I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 178 

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 fiscal year 2022 by April 15, 2021. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2021 

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 fiscal 

year 2022 by April 15, 2021. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Budget, No Pay 

5 Act’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 178 IH

1 SEC. 2. HOLDING SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN 

2 ESCROW UPON FAILURE TO AGREE TO BUDG3 ET RESOLUTION. 

4 (a) HOLDING SALARIES IN ESCROW.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—If by April 15, 2021, a 

6 House of Congress has not agreed to a concurrent 

7 resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2022 pursu8 ant to section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act 

9 of 1974, during the period described in paragraph 

10 (2) the payroll administrator of that House of Con11 gress shall deposit in an escrow account all pay12 ments otherwise required to be made during such 

13 period for the compensation of Members of Congress 

14 who serve in that House of Congress, and shall re15 lease such payments to such Members only upon the 

16 expiration of such period. 

17 (2) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—With respect to a 

18 House of Congress, the period described in this 

19 paragraph is the period which begins on April 16, 

20 2021 and ends on the earlier of— 

21 (A) the day on which the House of Con22 gress agrees to a concurrent resolution on the 

23 budget for fiscal year 2022 pursuant to section 

24 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974; 

25 or 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 178 IH

1 (B) the last day of the One Hundred Sev2 enteenth Congress. 

3 (3) WITHHOLDING AND REMITTANCE OF

4 AMOUNTS FROM PAYMENTS HELD IN ESCROW.—The 

5 payroll administrator shall provide for the same 

6 withholding and remittance with respect to a pay7 ment deposited in an escrow account under para8 graph (1) that would apply to the payment if the 

9 payment were not subject to paragraph (1). 

10 (4) RELEASE OF AMOUNTS AT END OF THE

11 CONGRESS.—In order to ensure that this section is 

12 carried out in a manner that shall not vary the com13 pensation of Senators or Representatives in violation 

14 of the twenty-seventh article of amendment to the 

15 Constitution of the United States, the payroll ad16 ministrator of a House of Congress shall release for 

17 payments to Members of that House of Congress 

18 any amounts remaining in any escrow account under 

19 this section on the last day of the One Hundred Sev20 enteenth Congress. 

21 (5) ROLE OF SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.— 

22 The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the pay23 roll administrators of the Houses of Congress with 

24 such assistance as may be necessary to enable the 

25 payroll administrators to carry out this section. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 178 IH

1 (b) TREATMENT OF DELEGATES AS MEMBERS.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ includes a 

3 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress. 

4 (c) PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED.—In this 

5 section, the ‘‘payroll administrator’’ of a House of Con6 gress means— 

7 (1) in the case of the House of Representatives, 

8 the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of 

9 Representatives, or an employee of the Office of the 

10 Chief Administrative Officer who is designated by 

11 the Chief Administrative Officer to carry out this 

12 section; and 

13 (2) in the case of the Senate, the Secretary of 

14 the Senate, or an employee of the Office of the Sec15 retary of the Senate who is designated by the Sec16 retary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS