H.R. 8140

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8140 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8140

To prohibit the pay of Members of Congress during periods in which a 
Government shutdown is in effect, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 27, 2026

Mr. James introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

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A BILL

To prohibit the pay of Members of Congress during periods in which a 
Government shutdown is in effect, and for other purposes.

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 ``Money Where Our Mouths Are Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING PAY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN RESPONSE TO 
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

(a) Prohibition of Pay.--If on any day during a pay period a 
Government shutdown is in effect, the payroll administrator of each 
House of Congress shall exclude from the payments otherwise required to 
be made with respect to that pay period for the compensation of each 
Member of Congress who serves in that House of Congress an amount equal 
to the product of--
(1) an amount equal to one day's worth of pay under the 
annual rate of pay applicable to the Member under section 
601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 
4501); and
(2) the number of 24-hour periods during which the 
Government shutdown is in effect which occur during the pay 
period.
(b) Role of Secretary of the Treasury.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall provide the payroll administrators of the Houses of 
Congress with such assistance as may be necessary to enable the payroll 
administrators to carry out this section.
(c) Payroll Administrator Defined.--In this section, the ``payroll 
administrator'' of a House of Congress means--
(1) in the case of the House of Representatives, the Chief 
Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, or an 
employee of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer who 
is designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to carry out 
this section; and
(2) in the case of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate, 
or an employee of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate who 
is designated by the Secretary to carry out this section.
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to days 
occurring during the One Hundred Twentieth Congress and each succeeding 
Congress.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

For purposes of this Act, a Government shutdown shall be considered 
to be in effect if there is a lapse in appropriations for any Federal 
agency or department as a result of a failure to enact a regular 
appropriations bill or continuing resolution.

SEC. 4. MEMBER OF CONGRESS DEFINED.

In this Act, the term ``Member of Congress'' means an individual 
serving in a position under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 
601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4501).
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