Bill Summary
The "Balanced Budget Accountability Act" is a proposed law that aims to reduce the annual pay of Members of Congress if they fail to pass a budget that includes a plan for a balanced budget. This proposed law also includes a rule that requires a supermajority (three-fifths) vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to approve any changes or increases in revenue. This bill is motivated by the ever-growing national debt, which currently exceeds $21 trillion, and aims to hold Members of Congress accountable for their failure to pass a budget that promotes economic growth and job creation. If passed, the bill would require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to determine whether a proposed budget is balanced and submit a certification to the House of Representatives or the Senate. If a balanced budget is not passed, the bill includes provisions to withhold Members' salaries and reduce their pay to $1 per year. This bill would also become part of the official rules of Congress, and can only be changed with a supermajority vote.
Possible Impacts
1. Members of Congress could potentially have a portion of their annual pay reduced if they fail to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which does not provide for a balanced budget. This could impact their financial stability and ability to support themselves and their families.
2. The rule for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 specifies that if the Director does not certify that a House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget, the payroll administrator of that House of Congress will hold their salaries in escrow. This could create financial strain for Members of Congress and their families.
3. The requirement for a supermajority vote in both the Senate and House of Representatives to pass a bill, joint resolution, amendment, conference report, or amendment between the Houses that increases revenue could make it more difficult for Congress to pass legislation that would generate additional income for the government. This could potentially limit the government's ability to fund programs and services that benefit the public.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 298 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 298
To reduce a portion of the annual pay of Members of Congress for the
failure to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which does not
provide for a balanced budget, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 8, 2019
Mr. Gianforte introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on
Oversight and Reform, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reduce a portion of the annual pay of Members of Congress for the
failure to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which does not
provide for a balanced budget, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Balanced Budget
Accountability Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Federal debt exceeds $21,000,000,000,000, continues
to grow rapidly, and is larger than the size of the United
States economy.
(2) The Federal budget has shown an annual deficit in 49 of
the last 54 years.
(3) Deficits and the Federal debt threaten to shatter
confidence in the Nation's economy, suppress job creation and
economic growth, and leave future generations of Americans with
a lower standard of living and fewer opportunities.
(4) It is the duty of Members of Congress to develop and
implement policies, including balancing the Federal budget,
that encourage robust job creation and economic growth in the
United States.
(5) Members of Congress should be held accountable for
failing to pass annual budgets that result in a balanced
budget.
SEC. 2. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR BALANCED
BUDGETS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``balanced budget'' means a concurrent
resolution on the budget which provides that for fiscal year
2029, and each fiscal year thereafter to which the concurrent
resolution on the budget applies--
(A) total outlays do not exceed total receipts; and
(B) total outlays are not more than 18 percent of
the gross domestic product of the United States (as
determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
Department of Commerce) for such fiscal year;
(2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget; and
(3) the term ``Member'' includes a Delegate or Resident
Commissioner to Congress.
(b) Determination by the Office of Management and Budget.--Upon
adoption by a House of Congress of a concurrent resolution on the
budget for a fiscal year, the Director shall--
(1) determine whether the concurrent resolution on the
budget is a balanced budget; and
(2) submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives
or the President pro tempore of the Senate (as the case may be)
a certification as to whether or not that House of Congress has
adopted a balanced budget.
(c) Rule for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021.--
(1) Fiscal year 2020.--
(A) Holding salaries in escrow.--If the Director
does not certify that a House of Congress has adopted a
balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2020 before
April 16, 2019, during the period described in
subparagraph (B) the payroll administrator of that
House of Congress shall deposit in an escrow account
all payments otherwise required to be made during such
period for the compensation of Members of Congress who
serve in that House of Congress, and shall release such
payments to such Members only upon the expiration of
such period.
(B) Period described.--With respect to a House of
Congress, the period described in this subparagraph is
the period that begins on April 16, 2019, and ends on
the earlier of--
(i) the date on which the Director
certifies that the House of Congress has
adopted a balanced budget with respect to
fiscal year 2020; or
(ii) the last day of the One Hundred
Sixteenth Congress.
(2) Fiscal year 2021.--
(A) Holding salaries in escrow.--If the Director
does not certify that a House of Congress has adopted a
balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2021 before
April 16, 2020, during the period described in
subparagraph (B) the payroll administrator of that
House of Congress shall deposit in an escrow account
all payments otherwise required to be made during such
period for the compensation of Members of Congress who
serve in that House of Congress, and shall release such
payments to such Members only upon the expiration of
such period.
(B) Period described.--With respect to a House of
Congress, the period described in this subparagraph is
the period that begins on April 16, 2020, and ends on
the earlier of--
(i) the date on which the Director
certifies that the House of Congress has
adopted a balanced budget with respect to
fiscal year 2021; or
(ii) the last day of the One Hundred
Sixteenth Congress.
(3) Withholding and remittance of amounts from payments
held in escrow.--The payroll administrator shall provide for
the same withholding and remittance with respect to a payment
deposited in an escrow account under paragraph (1) or (2) that
would apply to the payment if the payment were not subject to
paragraph (1) or (2).
(4) Release of amounts at end of the congress.--In order to
ensure that this subsection is carried out in a manner that
shall not vary the compensation of Senators or Representatives
in violation of the twenty-seventh amendment to the
Constitution of the United States, the payroll administrator of
a House of Congress shall release for payments to Members of
that House of Congress any amounts remaining in any escrow
account under this section on the last day of the One Hundred
Sixteenth Congress.
(5) Role of secretary of the treasury.--The Secretary of
the Treasury shall provide the payroll administrators of the
Houses of Congress with such assistance as may be necessary to
enable the payroll administrators to carry out this subsection.
(6) Payroll administrator defined.--In this subsection, the
``payroll administrator'' of a House of Congress means--
(A) in the case of the House of Representatives,
the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of
Representatives, or an employee of the Office of the
Chief Administrative Officer who is designated by the
Chief Administrative Officer to carry out this section;
and
(B) in the case of the Senate, the Secretary of the
Senate, or an employee of the Office of the Secretary
of the Senate who is designated by the Secretary to
carry out this section.
(d) Rule for Fiscal Year 2022 and Subsequent Fiscal Years.--
(1) Reduction in pay.--If the Director does not certify
that a House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with
respect to fiscal year 2022, or any fiscal year thereafter,
before April 16 of the fiscal year before such fiscal year,
during pay periods which occur during the period described in
paragraph (2) each Member of that House shall be paid at an
annual rate of pay equal to $1.
(2) Period described.--With respect to a House of Congress
and a fiscal year, the period described in this subparagraph is
the period that begins on April 16 of the fiscal year before
such fiscal year and ends on the earlier of--
(A) the date on which the Director certifies that
the House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget
with respect to such fiscal year; or
(B) the last day of the same calendar year in which
such period begins.
SEC. 3. SUPERMAJORITY REQUIREMENT FOR INCREASING REVENUE.
(a) In General.--In the Senate and the House of Representatives, a
bill, joint resolution, amendment, conference report, or amendment
between the Houses that increases revenue shall only be agreed to upon
an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of that House of
Congress duly chosen and sworn.
(b) Rules of Senate and the House of Representatives.--Subsection
(a) is enacted by Congress--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate
and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is
deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but
applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in
that House in the case of a bill, joint resolution, amendment,
conference report, or amendment between the Houses that
increases revenue, and it supersedes other rules only to the
extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the
procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and
to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that
House.
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