I 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 208 

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. 

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. 

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’’. 


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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, a House of 

6 Congress has not agreed to a concurrent resolution 

7 on the budget for the next fiscal year pursuant to 

8 section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

9 1974, during the period described in paragraph (2) 

10 the payroll administrator of that House of Congress 

11 shall deposit in an escrow account all payments oth12 erwise required to be made during such period for 

13 the compensation of Members of Congress who serve 

14 in that House of Congress, and shall release such 

15 payments to such Members only upon the expiration 

16 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 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 the next fiscal year pursuant to sec24 tion 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

25 1974; or 

26 (B) the last day of the Congress. 


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1 (3) WITHHOLDING AND REMITTANCE OF

2 AMOUNTS FROM PAYMENTS HELD IN ESCROW.—The 

3 payroll administrator shall provide for the same 

4 withholding and remittance with respect to a pay5 ment deposited in an escrow account under para6 graph (1) that would apply to the payment if the 

7 payment were not subject to paragraph (1). 

8 (4) RELEASE OF AMOUNTS AT END OF THE

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

10 carried out in a manner that shall not vary the com11 pensation of Senators or Representatives in violation 

12 of the twenty-seventh article of amendment to the 

13 Constitution of the United States, the payroll ad14 ministrator of a House of Congress shall release for 

15 payments to Members of that House of Congress 

16 any amounts remaining in any escrow account under 

17 this section on the last day of the Congress. 

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

19 The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the pay20 roll administrators of the Houses of Congress with 

21 such assistance as may be necessary to enable the 

22 payroll administrators to carry out this section. 

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

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

25 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress. 


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1 (c) PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED.—In this 

2 section, the ‘‘payroll administrator’’ of a House of Con3 gress means— 

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

5 the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of 

6 Representatives, or an employee of the Office of the 

7 Chief Administrative Officer who is designated by 

8 the Chief Administrative Officer to carry out this 

9 section; and 

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

11 the Senate, or an employee of the Office of the Sec12 retary of the Senate who is designated by the Sec13 retary to carry out this section. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall apply with re15 spect to fiscal year 2026 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

Æ 


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