To hold the salaries of Members of a House of Congress in escrow if the House of Congress does not pass regular appropriation bills on a timely basis during a Congress, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates financial consequences for members of Congress if their chamber fails to complete its appropriations work on time. Starting with fiscal year 2026, if either the House or Senate hasn't passed all 12 regular appropriation bills by October 1st (the start of the fiscal year), the salaries of members in that chamber will be held in an escrow account. The salaries are withheld until either all appropriations bills are passed or the two-year congressional term ends, whichever comes first.
Who Benefits and How
Budget process reformers and fiscal conservatives benefit from this bill as it creates a mechanism to pressure Congress to complete its constitutional duty to pass spending bills on time. Constituents who are frustrated with government dysfunction and shutdowns also benefit indirectly, as this creates an incentive for timely budget passage. The bill reflects their policy preferences by imposing accountability on lawmakers.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Members of Congress in whichever chamber fails to pass appropriations bills bear the primary burden - their paychecks are delayed and held in escrow until appropriations work is complete. Congressional leadership and committee chairs face increased pressure to manage legislative schedules effectively to avoid triggering the escrow. Congressional payroll administrators (the Chief Administrative Officer of the House and Secretary of the Senate) must implement new escrow accounting procedures. The Department of the Treasury also faces new administrative responsibilities to assist payroll administrators.
Key Provisions
- Establishes mandatory salary escrow if a chamber hasn't passed all regular appropriation bills by the first day of the fiscal year (beginning FY2026)
- Defines "regular appropriation bill" as any of the 12 annual spending bills under the jurisdiction of Appropriations subcommittees in both chambers
- Requires payroll administrators to deposit congressional salaries in escrow accounts during the penalty period
- Mandates release of escrowed funds when appropriations work is completed or at the end of the two-year Congress, whichever comes first (ensuring compliance with the 27th Amendment's prohibition on mid-term congressional pay changes)
- Requires continued tax withholding on escrowed payments and directs Treasury to provide technical assistance to congressional payroll offices
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Withholds congressional salaries in escrow if a chamber fails to pass all regular appropriation bills by the start of the fiscal year
Who Benefits
- Fiscal conservatives
- Budget process reformers
- Constituents seeking congressional accountability
Who Bears Costs
- Members of Congress whose salaries would be held in escrow
- Congressional leadership responsible for floor schedules
Key Policy Areas
Congressional Operations, Budget Process, Legislative Accountability
Primary Purpose
Withholds congressional salaries in escrow if a chamber fails to pass all regular appropriation bills by the start of the fiscal year
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Increase pressure on Congress to pass appropriations on time by creating financial consequences for Members"
Identified Gains
- Fiscal conservatives
- Budget process reformers
- Constituents seeking congressional accountability
Identified Costs
- Members of Congress whose salaries would be held in escrow
- Congressional leadership responsible for floor schedules
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Wittman introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congressional leadership responsible for legislative schedules, Congressional payroll administrators, Congressional payroll administrators (Chief Administrative Officer, Secretary of the Senate)
Positive-direction: Members of Congress whose salaries were held in escrow
Negative-direction: Congressional leadership responsible for legislative schedules, Congressional payroll administrators, Congressional payroll administrators (Chief Administrative Officer, Secretary of the Senate), Members of Congress (House and Senate), Payroll administrators (Chief Administrative Officer, Secretary of the Senate)
Fiscal conservatives and budget process reformers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "payroll_administrator_house"
- → Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives
- "payroll_administrator_senate"
- → Secretary of the Senate
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress
Any annual appropriation bill which is under the jurisdiction of a single subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations of the House and a single subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate
For House: Chief Administrative Officer or designee; For Senate: Secretary of the Senate or designee
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology