Press Releases

Congressman Larry Bucshon introduced H.R. 1082, the “President’s Salary Suspended Unless Budget Measure Is On Time (SUBMIT) Act,” which places the President’s pay in escrow if he fails to meet the statutory deadline to submit his budget until the day the budget is submitted.

Congressman Bucshon (IN-08) released the following statement regarding his proposal:

“We are in the middle of a robust discussion on how best to address our nation’s fiscal challenges.  The first step in the discussion is producing a budget, on time – when the law requires it. Unfortunately, today marks the 37th day the President’s budget is late.  In fact, four out of the five years he has been in office, the President has failed to meet his statutory budget deadline. 

“Our nation’s debt is nearing $17 trillion and under President Obama, we have added over $1 trillion in debt each year. Responsible budgets are submitted on time and responsible budgets do not run trillion dollar deficits.

“American families and small businesses have to budget their resources and they deserve a budget on time from their President.  The President should be held to the same standard as the American people and Congress and this bill sends that message.”

BACKGROUND:

Full text of H.R. 1082, the “President’s Salary SUBMIT Act,” can be accessed by clicking here.

H.R. 1082 does not apply to the first year of a President’s first term.

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the President to submit an annual budget on the first Monday in February. The President missed his deadline for FY 2014 on Monday, February 4th.

This week, White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney admitted that he does not know when the President’s budget will be released. “On Monday, Carney again reiterated that the White House did not ‘have a date-certain’ for release of the president's budget” (The Hill, 3/11/13).

President Obama has missed his budget deadline, required by law, four out of the five years he has been in office and is the first President to do so two consecutive years since 1923 and holds the latest budget submission at 98 days.

On Monday, February 4, 2013, President Obama signed into law the House-led “No Budget No Pay Act” requiring Congress to pass a budget or forfeit pay until they do so.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, 2012 marked the fourth consecutive year with more than a $1 trillion deficit.  The CBO announced last month that the budget deficit for fiscal year 2013 is projected to be $845 billion (The Hill; 2/05/2013).

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