Protecting Families from Government Shutdowns Act

Reliance on Government service— It shall be unlawful for an entity to do any of the following with respect to a person if that person is unable to meet an obligation because of Government service is not available during a lapse in appropriations:

Service contracts— It shall be unlawful for an entity to enforce any penalty provision in a contract for services that is violated as the result of a lapse in appropriations and services being stopped.

In general— A violation of subsection (a) shall be treated as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of a regulation issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).

Promulgation of rule— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall, in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, promulgate rules to prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, the conduct described in subsection (a). A violation of such rules shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). The Commission shall enforce such rules in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. Any person who violates this Act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).

Authorization— Subject to paragraph (2), in any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a), the attorney general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate district court of the United States to obtain appropriate relief.

Pending action by the Federal Trade Commission— If the Federal Trade Commission institutes a civil action or an administrative action with respect to a violation of subsection (a), the attorney general of a State may not, during the pendency of such action, bring a civil action under paragraph (1) against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for the violation with respect to which the Commission instituted such action.

In general— An agency may not enforce any agency penalty (including for a loan, an application deadline, or other deadline) for a violation that was the result of a lapse in appropriations for that agency. An agency shall extend any such deadline to expire 30 days after the date on which there is no longer a lapse in such appropriations. This prohibition does not create any private right of action.

Applicability— Any agency that enforced a penalty during the period beginning one year before the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act shall reverse and nullify any such enforcement to the greatest extent possible.