Michigan Congressman Bill Huizenga wants to ensure the folks who protect America can continue their mission with pay if political gridlock shuts down the federal government.
The Holland Republican introduced the Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act of 2026 on Wednesday to authorize pay for Department of Homeland Security law enforcement personnel during a government shutdown, as Democrats continue to reject budget proposals with a deadline in less than two weeks.
“We cannot allow the mission-critical and dangerous work of our ICE Agents, Border Patrol Officers, and DHS law enforcement to be held hostage by Washington gridlock driven by partisan politics,” Huizenga said in a statement. “The Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act recognizes that law enforcement personnel at the Department of Homeland Security shouldn’t have to worry about their family’s next paycheck while bravely securing our borders, cracking down on illegal drug trafficking, and keeping communities across America safe.”
The legislation would apply to officers with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal air marshals, as well as transportation security officers, and criminal investigators with Homeland Security, ICE and the U.S. Secret Service.
Others covered by the bill include those working in Customs and Border Protection interdiction, CBP officers, Border Patrol agents, aircraft operators, Secret Service police, staff needed to process the payments, and U.S. Coast Guard members, civilian personnel, and contractors not otherwise covered by existing law.
The act covers any government shutdown in Fiscal Year 2026 or 2027, with an expiration date of Jan. 1, 2027.
The legislation arrives as “Democrats are barreling toward a shutdown with no clear plan to get out,” Politico reports.
The minority party is reportedly refusing a Republican stopgap funding bill over demands to reverse changes in The One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, including the repeal of Medicaid cost savings and an extension of health care subsidies.
Trump told Fox & Friends on Friday there’s “something wrong” with Democrats in Washington, and offered advice for Republicans working to negotiate with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies: “Don’t even bother dealing with them.”
“We will get it through because the Republicans are sticking together for the first time in a long time,” the 47th POTUS told the news station.
Michigan Congresswoman Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Twp., elaborated on the Democratic obstruction to the Washington Reporter in an interview published this week.
“What people have to understand is that we are going to have to give and take, because we have to have 60 votes in the Senate. If the Democrats and Schumer want the Schumer shutdown again, that’s going to be on them,” she said.
“We are ready, and we are at the table, willing to negotiate, to put a conservative package,” McClain continued. “But listen, we can’t spend like we’ve spent in the past. We have to be better stewards of the American people’s money, and Republicans are committed to keeping the government open. I’m not sure if the Democrats are, but if this shutdown happens, it will 100% be a Schumer shutdown, and it’ll be on the Democrats.”
Huizenga’s Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act is one of multiple bills focused on mitigating the impact that shutdown might have on the safety of Americans, national security, and military troops who have gone without pay during prior government shutdowns.
Other pending legislation dubbed the Pay Our Troops Act, co-sponsored by Huizenga and dozens of others, would ensure uninterrupted pay for members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
“Our military is willing to do their job for the country, which often puts their lives at risk,” Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of the nonprofit Blue Star Families, told the American Legion. “We just ask that Congress do their job to keep the government running and get us paid.”
