Congressman Chuck Fleischmann voted for the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed 285 to 144. In exchange for a temporary debt ceiling increase, the bill will enact real fiscal restraints by requiring the House and Senate each to pass a budget. Member pay will be withheld if they fail.
Rep. Fleischmann said, “The principle here is pretty simple, if there’s no budget then there’s no pay. The House has passed responsible budgets each year I have been in Congress; however, it’s been over 1,300 days since the Democrat controlled Senate produced a budget. This irresponsible pattern must end this year.
“Not having a budget wouldn’t fly for hardworking Americans at home or at work, and it shouldn’t be allowed in Congress. We cannot ever truly constrain spending if the Senate will not pass a budget. With the passage of this bill the Senate Democrats will finally be obligated to produce a path to get our fiscal house in order.”
Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.-14) issued the following statement after voting for the legislation:
"I am committed to balancing the budget and forcing the government to operate within its means. We cannot allow Washington to continue dragging down our economy and sidelining jobs that our communities need.
"The first step in that process is forcing the Senate to follow the law and pass a budget, which they have failed to do for almost four years. In the House, we will again put forward a bold vision for the country, which will include tax, spending and entitlement reform. Our goal is to balance the budget in ten years.
"If the Senate again fails to pass a budget, they will have their pay withheld. No budget, no pay. The American people expect and deserve that kind of accountability."
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (Tn.-04) released the following statement after voting against the legislation that would raise the debt limit:
“I have made my position clear from the beginning: Any increase in the debt limit needs to be offset with an equal amount of spending cuts. Unfortunately, today’s legislation did not contain a single spending cut or reform in return for giving this president an open-ended three month debt limit increase. At this administration’s spending levels that would mean an extra $250 billion of new debt.
“The debt crisis we have been warned about is here. The time for action has to be now. President Obama made it clear that he has no problem spending this nation into bankruptcy and the Democratic-controlled Senate has not passed a budget in four years. If House Republicans do not force the federal government to put an end to the deficits, who will?
“I was given a clear mandate by my constituents to shrink the size of government and put this nation back on a sustainable fiscal path. I have and will continue to fight to meet these expectations.”