S. 88 — No Budget, No Pay Act

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "Budget and Appropriations Chairs" as the House Budget and Appropriations Chairs and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Chairs; (2) "House Budget and Appropriations Chairs" as the Chair of the House Committee on the Budget and the Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations; (3) "Member of Congress" as having the meaning given that term in 5 U.S.C. §2106 (i.e., Vice President, Senators, Representatives, Delegates to the House, and Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico) but excluding the Vice President; and (4) "Senate Budget and Appropriations Chairs" as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

This section requires both Houses of Congress, not later than October 1 of each fiscal year, to (1) approve a concurrent resolution on the budget for that fiscal year (i.e., changing the deadline from April 15 preceding the fiscal year under current law) and (2) pass all regular appropriations bills for that fiscal year. (Thus, the concurrent resolution—which sets topline levels for revenues, new budget authority, outlays, deficits, debt, and major functional categories for the fiscal year and at least four ensuing years—must be completed at the fiscal year's start, as must the 12 regular appropriations bills that fund federal agencies and programs.)

This section prohibits appropriation or availability of funds from the Treasury for pay of Members of Congress during any period Congress is not in compliance with section 3, as determined by the Budget and Appropriations Chairs under section 5. The section further bars retroactive pay for Members for any such period.

This section establishes annual determination procedures, effective October 1 of each fiscal year, for compliance with section 3 and potential pay withholding under section 4. For the Senate, it requires the Secretary of the Senate to request certification from the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee chairs, who must determine (1) whether Congress complies with section 3 for that fiscal year and Senators' pay must be withheld under section 4, (2) the period of days following October 1 for withholding Senators' pay, and (3) provide timely certification. For the House of Representatives, it requires the Chief Administrative Officer to request certification from the House Budget and Appropriations Committee chairs, who must make parallel determinations for Members of the House.