GET IT DONE Act
Bill: H.R.5411 | Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Dusty (R-SD)
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance

Summary:
Governing Effectively, with Transparency, Integrity, and Timeliness and Doing Our Necessary Expenditures Act or the GET IT DONE Act
This bill withholds the salaries of senior government officials and restricts the use of federal funds for official travel by senior government officials if all of the regular appropriations bills for a fiscal year have not been enacted by the first day of the fiscal year.
Under the bill, senior government officials include
If a chamber of Congress has not approved all of the annual appropriations bills for a fiscal year by the first day of the fiscal year, the bill prohibits the chamber from adjourning for a period of more than 12 hours until it has approved the bills.
The bill also provides continuing appropriations to prevent a government shutdown if any appropriations measure for a fiscal year has not been enacted before the fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations is not in effect.
For an initial 30-day period, the bill provides appropriations to continue programs, projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year. The bill reduces the continuing appropriations by 2.5% after the first 30-day period and by an additional 2.5% for each subsequent 30-day period until the applicable appropriations legislation is enacted.

To hold the salaries of senior government officials in escrow and 
prohibit the use of official funds for travel by such officials if each 
of the regular appropriation bills for a fiscal year prior has not been 
  enacted into law by the beginning of the fiscal year, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Governing Effectively, with 
Transparency, Integrity, and Timeliness, and Doing Our Necessary 
Expenditures Act'' or the ``GET IT DONE Act''.

SEC. 2. HOLDING SALARIES OF SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN ESCROW.

    (a) Holding Salaries in Escrow.--
            (1) In general.--If by the first day of a fiscal year, each 
        of the regular appropriation bills for such fiscal year has not 
        been enacted into law, during the period described in paragraph 
        (2) the applicable payroll administrator shall deposit in an 
        escrow account all payments otherwise required to be made 
        during such period for the compensation of senior government 
        officials, and shall release such payments to such officials 
        only upon the expiration of such period.
            (2) Period described.--With respect to a fiscal year, the 
        period described in this paragraph is the period which begins 
        on the first day of the fiscal year and ends on the earlier 
        of--
                    (A) the first day by which each of the regular 
                appropriation bills for such fiscal year has been 
                enacted into law; or
                    (B) the last day of the Congress during which that 
                fiscal year begins.
    (b) Administration of Escrow.--
            (1) Withholding and remittance of amounts from payments 
        held in escrow.--The applicable payroll administrator shall 
        provide for the same withholding and remittance with respect to 
        a payment deposited in an escrow account under subsection (a) 
        that would apply to the payment if the payment were not subject 
        to such subsection.
            (2) Role of secretary of the treasury.--The Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall provide the applicable payroll 
        administrators described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
        subsection (d) with such assistance as may be necessary to 
        enable the payroll administrators to carry out this section.
    (c) Release of Amounts at End of Congress.--The applicable payroll 
administrator shall release for payments to senior government officials 
any amounts remaining in any escrow account under subsection (a) on the 
last day of the Congress during which the amounts were deposited in 
such account.
    (d) Payroll Administrator Defined.--In this section, the term 
``applicable payroll administrator'' means, with respect to a senior 
government official--
            (1) in the case of a senior government official who is a 
        Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or 
        Resident Commissioner to the Congress), the Chief 
        Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, or an 
        employee of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer who 
        is designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to carry out 
        this section;
            (2) in the case of a senior government official who is a 
        Senator, the Secretary of the Senate, or an employee of the 
        Office of the Secretary of the Senate who is designated by the 
        Secretary to carry out this section; and
            (3) in the case of any other senior government official, 
        the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITING OFFICIAL TRAVEL OF SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.

    (a) Prohibition.--If, by the first day of a fiscal year, each of 
the regular appropriation bills for such fiscal year has not been 
enacted into law, no appropriated funds, including official funds of 
the House of Representatives, official funds of the Senate, or funds 
available under any Federal law, rule, or regulation, may be used to 
pay for the costs of travel by a senior government official until each 
such bill is enacted into law.
    (b) Exception for Travel to Washington Metropolitan Area.--
Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to travel by a senior 
government official to the Washington Metropolitan Area.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Washington 
Metropolitan Area'' means the District of Columbia, the Counties of 
Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince Georges in Maryland, and the 
Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William and the 
Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia.

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON ADJOURNMENT.

