Balanced Budget Accountability Act
Latest action · Jan 9, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 9, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Balanced Budget Accountability Act
This bill withholds Members of Congress's salaries in each chamber if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) does not certify that the chamber has adopted a balanced budget. The bill also requires that revenue increases be agreed upon by an affirmative three-fifths vote in each chamber.
Balanced budget means a concurrent budget resolution providing that for FY2035 and each succeeding fiscal year to which the resolution applies total outlays do not exceed total receipts and are not more than 18% of the projected gross domestic product for such fiscal year.
For the 119th Congress, if OMB does not certify that a chamber has adopted a balanced budget for the next fiscal year before April 16, salaries of Members of that chamber must be held in escrow until passage of a balanced budget or, if none is passed, the conclusion of the 119th Congress.
For subsequent Congresses, if OMB does not certify that a chamber has adopted a balanced budget for the next fiscal year before April 16, each Member of that chamber shall be paid at the rate of $1 annually for the remainder of the calendar year.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Aug 4, 2026.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-PA | David McCormick | Aug 4, 2026 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Referred Jan 9, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 9, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Jan 9, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97-1011 | Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables | Report | May 6, 2026 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to reduce a portion of the annual pay of Members of Congress for the failure to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which does not provide for a balanced budget, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Balanced Budget Accountability Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Congress.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 9, 2025Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
