(a)
Definitions— In this section—
(1)
the term balanced budget means a concurrent resolution on the budget which provides that for fiscal year 2031, and each fiscal year thereafter to which the concurrent resolution on the budget applies—
(A)
total outlays do not exceed total receipts; and
(B)
total outlays are not more than 18 percent of the projected gross domestic product of the United States (as determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce) for such fiscal year;
(2)
the term Director means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and
(3)
the term Member includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Congress.
(b)
Determination by the Office of Management and Budget— Upon adoption by a House of Congress of a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year, the Director shall—
(1)
determine whether the concurrent resolution on the budget is a balanced budget; and
(2)
submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President pro tempore of the Senate (as the case may be) a certification as to whether or not that House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget.
(c)
Rule for fiscal years 2022 and 2023—
(1)
Fiscal year 2022—
(A)
Holding salaries in escrow— If the Director does not certify that a House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2022 before April 16, 2021, during the period described in subparagraph (B) the payroll administrator of that House of Congress shall deposit in an escrow account all payments otherwise required to be made during such period for the compensation of Members of Congress who serve in that House of Congress, and shall release such payments to such Members only upon the expiration of such period.
(B)
Period described— With respect to a House of Congress, the period described in this subparagraph is the period that begins on April 16, 2021, and ends on the earlier of—
(i)
the date on which the Director certifies that the House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2022; or
(ii)
the last day of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.
(2)
Fiscal year 2023—
(A)
Holding salaries in escrow— If the Director does not certify that a House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2023 before April 16, 2022, during the period described in subparagraph (B) the payroll administrator of that House of Congress shall deposit in an escrow account all payments otherwise required to be made during such period for the compensation of Members of Congress who serve in that House of Congress, and shall release such payments to such Members only upon the expiration of such period.
(B)
Period described— With respect to a House of Congress, the period described in this subparagraph is the period that begins on April 16, 2022, and ends on the earlier of—
(i)
the date on which the Director certifies that the House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2023; or
(ii)
the last day of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.
(3)
Withholding and remittance of amounts from payments held in escrow— The payroll administrator shall provide for the same withholding and remittance with respect to a payment deposited in an escrow account under paragraph (1) or (2) that would apply to the payment if the payment were not subject to paragraph (1) or (2).
(4)
Release of amounts at end of the Congress— In order to ensure that this subsection is carried out in a manner that shall not vary the compensation of Senators or Representatives in violation of the twenty-seventh amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the payroll administrator of a House of Congress shall release for payments to Members of that House of Congress any amounts remaining in any escrow account under this section on the last day of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.
(5)
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 subsection.
(6)
Payroll administrator defined— In this subsection, the payroll administrator of a House of Congress means—
(A)
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
(B)
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)
Rule for fiscal year 2024 and subsequent fiscal years— If the Director does not certify that a House of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to fiscal year 2024, or any fiscal year thereafter, before April 16 of the fiscal year before such fiscal year, during pay periods which occur in the same calendar year after that date each Member of that House shall be paid at an annual rate of pay equal to $1.