Holland Reporter

Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA) have introduced the No Budget, No Pay Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at withholding congressional pay if lawmakers fail to pass a budget and all 12 appropriations bills on time. The legislation comes as the federal government is currently in a shutdown, a situation that has become familiar in recent decades. Since 1974, Congress has only met its budgetary deadlines once.

“We need to get our nation’s budget and appropriations process back on track,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “If Congress can’t fulfill its most basic duty to pass a budget, it shouldn’t get paid, and Members of Congress shouldn’t get back-pay either. The No Budget, No Pay Act forces the same real-world consequences on all Members of Congress that a shutdown or continuing resolution places on our troops and hardworking Americans. DC dysfunction should not be rewarded. Americans want government to get back basics and get our nation’s fiscal house in order. We can jump start this process by holding Congress personally accountable to its budgetary deadlines!”

Congressman Peters added, “Our most important responsibility is the power of the purse, but Congress has again failed to do its job. No Budget, No Pay will stop Members of Congress from getting paid unless they get a budget done on time. When the government shuts down, countless Americans are forced to endure the consequences. That’s why, each week for the duration of the shutdown, I am donating my take-home salary to local nonprofits working to support San Diegans who are suffering because of the shutdown.”

Zach Moller, Director of the Economic Program at Third Way, commented, “Addressing our challenging fiscal situation will be difficult unless policymakers do the hard work of budgeting. The No Budget, No Pay Act led by Representatives Scott Peters (D-CA) and Bill Huizenga (R-MI), presents a way for Congress to focus on this essential task. Ideas like this need to be in the mix as we try to both break out of a government shutdown and consider improvements to the budget and appropriations process.”

Carolyn Bordeaux, Executive Director of the Concord Coalition, stated, “No Budget, No Pay is a much-needed enforcement mechanism to ensure that Congress is doing its job and passing the federal budget on time - something that has not occurred since 1996. We are also deeply appreciative of the bipartisan leadership shown by Representatives Huizenga and Peters to introduce this and other bills. This legislation, paired with their bipartisan Fiscal Commission Act, could help this country make significant strides towards a budget process that is on time and on target to close the deficit. We urge all Members of Congress to support these bills and move them swiftly to the floor and to the President’s desk.”

On September 30th, Congressman Huizenga requested that the House of Representatives withhold his pay until the government reopens and military personnel are paid. Earlier, on September 18th, he introduced the Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act, now a bipartisan bill designed to ensure that border patrol agents, immigration officers, TSA officials, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel continue to receive pay during a government shutdown.

Bill Huizenga has represented Michigan’s 4th district in the U.S. Congress since 2011, after succeeding Pete Hoekstra. He previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009. Born in Zeeland, Michigan in 1969, Huizenga is 54 years old and currently lives in Holland. He graduated from Calvin College in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree.

Legislative text for the No Budget, No Pay Act is available online.