Griffith Supports No Budget, No Pay

Statement

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 325, the No Budget No Pay Act:

"The United States has a serious debt problem, and I do not take lightly our responsibility to pay bills and get our debt under control. It is hoped that the No Budget No Pay Act will help to break the logjam by requiring the Senate to pass a budget.

"As those who paid attention to Schoolhouse Rock or in civics class will know, the House Committee on the Budget is to draft its budget resolution, and the Senate Committee on the Budget drafts its own proposal. After these budget plans pass their respective chamber of Congress, members of the House and the Senate work together to sort out differences in the two plans and develop a final budget proposal to be approved by both the House and the Senate.

"For the two years that I have been in the House, we have sent budget proposals over to the Senate. But for nearly four years, the Senate has refused to put pen to paper and craft their own budget. I understand, as do most members of the House, that there must be compromise on the pressing issues facing our nation today, but we cannot negotiate a commonsense, long-term deficit reduction plan alone. It must be done with the Senate's involvement. To reiterate, we do not expect the Senate to pass a budget that we agree with completely, but we need to see their proposal.

"Failure to come up with a plan but to have the debt ceiling constantly raised to cover out-of-control spending would be like me calling my credit card company and saying "I have met my limit, but you must raise my limit so I can pay you some of what I already owe you.'

"Is asking the Senate to pass a budget really too much to ask when they are already supposed to do so under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974?"

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