Hultgren: Withhold Congress’ Pay Until Budget Passes
Congressman suggests a way to hold law-makers' feet to the fire.
Fourteenth District Congressman Randy Hultgren has a different sort of idea: No pay for Congress until a budget is passed. Hultgren recently re-introduced the Constitutional Congressional Pay Accountability Act for the 113th Congress. Hultgren says he introduced the bill back in 2011, and it fall flat then. The bill is just five pages—small for Congress—and Hultgren describes it as "straightforward." It would require Congress to pass a budget and all appropriations bills by the beginning of that fiscal year. If the budget doesn’t get passed, members of Congress won’t get paid. "It holds everyone’s feet to the fire," Hultgren said. Hultgren says House leadership is supporting the concept and that it is one component of the temporary debt-…
Matilda B
1:05 pm on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Rich, the constitution does not allow us to not pay our legislature, so all that would happen is they hold back the money and pay them one lump sum at the end of the year. Randy knows this. He hopes we are too stupid to realize that. It is a public relations ploy that really means nothing. And Jim Ryan is correct that many in Congress are wealthy enough to not need the money. There was an article… more ›