Impact on Your Wallet

For the Coast Guard member patrolling the coast, this bill means financial stability. They can focus on their job without the stress of wondering if their rent will be paid next month. However, there’s a cost. This bill authorizes necessary spending before the money is officially appropriated. While this solves a critical personnel problem, it means the government is incurring debt that will need to be covered later, either through a later appropriation or by adding to the deficit. For the average taxpayer, this is a trade-off: guaranteed operational readiness and financial security for service members, but potentially less fiscal discipline in the immediate term, as it creates a specific exception to the rules designed to control spending.