No Budget No Pay

Summary#

This bill, the "No Budget, No Pay Act," would stop Members of Congress from being paid for any period after October 1 of a fiscal year when Congress has not both approved a concurrent budget resolution and passed all regular appropriations bills. It gives House and Senate budget and appropriations committee chairs the job of deciding and certifying whether Congress met those requirements. The law would start on September 29, 2027, if enacted.

• Main change: Members would not receive pay for days after October 1 when Congress has not approved a budget resolution and passed all regular appropriations bills, and they could not be paid retroactively for those days.
• Who decides: The House and Senate Budget and Appropriations Chairs must determine and certify noncompliance to the Secretary of the Senate and the House Chief Administrative Officer.
• Scope: The definition of "Member of Congress" follows the federal definition and explicitly excludes the Vice President.
• Timing: The trigger date is October 1 of each fiscal year; the act takes effect Sept. 29, 2027.

What it means for you#

• Members of Congress

  • If Congress has not both approved a concurrent budget resolution and passed all regular appropriations bills by October 1, Members would stop receiving pay for each day Congress remains out of compliance.
  • Members could not get that withheld pay later for those days (no retroactive pay).

• House and Senate budget & appropriations chairs

  • These chairs must make the official determination each October 1 about whether Congress met the bill’s budget and appropriations requirements.
  • They must certify the period of nonpayment when requested by the Secretary of the Senate or the House Chief Administrative Officer.

• House Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary of the Senate

  • On October 1 each year, these officers must ask the budget and appropriations chairs for the certification about whether pay must be withheld.

• Congressional staff and other federal employees

  • The bill text applies only to Members of Congress. It does not change pay rules for staff or other federal employees.

• General public / taxpayers

  • The bill is aimed at creating a financial incentive for Congress to complete budget work on time. Practical effect for the public depends on whether the change changes congressional behavior.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

• The bill text does not include a fiscal note, cost estimate, or budgetary analysis.
• This could mean:
  • There may be some administrative cost for the offices that must process determinations and withhold pay.
  • Withheld pay would reduce outlays for Member salaries while Congress is out of compliance, but the bill gives no estimate of how often or how much that would be.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to create a clear, financial incentive for Congress to complete its budget and appropriations work on time.
• A possible argument for the bill is that linking pay to timely budget action could encourage lawmakers to avoid year-end delays and government funding gaps.
• The requirement that committee chairs certify noncompliance provides a specific, repeatable mechanism to trigger withholding of pay.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is that withholding pay may not speed agreement and could instead intensify political standoffs or incentivize quick, less careful decisions to restore pay.
• The bill does not cover congressional staff; it could create morale or operational problems while staff and programs remain unaffected by the pay withholding rule.
• The bill relies on a small set of officials (the Budget and Appropriations Chairs) to make compliance determinations, which could raise questions about partisan disputes or consistency in applying the rule.
• It is unclear from the text how certain situations would be treated, for example whether temporary measures short of passing each regular appropriations bill (such as continuing resolutions) would count as compliance.