Cooper’s No Budget No Pay Act Taken Up, Altered by GOP

Official House portrait of Rep. Jim Cooper

House Republicans agreed Wednesday to suspend the nation’s debt ceiling after inserting the idea into a bill a Tennessee Democrat has been pushing for two years. But the No Budget No Pay Act was changed in the process.

The measure sets a deadline for passing the budget. If it isn’t met, Congressional paychecks will be diverted into escrow accounts until a deal is struck. In the original bill, Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper says members would have lost that money for good.

Still, Cooper was happy to see the idea gather momentum and pass. And he maintains the bill has teeth, even if many of the people affected are wealthy.

“Folks I know who have money love money more than anyone else. They want to get paid.”

If the policy were already in effect in either form, Senators would have been working for free for almost four years.

In the House vote, most of Tennessee’s delegation voted for the measure, although Jasper Republican Scott DesJarlais, Republican John Duncan of Knoxville and Memphis Democrat Steve Cohen all voted no.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have both signed on as cosponsors.

Web extra:
The versions also differ in terms of how much action must be taken on a budget in order to consider the deadline met. But that stricter version couldn’t have taken effect until a new session convenes. That’s because the 27th Amendment creates a waiting period for any change to Congressional pay.

The 27th amendment reads as follows:

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives,
shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

The amendment was crafted by the Founding Fathers but not adopted until 1992. While it was intended as part of the original bill of rights, only six states ratified it at that time. About 90 years later, a seventh state signed on. Then, in the late 70s, interest was revived and ratification votes began to slowly roll in from across the nation.

Ratification dates:
Maryland, December 19, 1789
North Carolina, December 22, 1789
South Carolina, January 19, 1790
Delaware, January 28, 1790
Vermont, November 3, 1791
Virginia, December 15, 1791
Ohio, May 6, 1873
Wyoming, March 6, 1978
Maine, April 27, 1983
Colorado, April 22, 1984
South Dakota, February 21, 1985
New Hampshire, March 7, 1985
Arizona, April 3, 1985
Tennessee, May 23, 1985
Oklahoma, July 10, 1985
New Mexico, February 14, 1986
Indiana, February 24, 1986
Utah, February 25, 1986
Arkansas, March 6, 1987
Montana, March 17, 1987
Connecticut, May 13, 1987
Wisconsin, July 15, 1987
Georgia, February 2, 1988
West Virginia, March 10, 1988
Louisiana, July 7, 1988
Iowa, February 9, 1989
Idaho, March 23, 1989
Nevada, April 26, 1989
Alaska, May 6, 1989
Oregon, May 19, 1989
Minnesota, May 22, 1989
Texas, May 25, 1989
Kansas, April 5, 1990
Florida, May 31, 1990
North Dakota, March 25, 1991
Alabama, May 5, 1992
Missouri, May 5, 1992
Michigan, May 7, 1992
New Jersey, May 7, 1992–this vote completed ratification so that the amendment could be adopted, although states continued to vote on the matter
Illinois, May 12, 1992
California, June 26, 1992
Rhode Island, June 10, 1993
Hawaii, April 29, 1994
Washington, April 6, 1995
Kentucky, March 21, 1996.