Sponsors (4)
The bill pressures Congress to adopt a budget sooner and preserves payroll tax continuity and constitutional protections by withholding pay into escrow, but it risks cash-flow hardship for Members and adds administrative burden and potential opacity to legislative operations.
Members of Congress: pay is withheld until a concurrent budget resolution is adopted, creating direct pressure to reach a budget agreement sooner.
Taxpayers and federal payroll systems: withholding while remitting required taxes preserves continuity of payroll tax collection despite pay withholding.
Members of Congress: escrow release of withheld pay at the end of the Congress ensures compliance with the 27th Amendment and avoids unconstitutional permanent pay changes.
Members of Congress and their households: withholding pay during prolonged budget impasses can cause real cash-flow disruptions and financial strain.
Payroll offices and the Treasury: managing escrow accounts, tax treatments, and remittances increases administrative complexity, workload, and operational costs.
Members of Congress and legislative transparency: withheld compensation could obscure Members' immediate financial obligations and incentivize short-term procedural tactics to restore pay, complicating legislative operations.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Delays Members of Congress' pay into escrow starting April 16 until their chamber adopts a concurrent budget resolution, with tax rules preserved and release rules at Congress end.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Robert J. Wittman · Last progress January 3, 2025
Requires that if either chamber of Congress has not adopted a concurrent budget resolution by April 15, then member pay otherwise due from April 16 onward is deposited into an escrow account and only released when that chamber adopts the concurrent budget resolution or when the Congress ends. Payroll administrators must hold payments in escrow, tax withholding and remittance still apply, and any amounts remaining at the end of the Congress must be released to comply with the 27th Amendment. The Secretary of the Treasury must assist payroll administrators. The rule applies beginning with fiscal year 2026.