The current legislation, which cleared the House on a bipartisan vote of 288-144, would permit Treasury borrowing to exceed the limit of $16.4 trillion through May 18. As it passed, Speaker John Boehner pledged that Republicans would quickly draft a budget that would wipe out deficits in a decade, and he challenged Democrats to do the same.

House Republicans cast the bill as a way to force the Senate to draft a budget for the first time in four years, noting that if either house fails to do so, its members' pay would be withheld. They called the bill "no budget, no pay,'" a slogan if not a statement of fact, since lawmakers would be entitled to collect their entire salaries at the end of the Congress with or without a budget in place.

Senate Democrats owe it to the American taxpayers to do what they havent done in 1,365 days pass a budget. If they cant perform one of the most basic functions of government, then they dont deserve to receive a paycheck," says Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN 7th District). This legislation takes the necessary steps to ensure the President and Senate are held accountable for their failures to produce a budget and also allows us to begin a serious debate on real spending reductions. We dont have a revenue problem in Washington, we have a spending problem and the American people are looking for solutions that will restore some fiscal sanity.

"The idea behind No Budget, No Pay came from a Nashvillian who approached me two years ago," said Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN 5th District), "He said, 'I don't get paid if I don't do my job, and do it on time. Why should Congress be any different?' I agree, and this bill makes Congress follow the same rule that every American understands: do your work if you want to get paid. The President is right that the debt ceiling increase should be longer than four months and unconditional. But this bill is a start in the right direction to get Congress to take its duties seriously."
Congressmen Blackburn, Cooper Respond to Passing of "No Budget, No Pay"