Senators Introduce Bill to Bar Lawmakers From Delaying Government Funding
WASHINGTON—As part of an effort to fix the nation’s ineffective budget process and prevent government shutdowns, three Republican senators introduced a bill last week that would prohibit lawmakers from leaving Washington if they fail to pass a budget on time. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and David Perdue (R-Ga.) introduced on Jan. 17 the “No Budget, No Recess Act” to help responsibly fund the federal government on time. The legislation encourages lawmakers to approve a budget resolution by the deadline of April 15 and all the appropriations bills by Aug. 1.
“Enough is enough,” Perdue said. “Washington’s broken funding process has created a dysfunctional cycle of continuing resolutions, last-minute spending deals, and government shutdowns,” he said in a statement. “It’s time to create a politically neutral platform to fund the government on time every year, including real consequences for members of Congress if they don’t get the entire job done. We should not go home until we have completed our work.”
The bill proposes three changes to the current system. It prevents lawmakers from expending funds for official travel if they fail to meet the set deadlines for federal funding. “The proposal that we offer today would keep Congress in town until the budget is finally resolved,” Sen. Lankford said in a statement. “During a government shutdown, Congress and the White House should experience pain, not the American people.” Lankford complained that the existing system isn’t putting pressure on the Congress to take action on funding. He also criticized the fact that members are going home for the weekend, with some of them even flying out of the country. The bill also incentivizes lawmakers to stay in Washington by proposing two quorum calls to be held each day in both houses: one at noon and one at 6 p.m. local time. Missing votes repeatedly would embarrass lawmakers and, hence, this rule forces them to stay in Washington, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CFRB), a non-partisan organization. In addition, the bill prohibits a recess for more than eight hours until lawmakers meet the deadline they had missed. This means that Congress would have to cancel August recess until work is completed.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/a-new-bill-seeks-to-bar-lawmakers-from-delaying-government-funding_2773996.html