The salaries of senior government officials would be withheld if regular appropriation bills are not enacted into law by the start of the next fiscal year under a bipartisan bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD).
“When political leaders can’t reach an agreement,” Rep. Johnson said, “we need a system that holds them accountable rather than punishing millions of everyday Americans.”
Known as sequestration, the process would be enacted under the Governing Effectively, with Transparency, Integrity, and Timeliness, and Doing Our Necessary Expenditures Act — also known as the Get It Done Act, H.R. 5411 — which Rep. Johnson introduced on Sept. 29 with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN).
The measure aims to help Congress avoid a government shutdown if lawmakers fail to pass a complete appropriations bill, according to Rep. Johnson’s staff.
If by the first day of a fiscal year a regular appropriations bill has not been enacted, H.R. 5411 would continue the previous fiscal year’s funding for the first 30 days, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s office. For each subsequent 30-day period, the rate of operations would be reduced by 2.5 percent.
Additionally, each senior government official’s pay would be held in an escrow account until such a bill is enacted and they would be prohibited from using federal funds to pay for travel to leave the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area, the summary says.
H.R. 5411 also would express that Houses of Congress may not adjourn for a period of more than 12 hours until such a bill is enacted, ensuring members remain in Washington to pass a budget, according to the summary.
“Government shutdowns are the worst negotiation tactic in our political system,” said Rep. Phillips. “The only people who should suffer financial hardship when elected leaders can’t govern are the elected leaders themselves.”