Fix Congress Now Caucus House Rules Letter to Leadership

On October 18, 2012, the Fix Congress Now Caucus submitted a letter of proposed rules changes to House leadership to improve the federal budget process in the 113th Congress. These recommendations include:

• Requiring a 3/5 vote to waive the Budget Act points of order dealing with adjournment, thus ensuring that we do not adjourn as a governing body until our budgetary work is done

• Amending the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act 1974 to require that the budget be a joint resolution--passed by both chambers, and signed into law--rather than a concurrent resolution;

• Restructuring the budget as a biennial joint resolution rather than a one-year concurrent budget resolution.

H. CON. RES. 82  'Govern Before Going Home'

Prohibits either the House of Representatives or the Senate from adjourning for more than three days during a fiscal year unless, at the time the adjournment begins, the House or Senate (as the case may be): (1) has adopted a concurrent resolution on the budget for such fiscal year; and (2) has approved each regular appropriation bill for such fiscal year or, to the extent that it has not approved such a bill, has approved a continuing resolution to provide funding for the entire fiscal year for the projects and activities covered by such bill.

This bill is sponsored by Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-IL) and currently has 6 cosponsors; it was introduced September 23, 2011 and has been referred to the House Committee on Rules.

On May 16, 2012, the Fix Congress Now Caucus announced its support of HR 3643, the No Budget, No Pay Act.

HR 3643

The ‘No Budget, No Pay’ Act prohibits payment to any Member of Congress (excluding the Vice President): (1) if both houses of Congress have not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year before October 1 of that fiscal year and have not passed all the regular appropriations bills for the next fiscal year by such date, or (2) until both houses of Congress approve such a budget resolution and pass all such appropriations bills.

This bill is sponsored by Rep. Jim Cooper and currently has more than 40 cosponsors; it was introduced on December 13, 2011 and has been referred to the House Committee on House Administration.