Federal

No Budget, No Pay Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,109 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill stops Congress members from receiving pay after October 1 if Congress has not approved a budget resolution and passed all regular spending bills by that date. The bill creates a process where budget leaders determine if Congress met these deadlines and decides which members lose pay during the non-compliance period.

Who It Affects

Members of Congress (defined as senators and representatives, but not the vice president) lose income under this bill. The chairs of the budget and appropriations committees in both chambers make the determinations about compliance.

Key Provisions

• Both chambers of Congress must approve a concurrent resolution on the budget (a formal financial plan) and pass all regular appropriations bills (spending bills) by October 1 of each fiscal year (Sec. 3) • Members of Congress cannot receive pay during any period when Congress fails to meet the requirements in Section 3 (Sec. 4(a)) • Members cannot receive back pay for any period when Congress was not in compliance with the deadline requirements, even after the deadline passes (Sec. 4(b)) • The Senate budget and appropriations chairs must determine by October 1 whether senators can be paid and for how many days they cannot receive pay (Sec. 5(a)) • The House budget and appropriations chairs must make the same determination for House members by October 1 (Sec. 5(b))

What Changes

If this becomes law, Congress members will lose their income if the chamber fails to approve a budget resolution and pass all regular spending bills by October 1 each year. This creates a financial incentive for lawmakers to complete these budget tasks on time.

Important Definitions

Budget and Appropriations Chairs means the chairs of the budget and appropriations committees in both the House and Senate. Member of Congress means any senator or representative but does not include the vice president.

Effective Date

September 29, 2025 (Sec. 6)

II Calendar No. 11 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 219 To provide that Members of Congress may not receive pay after October 1 of any fiscal year in which Congress has not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget and passed the regular appropriations bills. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 1, 2023 Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Ms. HASSAN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. BRITT, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and Ms. ROSEN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read the first time FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Read the second time and placed on the calendar A BILL To provide that Members of Congress may not receive pay after October 1 of any fiscal year in which Congress has not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget and passed the regular appropriations bills. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Budget, No Pay 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S219.PCS S219 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 219 PCS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act— 2 (1) the term ‘‘Budget and Appropriations 3 Chairs’’ means the House Budget and Appropria- 4 tions Chairs and the Senate Budget and Appropria- 5 tions Chairs; 6 (2) the term ‘‘House Budget and Appropria- 7 tions Chairs’’ means the Chair of the Committee on 8 the Budget of the House of Representatives and the 9 Chair of the Committee on Appropriations of the 10 House of Representatives; 11 (3) the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’— 12 (A) has the meaning given that term under 13 section 2106 of title 5, United States Code; and 14 (B) does not include the Vice President; 15 and 16 (4) the term ‘‘Senate Budget and Appropria- 17 tions Chairs’’ means the Chairman of the Committee 18 on the Budget of the Senate and the Chairman of 19 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 20 SEC. 3. TIMELY APPROVAL OF CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 21 ON THE BUDGET AND THE APPROPRIATIONS 22 BILLS. 23 Not later than October 1 of each fiscal year, both 24 Houses of Congress shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S219.PCS S219 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 219 PCS (1) approve a concurrent resolution on the 1 budget as described under section 301 of the Con- 2 gressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 3 1974 (2 U.S.C. 632) for that the fiscal year; and 4 (2) pass all the regular appropriations bills for 5 that fiscal year. 6 SEC. 4. NO PAY WITHOUT CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON 7 THE BUDGET AND THE APPROPRIATIONS 8 BILLS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 10 sion of law, no funds may be appropriated or otherwise 11 be made available from the Treasury of the United States 12 for the pay of any Member of Congress with respect to 13 any period during which Congress is not in compliance 14 with section 3, as determined by the Budget and Appro- 15 priations Chairs under section 5. 16 (b) NO RETROACTIVE PAY.—A Member of Congress 17 may not receive pay with respect to any period during 18 which Congress was not in compliance with section 3, as 19 determined by the Budget and Appropriations Chairs 20 under section 5, at any time after the end of that period. 21 SEC. 5. DETERMINATIONS. 22 (a) SENATE.— 23 (1) REQUEST FOR CERTIFICATIONS.—On Octo- 24 ber 1 of each year, the Secretary of the Senate shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S219.PCS S219 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 219 PCS submit to the Senate Budget and Appropriations 1 Chairs a request for certification of determinations 2 made under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para- 3 graph (2). 4 (2) DETERMINATIONS.—The Senate Budget 5 and Appropriations Chairs shall— 6 (A) on October 1 of each fiscal year, make 7 a determination of whether Congress is in com- 8 pliance with section 3 with respect to that fiscal 9 year and whether Senators may not be paid 10 under section 4; 11 (B) determine the period of days following 12 each October 1 that Senators may not be paid 13 under section 4; and 14 (C) provide timely certification of the de- 15 terminations under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 16 upon the request of the Secretary of the Senate. 17 (b) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 18 (1) REQUEST FOR CERTIFICATIONS.—On Octo- 19 ber 1 of each fiscal year, the Chief Administrative 20 Officer of the House of Representatives shall submit 21 to the House Budget and Appropriations Chairs a 22 request for certification of determinations made 23 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S219.PCS S219 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 219 PCS (2) DETERMINATIONS.—The House Budget 1 and Appropriations Chairs shall— 2 (A) on October 1 of each fiscal year, make 3 a determination of whether Congress is in com- 4 pliance with section 3 with respect to that fiscal 5 year and whether Members of the House of 6 Representatives may not be paid under section 7 4; 8 (B) determine the period of days following 9 each October 1 that Members of the House of 10 Representatives may not be paid under section 11 4; and 12 (C) provide timely certification of the de- 13 terminations under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 14 upon the request of the Chief Administrative 15 Officer of the House of Representatives. 16 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 17 This Act shall take effect on September 29, 2025. 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S219.PCS S219 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 11 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 219 A BILL To provide that Members of Congress may not re- ceive pay after October 1 of any fiscal year in which Congress has not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget and passed the regular appropriations bills. FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Read the second time and placed on the calendar VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Feb 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S219.PCS S219 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.