Title: No Budget, No Pay Act
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance

Summary:
No Budget, No Pay Act
This bill withholds the salaries of Members of a chamber of Congress that has not agreed to a budget resolution for FY2020 by April 15, 2019, as required by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Salaries are withheld from April 16, 2019, until the chamber of Congress agrees to a budget resolution or the last day of the 116th Congress, whichever is earlier.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 236 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 236

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 fiscal year 2020 by April 15, 2019.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2019

 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 fiscal year 2020 by April 15, 2019.

    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 ``No Budget, No Pay Act''.

SEC. 2. HOLDING SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN ESCROW UPON FAILURE 
              TO AGREE TO BUDGET RESOLUTION.

    (a) Holding Salaries in Escrow.--
            (1) In general.--If by April 15, 2019, a House of Congress 
        has not agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget for 
        fiscal year 2020 pursuant to section 301 of the Congressional 
        Budget Act of 1974, during the period described in paragraph 
        (2) the payroll administrator of that House of Congress shall 
        deposit in an escrow account all payments otherwise required to 
        be made during such period for the compensation of Members of 
        Congress who serve in that House of Congress, and shall release 
        such payments to such Members only upon the expiration of such 
        period.
            (2) Period described.--With respect to a House of Congress, 
        the period described in this paragraph is the period which 
        begins on April 16, 2019 and ends on the earlier of--
                    (A) the day on which the House of Congress agrees 
                to a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal 
                year 2020 pursuant to section 301 of the Congressional 
                Budget Act of 1974; or
                    (B) the last day of the One Hundred Sixteenth 
                Congress.
            (3) Withholding and remittance of amounts from payments 
        held in escrow.--The payroll administrator shall provide for 
        the same withholding and remittance with respect to a payment 
        deposited in an escrow account under paragraph (1) that would 
        apply to the payment if the payment were not subject to 
        paragraph (1).
            (4) Release of amounts at end of the congress.--In order to 
        ensure that this section is carried out in a manner that shall 
        not vary the compensation of Senators or Representatives in 
        violation of the twenty-seventh article of amendment to the 
        Constitution of the United States, the payroll administrator of 
        a House of Congress shall release for payments to Members of 
        that House of Congress any amounts remaining in any escrow 
        account under this section on the last day of the One Hundred 
        Sixteenth Congress.
            (5) Role of secretary of the treasury.--The Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall provide the payroll administrators of the 
        Houses of Congress with such assistance as may be necessary to 
        enable the payroll administrators to carry out this section.
    (b) Treatment of Delegates as Members.--In this section, the term 
``Member of Congress'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to 
the Congress.
    (c) Payroll Administrator Defined.--In this section, the ``payroll 
administrator'' of a House of Congress means--
            (1) in the case of the House of Representatives, 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; and
            (2) in the case of the Senate, 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.
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