Fwd: House Passes "No Budget, No Pay Act"

Bill would require Senate to pass a budget before being paid

Rep. Cantor answers questions with colleagues about "No Budget, No Pay"

The House of Representatives today passed the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (H.R. 325), a measure that will require Senate Democrats to finally pass a budget, something they failed to do for the past four years.  In addition, the measure will temporarily extend the debt ceiling and give both chambers of Congress time to pass a budget and responsibly address our nation’s spending crisis.  The bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 285-144 (Roll No. 30).  

In response to the passage of the No Budget, No Pay Act, Congressman Eric Cantor said, “Today’s vote was the first step towards trying to resolve the nation’s fiscal crisis in a responsible manner. I look forward to working with the White House and Senate to do so. It’s interesting to note, after almost four years having passed, with an economy that has been struggling, the Senate never acted. It took one week in which their paychecks were on the line and now the Senate is going to step up and do the right thing.”

The House has passed a responsible budget in each of the last two years that promotes economic growth and responsibly reduces spending, and will do so again this year.  Today’s bill requires the House and Senate to each pass a budget that reflects its priorities and withholds pay if they fail to do their job.  

While the House will continue to focus on balancing the budget, Congressman Cantor urged the Senate to act, “We welcome them to this debate about the budget of the nation and look forward to making sure we can begin to reduce the mountain of debt that is facing our children.”