# Plain Language Summary: Inaction Has Consequences Act

This bill creates a financial penalty for Congress if they fail to pass their regular budget bills on time. Here's how it works: if either the House or Senate doesn't pass all of their standard appropriation bills by the first day of the fiscal year (October 1st), the salaries of all members in that chamber get frozen in an escrow account—basically a holding account where the money sits untouched. Members won't receive their paychecks during this period, even though the money is technically theirs.

The salary freeze continues until one of two things happens: either the chamber finally passes all the required budget bills, or the current Congress ends (which happens every two years). Once either of those events occurs, members get all their withheld pay released to them at once. The bill also ensures that taxes and other required deductions are still taken from the frozen salaries just as they would be from regular paychecks, so members don't get any tax advantage from the delay.

The practical effect is that this bill tries to pressure Congress members to do their job on time by hitting them in the wallet. It's designed to create urgency around passing budgets, since members would personally feel the financial consequences of delays. However, there's an important catch: even if the salary freeze lasts months or even years, members eventually get all their money back when Congress ends or when the bills finally pass. So while it might be uncomfortable and create pressure, it's not a permanent loss of income—just a temporary delay in payment.

Inaction Has Consequences Act

Wittman, Robert J.

Inaction Has Consequences Act This bill withholds the salaries of Members of a chamber of Congress that has not passed each of the annual appropriations bills before the beginning of the fiscal year, beginning with FY2024. Salaries are released on the earlier of (1) the date on which the chamber of Congress passes the bills, or (2) the last day of the Congress.