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To provide that the salaries of Members of a House of Congress will be held in escrow if that House has not agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget for the next fiscal year by April 15.
Summary
This bill would require that the salaries of members of Congress be held in escrow if their chamber fails to agree to a budget resolution by April 15 for the upcoming fiscal year. The withheld salaries would be held from April 16 until either the chamber agrees to a budget resolution or the congressional session ends. Appropriate tax withholding would continue to apply to the escrowed amounts, and any remaining salaries would be released by the last day of Congress to comply with constitutional protections against varying congressional compensation. The bill would take effect for fiscal year 2026 and subsequent years. Delegates and Resident Commissioners would be treated the same as Members of Congress for purposes of the salary escrow provision.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
3 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- Jan 3, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. · house
- Jan 3, 2025 Introduced in House
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Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Mr. Wittman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
A BILL
To provide that the salaries of Members of a House of Congress will be held in escrow if that House has not agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget for the next fiscal year by April 15.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “No Budget, No Pay Act”.
SEC. 2. HOLDING SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN ESCROW UPON FAILURE TO AGREE TO BUDGET RESOLUTION.
(a) Holding Salaries in Escrow.—
(1) In general.—If by April 15, a House of Congress has not agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget for the next fiscal year pursuant to section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, during the period described in paragraph
(2) the payroll administrator of that House of Congress shall deposit in an escrow account all payments otherwise required to be made during such period for the compensation of Members of Congress who serve in that House of Congress, and shall release such payments to such Members only upon the expiration of such period.
(2) Period described.—With respect to a House of Congress, the period described in this paragraph is the period which begins on April 16 and ends on the earlier of—
(A) the day on which the House of Congress agrees to a concurrent resolution on the budget for the next fiscal year pursuant to section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974; or
(B) the last day of the Congress.
(3) Withholding and remittance of amounts from payments held in escrow.—The payroll administrator shall provide for the same withholding and remittance with respect to a payment deposited in an escrow account under paragraph (1) that would apply to the payment if the payment were not subject to paragraph (1).
(4) Release of amounts at end of the congress.—In order to ensure that this section is carried out in a manner that shall not vary the compensation of Senators or Representatives in violation of the twenty-seventh article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the payroll administrator of a House of Congress shall release for payments to Members of that House of Congress any amounts remaining in any escrow account under this section on the last day of the Congress.
(5) Role of secretary of the treasury.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the payroll administrators of the Houses of Congress with such assistance as may be necessary to enable the payroll administrators to carry out this section.
(b) Treatment of Delegates as Members.—In this section, the term “Member of Congress” includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.
(c) Payroll Administrator Defined.—In this section, the “payroll administrator” of a House of Congress means—
(1) in the case of the House of Representatives, the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, or an employee of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer who is designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to carry out this section; and
(2) in the case of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate, or an employee of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate who is designated by the Secretary to carry out this section.
(d) Effective Date.—This Act shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2026 and each succeeding fiscal year. <all>
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