I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 948 

To reduce a portion of the annual pay of Members of Congress for the 

failure to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which does not 

provide for a balanced budget, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. MESSER (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, and Mr. ZINKE) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, 

Oversight and Government Reform, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To reduce a portion of the annual pay of Members of Congress for the failure to adopt a concurrent resolution 

on the budget which does not provide for a balanced 

budget, and for other purposes. 

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; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Balanced Budget Accountability Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Federal debt exceeds 

2 $18,000,000,000,000, continues to grow rapidly, and 

3 is larger than the size of the United States economy. 

4 (2) The Federal budget has shown an annual 

5 deficit in 45 of the last 50 years. 

6 (3) Deficits and the Federal debt threaten to 

7 shatter confidence in the Nation’s economy, suppress 

8 job creation and economic growth, and leave future 

9 generations of Americans with a lower standard of 

10 living and fewer opportunities. 

11 (4) It is the duty of Members of Congress to 

12 develop and implement policies, including balancing 

13 the Federal budget, that encourage robust job cre14 ation and economic growth in the United States. 

15 (5) Members of Congress should be held ac16 countable for failing to pass annual budgets that re17 sult in a balanced budget. 

18 SEC. 2. REQUIRING ADOPTION OF BUDGET RESOLUTION 

19 PROVIDING FOR BALANCED BUDGETS. 

20 (a) ADOPTION OF BUDGET RESOLUTION.—Each 

21 House of Congress shall adopt a concurrent resolution on 

22 the budget for a fiscal year which provides that, for each 

23 fiscal year for which a budget is provided under the resolu24 tion (beginning not later than with the budget for fiscal 

25 year 2025)— 


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1 (1) total outlays do not exceed total receipts; 

2 and 

3 (2) total outlays are not more than 18 percent 

4 of the gross domestic product of the United States 

5 (as determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 

6 of the Department of Commerce) for such fiscal 

7 year. 

8 (b) CERTIFICATION BY CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

9 OFFICE.—Upon the adoption by a House of Congress of 

10 a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year, 

11 the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall 

12 transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives 

13 or the President pro tempore of the Senate (as the case 

14 may be) a certification as to whether or not that House 

15 of Congress has met the requirements of subsection (a) 

16 with respect to the resolution. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 

18 respect to the concurrent resolution on the budget for fis19 cal year 2016 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

20 SEC. 3. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION. 

21 (a) RULE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2016 AND 2017.— 

22 (1) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

23 (A) HOLDING SALARIES IN ESCROW.—If 

24 the Director does not certify that a House of 

25 Congress has met the requirements of section 


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1 2(a) with respect to fiscal year 2016 before 

2 April 16, 2015, during the period described in 

3 subparagraph (B) the payroll administrator of 

4 that House of Congress shall deposit in an es5 crow account all payments otherwise required to 

6 be made during such period for the compensa7 tion of Members of Congress who serve in that 

8 House of Congress, and shall release such pay9 ments to such Members only upon the expira10 tion of such period. 

11 (B) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—With respect to 

12 a House of Congress, the period described in 

13 this subparagraph is the period that begins on 

14 April 16, 2015, and ends on the earlier of— 

15 (i) the date on which the Director cer16 tifies that the House of Congress has met 

17 the requirements of section 2(a) with re18 spect to fiscal year 2016; or 

19 (ii) the last day of the One Hundred 

20 Fourteenth Congress. 

21 (2) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

22 (A) HOLDING SALARIES IN ESCROW.—If 

23 the Director does not certify that a House of 

24 Congress has met the requirements of section 

25 2(a) with respect to fiscal year 2017 before 


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1 April 16, 2016, during the period described in 

2 subparagraph (B) the payroll administrator of 

3 that House of Congress shall deposit in an es4 crow account all payments otherwise required to 

5 be made during such period for the compensa6 tion of Members of Congress who serve in that 

7 House of Congress, and shall release such pay8 ments to such Members only upon the expira9 tion of such period. 

10 (B) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—With respect to 

11 a House of Congress, the period described in 

12 this subparagraph is the period that begins on 

13 April 16, 2016, and ends on the earlier of— 

14 (i) the date on which the Director cer15 tifies that the House of Congress has met 

16 the requirements of section 2(a) with re17 spect to fiscal year 2017; or 

18 (ii) the last day of the One Hundred 

19 Fourteenth Congress. 

20 (3) WITHHOLDING AND REMITTANCE OF

21 AMOUNTS FROM PAYMENTS HELD IN ESCROW.—The 

22 payroll administrator shall provide for the same 

23 withholding and remittance with respect to a pay24 ment deposited in an escrow account under para25 graph (1) or (2) that would apply to the payment if 


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1 the payment were not subject to paragraph (1) or 

2 (2). 

3 (4) RELEASE OF AMOUNTS AT END OF THE

4 CONGRESS.—In order to ensure that this subsection 

5 is carried out in a manner that shall not vary the 

6 compensation of Senators or Representatives in vio7 lation of the twenty-seventh article of amendment to 

8 the Constitution of the United States, the payroll 

9 administrator of a House of Congress shall release 

10 for payments to Members of that House of Congress 

11 any amounts remaining in any escrow account under 

12 this section on the last day of the One Hundred 

13 Fourteenth Congress. 

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

15 The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the pay16 roll administrators of the Houses of Congress with 

17 such assistance as may be necessary to enable the 

18 payroll administrators to carry out this subsection. 

19 (6) PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED.—In 

20 this subsection, the ‘‘payroll administrator’’ of a 

21 House of Congress means— 

22 (A) in the case of the House of Represent23 atives, the Chief Administrative Officer of the 

24 House of Representatives, or an employee of 

25 the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer 


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1 who is designated by the Chief Administrative 

2 Officer to carry out this section; and 

3 (B) in the case of the Senate, the Sec4 retary of the Senate, or an employee of the Of5 fice of the Secretary of the Senate who is des6 ignated by the Secretary to carry out this sec7 tion. 

8 (b) RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018 AND SUBSEQUENT

9 FISCAL YEARS.—If the Director of the Congressional 

10 Budget Office does not certify that a House of Congress 

11 has met the requirements of section 2(a) with respect to 

12 fiscal year 2018, or any fiscal year thereafter, before April 

13 16 of the fiscal year before such fiscal year, during pay 

14 periods which occur in the same calendar year after that 

15 date each Member of that House shall be paid at an an16 nual rate of pay equal to $1. 

17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

18 (1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

19 the Congressional Budget Office; and 

20 (2) the term ‘‘Member’’ includes a Delegate or 

21 Resident Commissioner to Congress. 

22 SEC. 4. SUPERMAJORITY REQUIREMENT FOR INCREASING 

23 REVENUE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the Senate and the House of 

25 Representatives, a bill, joint resolution, amendment, conVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Feb 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H948.IH H948

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1 ference report, or amendment between the Houses that in2 creases revenue shall only be agreed to upon an affirma3 tive vote of three-fifths of the Members of that House of 

4 Congress duly chosen and sworn. 

5 (b) RULES OF SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REP6 RESENTATIVES.—Subsection (a) is enacted by Congress— 

7 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

8 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec9 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 

10 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

11 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

12 House in the case of a bill, joint resolution, amend13 ment, conference report, or amendment between the 

14 Houses that increases revenue, and it supersedes 

15 other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent 

16 with such rules; and 

17 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

18 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

19 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

20 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

21 the case of any other rule of that House. 

Æ 


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