[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3143 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 322
111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3143

 To provide that Members of Congress shall not receive a pay increase 
         until the annual Federal budget deficit is eliminated.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 18, 2010

Mr. Coburn introduced the following bill; which was read the first time

                             March 19, 2010

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide that Members of Congress shall not receive a pay increase 
         until the annual Federal budget deficit is eliminated.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``The No Pay Raise for Congress Until 
the Budget is Balanced Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Article I, section 9, of the United States Constitution 
        makes Congress responsible for all money drawn from the United 
        States Treasury.
            (2) The United States national debt now exceeds 
        $12,600,000,000,000.
            (3) The Federal budget deficit is projected to amount to 
        $1,300,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and the annual deficits 
        will average nearly $1,000,000,000,000 for the next decade, 
        according to the Congressional Budget Office.
            (4) Each American's share of the United States national 
        debt amounts to more than $41,000.
            (5) The United States national debt increases more than 
        $4,000,000,000 each day.
            (6) Foreign investors held 48 percent of the United States' 
        outstanding public debt at the end of 2009, including 
        $776,400,000,000 the United States owes to Communist China.
            (7) For the first time ever, the Federal budget deficit has 
        been singled out as the most important issue facing the future 
        of the country, according to a Gallup poll conducted between 
        March 4 and March 7, 2010.
            (8) Eighty-three percent of Americans say the size of the 
        Federal budget deficit is due to the unwillingness of 
        politicians to cut Government spending and just 11 percent 
        think the Government spends taxpayers' money wisely, according 
        to a national survey conducted between February 2 and February 
        3, 2010, by Rasmussen Reports.
            (9) More than twice as many United States adults (58 
        percent) say that debt owed to China is a more serious threat 
        to the long-term security and well-being of the United States 
        than is terrorism from radical Islamic terrorists (27 percent), 
        according to a Zogby Interactive survey conducted between 
        February 17 and February 19, 2010.
            (10) For the reasons specified in paragraphs (1) through 
        (9)--
                    (A) Congress should make balancing the Federal 
                budget an urgent priority to protect the national 
                security, financial stability, and standard of living 
                of the United States;
                    (B) because Congress has long refused to make the 
                tough decisions necessary to cut wasteful spending, 
                reducing the national debt limit is the only sure way 
                to force Congress to live within its means; and
                    (C) the pay for members of Congress, who are 
                constitutionally responsible for the money drawn from 
                the United States Treasury and the debt that results 
                from excessive spending, should not be increased until 
                Congress has balanced the Federal budget.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON PAY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Restriction on COLA Adjustments.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, no adjustment shall be made under section 601(a) of 
the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 31) (relating to 
cost of living adjustments for Members of Congress) during fiscal year 
2011 or any succeeding fiscal year, until the fiscal year following the 
first fiscal year that the annual Federal budget deficit is $0 as 
determined in the report submitted under subsection (b).
    (b) Determinations and Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the end of 
        each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall--
                    (A) make a determination of whether or not the 
                annual Federal budget deficit was $0 for that fiscal 
                year; and
                    (B) if the determination is that the annual Federal 
                budget deficit was $0 for that fiscal year, submit a 
                report to Congress of that determination.
            (2) Restriction of cola adjustments.--Not later than the 
        end of each calendar year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        submit a report to the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief 
        Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives on--
                    (A) any determination made under paragraph (1); and
                    (B) whether or not the restriction under subsection 
                (a) shall apply to the succeeding fiscal year.

SEC. 4. REDUCTION OF THE STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT.

    Notwithstanding section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, or 
any other provision of law, the dollar amount of the statutory limit on 
the public debt under section 3101(b) of that title for the applicable 
fiscal year shall be the following:
            (1) Fiscal year 2011, $13,900,000,000,000.
            (2) Fiscal year 2012, $13,700,000,000,000.
            (3) Fiscal year 2013, $13,500,000,000,000.
            (4) Fiscal year 2014, $12,300,000,000,000.
            (5) Fiscal year 2015 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
        $12,100,000,000,000.
                                                       Calendar No. 322

111th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 3143

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To provide that Members of Congress shall not receive a pay increase 
         until the annual Federal budget deficit is eliminated.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 19, 2010

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar