Should Congress Members’ salaries be withheld who do not pass appropriation bills?
H.R. 209 withholds the salaries of the Congressmen who do not pass all regular annual appropriation bills by the start of a new fiscal year. They will not get paid until all the required bills are passed or the congressional session ends. This applies to both House and Senate members. This bill encourages Congressmen to pass appropriation bills on time and aims to be enforced starting in the fiscal year 2026. Sponsor: Rep. Robert J. Wittman (Republican, Virginia, District 1)
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Opponents say
• "Of course, some critics will say it is unfair or unwise to punish all members of a legislative body if only some members are causing an impasse. And withholding salary creates disparate impacts along class lines (independently wealthy legislators don’t rely on their salary for living expenses anyway) and also perhaps (because class and race are correlated) racial lines." Source: Vikram David Amar, UC Davis School of Law
• "No budget, no pay” provides collective punishment for actions that are beyond the control of individual members of Congress. It plays to the worst instincts of voters, throwing red meat to those who have contempt for Congress and their lawmakers. And it gives independently wealthy legislators who don’t need their pay tremendous leverage over those who depend on it." Source: Norman J. Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
Proponents say
• "Shutdowns like the one we just had are absolutely avoidable,” Wittman said. “The recent partial shutdown means that now, more than ever, it is absolutely critical that Congress get back to passing a budget and appropriations bills on time. If Members of Congress cannot get their most basic responsibility of funding our government done, we must be held accountable. There are serious consequences to this crisis budgeting. Even when Congress manages to avoid a shutdown and pass stop-gap continuing resolutions (CRs), the American people suffer. Under a CR, all spending remains the same; our military and federal agencies can’t fund new programs, cut outdated ones, or plan for the future." Source: Rep. Rob Wittman (Republican, Virginia, District 1)
• "The upshot is that I don’t think either house of Congress should be paid until they come to agreement on a budget. I like the use of federal withholding when Congress doesn’t do its job. It’s odd that they have to institute an incentive system like this to get them to follow the law. So, the more federal withholding the better, and I think I have the better reading of the law, too." Source: Jim Harper, The Cato Institute
• "This bill simply says 'Congress, do your job.' When I grew up in Wisconsin, if you had a job and you did the work, then you got paid. If you didn't do the work, you didn't get paid. It's that simple." Source: Former Rep. Paul Ryan (Republican, Wisconsin, District 1)
• "This March — nearly six months past the original deadline — Congress finally passed all 12 government funding bills for Fiscal Year 2024. It should not have taken so long. The process was long, bad and completely avoidable. And it’s not how Congress should work…I have a solution: My Stay on Schedule (S.O.S.) Resolution would keep members of Congress in session through August instead of taking a month-long recess if all government funding bills are not passed by the end of July. This way, we can focus on each appropriations bill individually, through regular order, and get them done on time and responsibly. This will help keep last-minute, dangerous additions out of each bill and produce a better end result. If we don’t fulfill one of our most basic responsibilities, then we should be forced to stay in Washington until the job is done." Source: Rep. Rob Wittman (Republican, Virginia, District 1)
- Wittman Introduces "Inaction Has Consequences Act" (Press Release)
- A Brief Guide to the Federal Budget and Appropriations Process (American Council on Education)
- A Brief History of U.S. Government Shutdowns (Peter G. Peterson Foundation)
- Rep. Rob Wittman’s Largest Donors (OpenSecrets)
- Wittman Introduces "Inaction Has Consequences Act" (Press Release)
- A Brief Guide to the Federal Budget and Appropriations Process (American Council on Education)
- A Brief History of U.S. Government Shutdowns (Peter G. Peterson Foundation)
- Rep. Rob Wittman’s Largest Donors (OpenSecrets)
