{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center?ID=7AE6DD23-462F-44A3-843E-84119CF05D1A", "Rep. DesJarlais Joins Rep. Cooper on Legislation to Deny Congress's Pay for Failing to Pass a Budget on Time", "2012-01-23", "2012", "2012-01", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", "desjarlais", "https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) has signed onto a bill by Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) that would deny congressional pay if Congress fails to pass its budgeted appropriations bills on time. \u201cThe No Budget, No Pay Act\u201d would prohibit members from receiving pay after missing deadlines for budget and appropriations bills, and it would not allow for that pay to be recouped retroactively. Corresponding legislation has been introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Dean Heller (R-NV).\n\nToday marks the 1,000th day \u2013 almost three years \u2013 since the Senate has passed a budget.\n\n\u201cAny family or business owner in my district will tell you that the first step to financial success is creating a budget \u2013 the same holds true to running the federal government. It is simply impossible to get our nation\u2019s unsustainable spending under control without a long-term plan in place,\u201d said Representative DesJarlais. \u201cAs the first member of the Tennessee delegation to sign onto this bipartisan legislation, I look forward to working with Rep. Cooper to further this commonsense proposal and I applaud him for introducing a bill that puts people before politicians.\u201d\n\n\"Because America's credit rating is threatened, Congress cannot afford to be late paying its bills,\" said Rep. Cooper. \"Threatening to stop paying Congress is the surest way to make sure we beat the annual Oct. 1 deadline. Congress must get its work done, or get no paycheck.\"\n\n\"Year after year, Congress has failed to meet its basic budgeting responsibilities. If Nevadans don't complete the tasks their jobs require, then they don't get paid. Congress should be no different. If Congress does not do its job, then Congress should not get paid,\" Senator Heller said. \"I'm pleased to join Rep. Cooper and No Labels in this bipartisan effort to break political gridlock in Washington.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:10:31Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center?ID=7AE6DD23-462F-44A3-843E-84119CF05D1A"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7952600717544556, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}