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Cuts congressional pay whenever the federal debt limit is breached or a government shutdown occurs. For each full 24‑hour period in either situation, each Member of Congress loses one day’s pay. To comply with the Constitution’s timing rules on congressional pay, any amounts withheld during the current Congress are placed in escrow and paid out at the end of that Congress. True day‑by‑day pay reductions apply to days after the November 2026 general election. Treasury must assist congressional payroll offices to carry this out.
Reduce the annual rate of pay for each Member of Congress for any day the public debt limit is reached. The reduction equals one day’s worth of pay multiplied by the number of 24‑hour periods the public debt limit is reached.
This reduction rule applies only to days occurring after the date of the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2026.
Special rule for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress: the payroll administrator of each House must withhold from Member pay amounts equal to one day’s pay times the number of 24‑hour periods the public debt limit is reached that occur during the pay period, and deposit those withheld amounts into an escrow account.
The payroll administrator shall release any amounts remaining in the escrow account on the last day of the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress so that compensation is not varied in violation of the Twenty‑Seventh Amendment.
The special escrow withholding rule for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress does not apply to any day during that Congress which occurs after the date of the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2026.
Primary effects fall on Members of Congress, who face immediate financial consequences (loss of a day’s pay per 24 hours) during a debt‑limit breach or a government shutdown. In the current Congress, amounts are withheld but ultimately paid at term’s end to comply with constitutional limits; after the November 2026 election, the reductions take effect day by day.
Congressional payroll offices must implement escrow, tracking, and release of funds. Treasury’s support role is administrative, helping ensure technical execution but not altering broader federal operations.
The measure does not change how debt limits or appropriations work and does not directly affect federal agencies, states, or the public’s services. Indirectly, it may add pressure on Congress to avoid shutdowns or debt‑limit breaches, with potential benefits for government continuity but no guaranteed policy outcome.
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Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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.
Introduced March 10, 2025 by Eugene Simon Vindman · Last progress March 10, 2025
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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.
Introduced in House