# 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. Specifically, if either the House or Senate doesn't agree on a budget plan for fiscal year 2024 by April 15, 2023, the members of that chamber stop getting paid. Their salaries get held in an escrow account (basically frozen) starting April 16, 2023, and they don't receive the money until they finally pass a budget or until Congress ends its current session, whichever comes first.

The idea behind this is straightforward: it's meant to pressure lawmakers to actually complete their budgeting responsibilities instead of letting deadlines slip. Right now, Congress often misses budget deadlines without facing real consequences, so this bill tries to make it hurt financially for the members themselves. The withheld pay still gets taxed and has normal deductions taken out, so members don't avoid their tax obligations while the money sits in escrow. However, there's a constitutional protection built in—if somehow the money is still held by the end of Congress's term, it all gets released to the members anyway, because the Constitution prohibits reducing a member's salary while they're in office.

For everyday Americans, this matters because a functioning budget process is supposed to guide how the government spends taxpayer money. When Congress delays budgets, it creates uncertainty about government spending and can lead to other problems like government shutdowns. This bill attempts to incentivize Congress to stay on schedule, though whether it actually works depends on whether lawmakers find the threat of withheld pay motivating enough to prioritize budget negotiations.

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 FY2024 by April 15, 2023, as required by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Salaries are withheld from April 16, 2023, until the earlier of (1) the day on which the chamber of Congress agrees to a budget resolution, or (2) the last day of the 118th Congress.