No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013
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| No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 | |
|---|---|
 U.S. Government · Public domain · source | |
| Name | No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 |
| Short title | No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 |
| Long title | An Act to withhold pay from Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate if the Congress fails to enact certain appropriations |
| Colloquial acronym | NBNP Act |
| Enacted by | 113th United States Congress |
| Public law | Public Law 113-3 |
| Introduced in | House of Representatives |
| Introduced by | John Boehner |
| Introduced date | January 15, 2013 |
| Passed house | January 24, 2013 |
| Passed senate | January 28, 2013 |
| Signed president | Barack Obama |
| Signed date | February 4, 2013 |
No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013.
The No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 was a short-term legislative measure enacted during the 113th United States Congress designed to leverage member compensation to motivate enactment of budgetary legislation and prevent a federal shutdown. The statute tied withholding of pay for Representatives and Senators to failures to pass annual appropriations, and it operated alongside temporary continuing resolutions and debt-limit negotiations involving key figures such as Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell.
Background and Legislative History
The bill emerged amid post-2012 fiscal fights that involved actors like Paul Ryan, Pat Toomey, and Patty Murray after the 2012 presidential election in which Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney. Fiscal standoffs during the 112th United States Congress and the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis with participants including John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi set context for renewed pressure to avoid a repeat shutdown. Advocacy groups, including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and various Tea Party organizations, used tactics similar to prior proposals such as the 1980s “no pay” concept championed by some members of Congressional Budget Office critics and Heritage Foundation-backed policy advocates. Negotiations in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States produced a compromise that allowed temporary funding extensions while establishing an enforcement mechanism linked to pay periods overseen by the Office of the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Provisions of the Act
The Act created a statutory regime whereby pay for Members of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate could be deposited into an escrow account when a fiscal year appropriation measure or a continuing resolution was not enacted by the start of the fiscal year. Procedurally, monies were withheld by the respective administrative officers—the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House—and released only after enactment of specified budgetary measures. The text referenced pay periods defined under Title 5 and allocated authority consistent with prior statutes involving the Treasury of the United States and the Congressional Budget Office. It applied to salary payment schedules utilized by longstanding compensation statutes that trace to the Salaries and Allowances of Members of Congress Act and interacted with appropriations practice such as omnibus bills like the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Congressional Debate and Support
Debate in the House of Representatives featured coalition-building among leaders including John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Steve Israel, while the Senate debate involved figures such as Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. Supporters argued tactics mirrored earlier enforcement proposals championed by Newt Gingrich and others seeking fiscal discipline, and they cited public opinion polls conducted by organizations like Gallup and Pew Research Center indicating voter frustration. Opponents—including members aligned with Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer-style caucuses—contended that constitutional questions, raised by commentators referencing the 27th Amendment and cases such as Clinton v. City of New York analogies, warranted caution. Committees including the House Rules Committee and the Senate Committee on Appropriations considered procedural ramifications before passage.
Implementation and Enforcement
Operationalizing the Act required coordination among congressional administrative offices and federal payroll systems administered in conjunction with the United States Department of the Treasury. The escrow mechanism used existing payment authorities and required certification steps akin to those used by the Government Accountability Office in prior audits of congressional disbursements. Implementation notices and internal guidance were distributed by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, who followed precedent from enforcement of budgeting deadlines seen in prior continuing resolutions that referenced practices documented by the Congressional Research Service.
Impact and Analysis
The Act functioned primarily as a political tool during a fiscal year transition, coinciding with temporary funding measures such as short-term continuing resolutions negotiated by lawmakers like Rob Portman and Patty Murray. Analysts from institutions including the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute offered divergent assessments: some described the measure as a symbolic recalibration of incentives rooted in historical congressional self-regulation, while others compared it to prior enforcement mechanisms proposed after the 1995 federal government shutdown involving actors like Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton. Empirical impacts on legislative behavior were limited given the short duration and the ultimate reliance on bipartisan compromise to prevent pay forfeiture, as noted in reports issued by the Congressional Budget Office and commentary in periodicals such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Criticism and Legal Challenges
Critics argued the statute raised constitutional and statutory questions citing the 27th Amendment and Supreme Court jurisprudence including references to United States v. Munoz-Flores in broader debates about compensation regulation, though no definitive Supreme Court adjudication specifically invalidated the Act. Legal scholars from institutions such as Harvard Law School and Yale Law School published commentary questioning delegation and separation-of-powers implications, and civil organizations like Public Citizen contended the measure might create perverse incentives. Litigation threats were discussed in law reviews but produced limited formal suits, and subsequent congressional practice favored alternative leverage mechanisms and bipartisan appropriation strategies practiced by leaders including Steny Hoyer and Kevin McCarthy.