House Republicans offer bill to withhold Obama's salary when budget is late

By Pete Kasperowicz - 03/13/13 09:14 AM ET

House Republicans introduced legislation on Tuesday that would withhold President Obama's salary any time he's late submitting a budget proposal to Congress.

The bill from Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) is similar to the No Budget, No Pay Act that was signed into law earlier this year by Obama. That law requires the salaries of House or Senate members to be held in escrow if their respective chamber fails to pass a budget by April 15.

Under Buschon's bill, H.R. 1082, the president's pay would also be put into escrow if he is late proposing a budget to Congress by the statutory deadline, which is the first Monday in February.

The bill's title is the President's Salary Suspended Unless Budget Measure Is On Time (SUBMIT) Act.

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

Obama has failed to submit a timely budget plan to Congress in four of the last five years. This year, the budget is particularly late — the administration has said it would submit its 2014 budget proposal in early April, missing the deadline by about two months.

The Democratic Senate has not considered a budget in nearly four years, although it is looking to pass one as early as next week, which is when the House plans to pass its budget. In light of this schedule, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Obama's late budget submission would be irrelevant at best or even disruptive, because it will come several weeks after both chambers started their work.

Bucshon's bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Dan Benishek (R-Mich.), Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.).

— This story was updated at 11:47 a.m.