    Section 309 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 640) 
is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by striking ``house'';
            (2) by striking ``It shall not'' and inserting ``(a) 
        Limitation on July Recess in House.--It shall not''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Limitation on Adjournment.--Beginning on the first day of 
each fiscal year, it shall not be in order in a House of Congress to 
adjourn for a period of more than 12 hours until the House of Congress 
has approved annual appropriation bills providing new budget authority 
under the jurisdiction of all the subcommittees of the Committee on 
Appropriations of that House for the fiscal year. For purposes of this 
subsection, the chairs of the Committees on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives and Senate shall each periodically advise the 
Speaker of the House or the majority leader of the Senate (as the case 
may be) as to changes in jurisdiction among the various subcommittees 
of such Committees.''.

SEC. 5. FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1310 the following new section:

``SEC. 1311. FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT.

    ``(a)(1) If any appropriation measure for a fiscal year is not 
enacted before the beginning of such fiscal year, or a joint resolution 
making continuing appropriations is not in effect, there are 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to continue any program, 
project, or activity for which funds were provided in the preceding 
fiscal year--
            ``(A) in the corresponding appropriation Act for such 
        preceding fiscal year; or
            ``(B) if the corresponding appropriation bill for such 
        preceding fiscal year did not become law, then in a joint 
        resolution making continuing appropriations for such preceding 
        fiscal year.
    ``(2)(A) Appropriations and funds made available, and authority 
granted, for a program, project, or activity for any fiscal year 
pursuant to this section shall be at a rate of operations not in excess 
of the lower of--
            ``(i) 100 percent of the rate of operations provided for in 
        the regular appropriation Act providing for such program, 
        project, or activity for the preceding fiscal year;
            ``(ii) in the absence of such an Act, 100 percent of the 
        rate of operations provided for such program, project, or 
        activity pursuant to a joint resolution making continuing 
        appropriations for such preceding fiscal year; or
            ``(iii) 100 percent of the annualized rate of operations 
        provided for in the most recently enacted joint resolution 
        making continuing appropriations for part of that fiscal year 
        or any funding levels established under the provisions of this 
        Act,
for the period of 30 days. After the first 30-day period during which 
this subsection is in effect for that fiscal year, the applicable rate 
of operations shall be reduced by 2.5 percentage points. For each 
subsequent 30-day period during which this subsection is in effect for 
that fiscal year, the applicable rate of operations shall be reduced by 
2.5 percentage points. The 30-day period reductions shall extend beyond 
the last day of that fiscal year.
    ``(B) If this section is in effect at the end of a fiscal year, 
funding levels shall continue as provided in this section for the next 
fiscal year.
    ``(3) Appropriations and funds made available, and authority 
granted, for any fiscal year pursuant to this section for a program, 
project, or activity shall be available for the period beginning with 
the first day of a lapse in appropriations and ending with the date on 
which the applicable regular appropriation bill for such fiscal year 
becomes law (whether or not such law provides for such program, 
project, or activity) or a continuing resolution making appropriations 
becomes law, as the case may be.
    ``(b) An appropriation or funds made available, or authority 
granted, for a program, project, or activity for any fiscal year 
pursuant to this section shall be subject to the terms and conditions 
imposed with respect to the appropriation made or funds made available 
for the preceding fiscal year, or authority granted for such program, 
project, or activity under current law.
    ``(c) Expenditures made for a program, project, or activity for any 
fiscal year pursuant to this section shall be charged to the applicable 
appropriation, fund, or authorization whenever a regular appropriation 
bill or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations until the 
end of a fiscal year providing for such program, project, or activity 
for such period becomes law.
    ``(d) This section shall not apply to a program, project, or 
activity during a fiscal year if any other provision of law (other than 
an authorization of appropriations)--
            ``(1) makes an appropriation, makes funds available, or 
        grants authority for such program, project, or activity to 
        continue for such period; or
            ``(2) specifically provides that no appropriation shall be 
        made, no funds shall be made available, or no authority shall 
        be granted for such program, project, or activity to continue 
        for such period.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections of chapter 13 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 1310 the following new item:

``1311. Funding the Government.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this 
section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Member of Congress'' means a Senator or 
        Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
        Congress;
            (2) the term ``regular appropriation bill'' means any 
        annual appropriation bill which, with respect to the Congress 
        involved, is under the jurisdiction of a single subcommittee of 
        the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 
        (pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives for that 
        Congress) and a single subcommittee of the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate (pursuant to the Standing Rules of 
        the Senate); and
            (3) the term ``senior government official'' means--
                    (A) a Member of Congress;
                    (B) the President;
                    (C) the Vice President;
                    (D) the head of any executive department (as that 
                term is defined in section 101 of title 5, United 
                States Code); and
                    (E) any employee of, or detailee to, the Executive 
                Office of the President whose annual rate of basic pay 
                is equal to or greater than $158,000.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Except as provided in section 5(c), this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2022 and each 
succeeding fiscal year.
                                 <all>