H.R. 209 119th Congress House

Inaction Has Consequences Act

Official title: To hold the salaries of Members of a House of Congress in escrow if the House of Congress does not pass regular appropriation bills on a timely basis during a Congress, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 3, 2025 Introduced by: Robert J. Wittman Republican · Virginia See on congress.gov

Economics and Public Finance AppropriationsBudget processExecutive agency funding and structureGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel management

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Legislative rules and procedureMembers of Congress

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Jan 3, 2025

Introduced in House

Jan 3, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

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What's happening now January 3, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Inaction Has Consequences Act

This bill withholds the salaries of Members of a chamber of Congress that has not passed each of the annual appropriations bills before the beginning of the fiscal year, beginning with FY2026. Salaries are released on the earlier of (1) the date on which the chamber of Congress passes the bills, or (2) the last day of the Congress.

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 1

Committee on House Administration
House of Representatives

Cosponsors 2

Kiggans, Jennifer A.

Virginia · Nov 19, 2025

Onder, Robert F.

Missouri · Oct 8, 2025

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APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 209: Inaction Has Consequences Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-209/

MLA

"H.R. 209: Inaction Has Consequences Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-209/.

Bluebook (legal)

H.R. 209, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-209/.

Markdown link

[H.R. 209: Inaction Has Consequences Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-209/)