Title: Inaction Has Consequences Act
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Inaction Has Consequences Act
This bill requires the salaries of Members of Congress to be held in escrow if their chamber has not passed each of the annual appropriations bills before the beginning of the fiscal year, beginning with FY2020. Salaries are released once the bills are passed or at the end of the Congress.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 857 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 857

To hold the salaries of Members of a House of Congress in escrow if the 
House of Congress does not pass regular appropriation bills on a timely 
            basis during a Congress, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 29, 2019

 Mr. Wittman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To hold the salaries of Members of a House of Congress in escrow if the 
House of Congress does not pass regular appropriation bills on a timely 
            basis during a Congress, 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 ``Inaction Has Consequences Act''.

SEC. 2. HOLDING SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN ESCROW UPON FAILURE 
              TO PASS REGULAR APPROPRIATION BILLS.

    (a) Holding Salaries in Escrow.--If by the first day of a fiscal 
year (beginning with fiscal year 2020), a House of Congress has not 
passed each of the regular appropriation bills for such fiscal year, 
during the period described in subsection (b) 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.
    (b) Period Described.--With respect to a House of Congress and 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--
            (1) the first day by which the House of Congress has passed 
        each of the regular appropriation bills for such fiscal year; 
        or
            (2) the last day of the Congress during which that fiscal 
        year begins.
    (c) Regular Appropriation Bill Defined.--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).

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION OF ESCROW.

    (a) 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 section 2 that would apply to the payment if the 
payment were not subject to such section.
    (b) 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 Act.

SEC. 4. RELEASE OF AMOUNTS AT END OF A CONGRESS.

    In order to ensure that this Act is carried out in a manner 
consistent with 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 section 2 on 
the last day of the Congress during which the amounts were deposited in 
such account.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Member'' includes a Delegate or Resident 
        Commissioner to the Congress; and
            (2) the ``payroll administrator'' of a House of Congress 
        means--
                    (A) 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 Act; and
                    (B) 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 Act.
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