Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to prohibit Members of Congress from receiving compensation during a fiscal year unless both Houses of Congress have agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget for that fiscal year prior to the beginning of that fiscal year.
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would condition Members of Congress’ compensation on the federal budget process. Specifically, a Member may not receive pay for the fiscal year unless both the House and the Senate have passed an identical concurrent resolution on the budget for that fiscal year before the fiscal year begins. As a constitutional amendment, it must be proposed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses and then ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures within seven years. If this amendment were ratified, it would make congressional salaries contingent on pre-year budget agreement. In practical terms, if the two Houses do not agree to an identical budget resolution before the fiscal year starts, Members would not be paid for that year. The text clarifies that it applies to fiscal years that begin after the amendment becomes valid.
Key Points
- 1Constitutional amendment mechanism: The proposal requires two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate to be sent to the states for ratification (and, if ratified by three-fourths of states within seven years, would become part of the Constitution).
- 2Salary condition: A Member of Congress may not receive compensation for service during a fiscal year unless both Houses have approved an identical concurrent resolution on the budget for that fiscal year before the fiscal year begins.
- 3Identical concurrent resolution: Both Houses must pass the same text of a concurrent resolution addressing the budget for that year; the resolution is non-binding and typically used to express budgetary priorities and targets rather than create laws.
- 4Timing and scope: The requirement applies to fiscal years that begin after the amendment becomes a valid part of the Constitution; for example, if a year’s fiscal year begins Oct 1, the budget resolution would need to be agreed to before that date.
- 5Legislative hurdle: Even if introduced, the amendment faces a high bar—2/3 votes in both Houses to propose and 3/4 of states to ratify within seven years.