II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2930 

To provide that Congress may not recess, adjourn, or consider other matters 

after August 1 of any year if Congress has not approved a concurrent 

resolution on the budget and passed the regular appropriations bills 

with respect to the next fiscal year. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2018 

Mrs. ERNST (for herself, Mr. LANKFORD, and Mr. PERDUE) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide that Congress may not recess, adjourn, or consider other matters after August 1 of any year if Congress has not approved a concurrent resolution on the 

budget and passed the regular appropriations bills with 

respect to the next fiscal year. 

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 Vaca5 tion Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NO BUDGET, NO VACATION. 

2 Section 300 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

3 (2 U.S.C. 631) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘The timetable’’ and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The timetable’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) NO BUDGET, NO VACATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) LIMITS IN THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF

10 REPRESENTATIVES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On and after August 

12 1 of each year, if both Houses of Congress have 

13 not approved a concurrent resolution on the 

14 budget for the next fiscal year and have not 

15 passed all the regular appropriations bills for 

16 the next fiscal year— 

17 ‘‘(i) it shall not be in order in the 

18 Senate or the House of Representatives— 

19 ‘‘(I) to move to recess or to ad20 journ; or 

21 ‘‘(II) to move to proceed to the 

22 consideration of any matter other 

23 than a concurrent resolution on the 

24 budget or a regular appropriations 

25 bill; and 


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•S 2930 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) no amounts may be obligated or 

2 expended for official travel by a Member of 

3 Congress. 

4 ‘‘(B) NO WAIVER.—Notwithstanding sec5 tion 904(b), subparagraph (A) may not be 

6 waived or suspended in the Senate or the House 

7 of Representatives. 

8 ‘‘(C) PERMANENT LAW.—Notwithstanding 

9 section 904(a), subparagraph (A)(ii) is not en10 acted as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

11 the Senate or the House of Representatives. 

12 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL LIMITS IN THE SENATE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION OF PRESENCE OF A

14 QUORUM.—In the Senate, on and after August 

15 1 of each year, if both Houses of Congress have 

16 not approved a concurrent resolution on the 

17 budget for the next fiscal year and have not 

18 passed all the regular appropriations bills for 

19 the next fiscal year, and notwithstanding any 

20 provision of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 

21 the Presiding Officer shall direct the Clerk to 

22 call the roll to ascertain the presence of a 

23 quorum every 6 hours. 

24 ‘‘(B) LACK OF QUORUM.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If, upon a calling 

2 of the roll under subparagraph (A), it shall 

3 be ascertained that a quorum is not 

4 present— 

5 ‘‘(I) the Presiding Officer shall 

6 direct the Clerk to call the names of 

7 any absent Senators; and 

8 ‘‘(II) following the calling of the 

9 names under subclause (I), the Pre10 siding Officer shall, without inter11 vening motion or debate, submit to 

12 the Senate by a yea-and-nay vote the 

13 question: ‘Shall the Sergeant-at-Arms 

14 be directed to request the attendance 

15 of absent Senators?’. 

16 ‘‘(ii) DIRECTION TO COMPEL ATTEND17 ANCE.—If a quorum is not present 30 

18 minutes after the time at which the vote 

19 on a question submitted under clause (i)(ii) 

20 starts, the Presiding Officer shall, without 

21 intervening motion or debate, submit to 

22 the Senate by a yea-and-nay vote the ques23 tion: ‘Shall the Sergeant-at-Arms be di24 rected to compel the attendance of absent 

25 Senators?’. 


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•S 2930 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) ARREST OF ABSENT SEN2 ATORS.—Effective 30 minutes after the 

3 Sergeant-at-Arms is directed to compel the 

4 attendance of absent Senators under clause 

5 (ii), if any Senator not excused under rule 

6 XII of the Standing Rules of the Senate is 

7 not in attendance, the Senate shall be 

8 deemed to have agreed an order that reads 

9 as follows: ‘Ordered, That the Sergeant-at10 Arms be directed to arrest absent Sen11 ators; that warrants for the arrests of all 

12 Senators not sick nor excused be issued 

13 under the signature of the Presiding Offi14 cer and attested by the Secretary, and that 

15 such warrants be executed without delay.’. 

16 ‘‘(iv) REPORTS.—Not less frequently 

17 than once per hour during proceedings to 

18 compel the attendance of absent Senators, 

19 the Sergeant-at-Arms shall submit to the 

20 Senate a report on absent Senators, which 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) be laid before the Senate; 

23 ‘‘(II) identify each Senator whose 

24 absence is excused; 


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1 ‘‘(III) identify each Senator who 

2 is absent without excuse; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) for each Senator identified 

4 under subclause (III), provide infor5 mation on the current location of the 

6 Senator. 

7 ‘‘(C) REGAINING THE FLOOR.—If a Sen8 ator had been recognized to speak at the time 

9 a call of the roll to ascertain the presence of a 

10 quorum was initiated under subparagraph (A), 

11 and if the presence of a quorum is established, 

12 that Senator shall be entitled to be recognized 

13 to speak. 

14 ‘‘(D) NO SUSPENSION OF REQUIRE15 MENTS.—The Presiding Officer may not enter16 tain a request to suspend the operation of this 

17 paragraph by unanimous consent or motion. 

18 ‘‘(E) CONSISTENCY WITH SENATE EMER19 GENCY PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES.—Nothing 

20 in this paragraph shall be construed in a man21 ner that is inconsistent with S. Res. 296 (108th 

22 Congress) or any other emergency procedures 

23 or practices of the Senate.’’. 

Æ 


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