I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 141 

To reduce the pay of Members of the House of Representatives if a Speaker 

is not elected on the first day of a Congress. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2023 

Ms. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight 

and Accountability, 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 the pay of Members of the House of Representatives if a Speaker is not elected on the first day of 

a Congress. 

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 Pay for Disarray 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF PAY OF MEMBERS OF HOUSE IF 

7 SPEAKER IS NOT ELECTED. 

8 (a) REDUCTION OF PAY.— 


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1 (1) REDUCTION.—If, by the end of the first day 

2 of a Congress, the House of Representatives has not 

3 elected a Speaker, the annual rate of pay applicable 

4 under section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganiza5 tion Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501) with respect to 

6 each Member of the House of Representatives for 

7 the year shall be reduced by an amount equal to the 

8 product of— 

9 (A) an amount equal to one day’s worth of 

10 pay under such annual rate; and 

11 (B) the number of 24-hour periods occur12 ring during the Congress during which no 

13 Speaker has been elected for the Congress. 

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

15 apply with respect to the One Hundred Nineteenth 

16 Congress and each succeeding Congress. 

17 (b) RULE FOR ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CON18 GRESS.— 

19 (1) HOLDING SALARIES IN ESCROW.—If, by the 

20 end of the first day of the One Hundred Eighteenth 

21 Congress, the House of Representatives has not 

22 elected a Speaker, the Chief Administrative Officer 

23 of the House of Representatives, or an employee of 

24 the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer who is 


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•HR 141 IH

1 designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to 

2 carry out this Act, shall— 

3 (A) deposit in an escrow account and ex4 clude from the payments otherwise required to 

5 be made for the compensation of each Member 

6 of the House of Representatives with respect to 

7 a pay period during which the House has not 

8 elected a Speaker an amount equal to the prod9 uct of— 

10 (i) the daily rate of pay of the Mem11 ber under section 601(a) of the Legislative 

12 Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 

13 4501); and 

14 (ii) the number of 24-hour periods 

15 during which no Speaker has been elected 

16 for the One Hundred Eighteenth Congress; 

17 and 

18 (B) release amounts deposited in an es19 crow account under subparagraph (A) to such 

20 Member of the House of Representatives only 

21 upon the expiration of the period described in 

22 paragraph (2). 

23 (2) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period described 

24 in this paragraph is the period that— 


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1 (A) begins on the first day of the One 

2 Hundred Eighteenth Congress; and 

3 (B) ends on the earlier of— 

4 (i) the date on the House elects a 

5 Speaker for the One Hundred Eighteenth 

6 Congress; or 

7 (ii) the last day of the One Hundred 

8 Eighteenth Congress. 

9 (3) WITHHOLDING AND REMITTANCE OF

10 AMOUNTS FROM PAYMENTS HELD IN ESCROW.—The 

11 Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Rep12 resentatives, or an employee of the Office of the 

13 Chief Administrative Officer who is designated by 

14 the Chief Administrative Officer to carry out this 

15 Act, shall provide for the same withholding and re16 mittance with respect to a payment deposited in an 

17 escrow account under paragraph (1) that would 

18 apply to the payment if the payment were not sub19 ject to paragraph (1). 

20 (4) RELEASE OF AMOUNTS AT END OF THE

21 CONGRESS.—In order to ensure that this subsection 

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

23 compensation of Representatives in violation of the 

24 twenty-seventh amendment to the Constitution of 

25 the United States, the Chief Administrative Officer 


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1 of the House of Representatives, or an employee of 

2 the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer who is 

3 designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to 

4 carry out this Act, shall release for payment to 

5 Members of the House of Representatives any 

6 amounts remaining in any escrow account under this 

7 section on the last day of the One Hundred Eight8 eenth Congress. 

9 (c) MEMBER DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘‘Member of the House of Representatives’’ means an indi11 vidual serving in a position in the House of Representa12 tives which is covered under subparagraph (A), (B), or 

13 (C) of section 601(a)(1) of the Legislative Reorganization 

14 Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501(1)). 

Æ 


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