[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 29, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S354-S355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         NO BUDGET, NO PAY ACT

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, last week the House of Representatives 
passed a plan to prevent the risk of another credit rating downgrade. 
By ensuring that the United States will not default on its obligations, 
the House made the responsible decision to stop playing politics--at 
least for a while--with our Nation's creditworthiness and to prevent 
self-inflicted harm on our economy. Despite this effort, the House 
couldn't pass up the opportunity to

[[Page S355]]

try, while doing the right thing, to score at least one political 
point. We are now considering the measure they passed.
  This legislation, the No Budget, No Pay Act, coming directly off a 
campaign document, insists that congressional pay be linked with the 
passage of a budget by April 15. I am fine with that, that we should do 
that and if we don't, we don't get paid. But let's not forget that the 
Senate passed something even stronger than a budget for the past 2 
years; we passed the Budget Control Act, which reduced the deficit by 
$2 trillion. Despite this, House Republicans have no problem misleading 
the American people with their language, preventing Senators from being 
paid until we pass a budget.
  I have no problem with no budget, no pay, but why stop there? What 
about no jobs bills, no pay? In 2011 the Senate passed my legislation, 
bipartisanly cosponsored with Senator Graham and a number of other 
Republican Senators, including Senator Burr, and a group of Democratic 
Senators, we passed my legislation to punish China when it cheats, when 
it manipulates its currency. The bill could create more than 2 million 
jobs, mostly in manufacturing, knowing what happened in places such as 
the Presiding Officer's State of Massachusetts and in my State of Ohio 
with lost manufacturing jobs.
  Despite the clear evidence that leveling the playing field with 
stopping currency manipulation would create jobs, despite the clear 
evidence of an overwhelming vote in the Senate and, 2 years ago, an 
overwhelming vote in the House on the same issue, this legislation has 
languished in the House for the past 2 years.
  But why stop at the budget? Why not a no farm bill, no pay bill? 
Congress is obligated to pass a farm bill every 5 years. The Senate 
passed our bipartisan farm bill, which, among other things, saves some 
$20 billion of direct savings by eliminating the longtime-discredited 
direct payment program. It would save $20 billion, but, again, the 
House refused to act.
  What about my legislation linking the age at which Members of 
Congress can collect their pensions to the age at which working 
Americans are eligible for Social Security? Some people, especially in 
the House of Representatives, want to raise the retirement age for 
Social Security, yet for themselves--ourselves, if we retire earlier--
collect pensions before that age. If people here are going to raise the 
eligibility age for Social Security, nobody here should be able to 
collect any retirement benefits until that same age.
  Citizens in my home State of Ohio in places such as Middletown, where 
workers have watched paper factories get priced out of the market 
because of unfair competition with places such as China; in Cincinnati, 
where call center workers are watching their jobs get contracted to the 
Philippines; and in Worcester, where there are too many cases of 
shutdown plants, moving overseas, simply or mostly because of currency, 
not to mention tax breaks that encourage companies, that allow 
companies to deduct the cost of moving their plant overseas against 
their Federal tax, those are the kinds of things average Americans are 
waiting for the House of Representatives to act on, legislation that 
will make a real difference in their lives right now.
  I am fine with the No Budget, No Pay Act. We should pass a budget. We 
should move forward on that. We need to raise the debt ceiling and stop 
playing politics with this, but let the House of Representatives get 
moving on the issues that affect everyday Americans. That is all about 
jobs. That is all about this economic recovery.

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