The No Budget, No Pay Act was legislation proposed in the United States Congress providing that members of Congress would receive no salary unless Congress passed a budget by October 1, 2012. Representative Jim Cooper, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from Tennessee, introduced this bill in the United States House of Representatives.Nocera, Kate
"'Fix Congress Now' rallies around Cooper's 'No Budget, No Pay Act'"
'' Politico'', 16 May 2012. Retrieved on 8 November 2012.Weigant, Chris
"No Budget, No Pay Act"
''The Huffington Post'', 14 March 2012. Retrieved on 9 November 2012.

Purpose

Even though Congress has passed single year budgets since 2009 (, , , ), Congress has not passed a multi-year budget since 2009. The main idea behind this bill is that in order for congressmen to reach across the aisle and compromise they must have their pay taken away. The annual salary of a member of Congress is $174,000.Bruce Moyer
The Rise of Paycheck Politics
''Washington Watch'' (Federal Bar Association), April 2013.

Reid Ribble Reid James Ribble (born April 5, 1956) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. Early life and education Ribble is a third generation Wisconsin resident. He was bo ...

, a Republican congressman from Wisconsin, said "You have to take away the one thing every member of Congress really wants, and that's their paycheck at the end of every month. You take it away until they get their job done and I think you would see miraculously bipartisan work to get something done." Jim Cooper, the lead sponsor and author of the bill, said "If we can show a greater number of co-sponsors leadership will have to pay attention. It's no secret this is not popular with leadership. But they want to be popular with members... Any other job in the world, you don't do your job you don't get paid. Congress shouldn't be any different."

Support and opposition

The bill received limited bipartisan support, and garnered 48 supporters, although it was seen as unlikely to be voted on due to the division of Congress. Likewise, the bill received some bipartisan opposition from members of Congress who argue that it may violate the

27th Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII, also known as the Congressional Compensation Act of 1789) to the United States Constitution prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress from taking effect until ...

, which states "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall have intervened."

References

{{reflist Proposed legislation of the 112th United States Congress