# Plain Language Summary: No Budget, No Pay Act

This bill creates a financial penalty for Congress if they fail to do their basic job of passing a budget on time. Here's how it works: every year, Congress is supposed to agree on a budget for the next fiscal year by April 15. If either the House or Senate misses this deadline, the paychecks of all members in that chamber get frozen. The money doesn't disappear—it goes into an escrow account (basically a holding account) and stays there until Congress finally passes a budget. Once they do, the frozen paychecks get released and members receive all the money they're owed, including any back pay from the period when their salaries were held up.

The bill includes a safety valve to make sure it doesn't violate the Constitution. If Congress still hasn't passed a budget by the end of the two-year congressional session, any remaining frozen money gets released automatically. This prevents members from permanently losing their compensation, which would violate the 27th Amendment. The bill also makes sure that taxes and other withholdings are still taken out of the frozen paychecks as if they were being paid normally, so members don't get a tax advantage from the delay.

The practical effect is straightforward: this bill is designed to pressure Congress to pass a budget on schedule by hitting members where it matters—their wallets. If you're a taxpayer frustrated by Congress's inability to pass budgets on time, this creates real consequences for that failure. If you're a congressional staff member or someone who depends on Congress functioning smoothly, this could theoretically speed up the budget process. The bill takes effect starting with the 2026 fiscal year budget.

No Budget, No Pay Act

Wittman, Robert J.

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 the next fiscal year&nbsp;by April 15, as required by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.Salaries are withheld from April 16 until the earlier of (1) the day on which the chamber of Congress agrees to a budget resolution for the next fiscal year, or (2) the last day of the Congress.