House to Consider Thompson-Sponsored “No Budget, No Pay Act”

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow will consider the “No Budget, No Pay Act,” legislation sponsored by U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson which would require Congress to pass a budget resolution for the upcoming fiscal year, or else members of congress will not receive their monthly salary. Thompson was also a co-sponsor of the legislation, H.R. 3643, during the 112th Congress.

• CNBC, House to Vote on 'No Budget, No Pay' Wednesday: “The strategy shift, agreed last week by House Republicans at a retreat in Williamsburg, Va., aims to draw the Democratic-controlled Senate into taking action to cut deficits by requiring the Senate to pass a budget resolution by April 15. The Senate has not passed a budget in nearly four years. Under the legislation, if either the Senate or House fail to meet the April 15 budget deadline, lawmakers' salaries would be held in escrow until their chamber passes a budget..." (CNBC, January 22, 2013)
• Politico, House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote: “Republicans are trying to force the Democratic Senate to lay out its spending priorities — they haven’t passed their own budget in years, and it’s unclear if they’ll do so this year. And it also falls in line with a new mantra leadership has been trying to instill in its membership: we do not control Washington, and cannot force the president’s hand...” (Politico, January 18, 2013)
• Roll Call, Debt Limit Move Provides Budget Deal Opportunity: “There is some thought that restoring regular order in the congressional budget process could represent the first step toward a historic deficit reduction agreement addressing both taxes and spending…The House Rules Committee plans to mark up a rule for the debt limit suspension Tuesday, and the measure is expected to be on the floor Wednesday…” (Roll Call, January 22, 2013)
• CNBC, House GOP Debt Ceiling Plan: No Budget, No Pay: "It's aimed at forcing the Democratic-controlled Senate to join the House in debating the federal budget. It would try to do so by conditioning pay for members of Congress on passing a congressional budget measure. "We are going to pursue strategies that will obligate the Senate to finally join the House in confronting the government's spending problem," Boehner told GOP lawmakers…"The principle is simple: `No budget, no pay."' The Senate hasn't passed a budget since 2009…” (CNBC, January 18, 2013)

###