Congress’ ability to raise (or lower) its own salary is circumscribed by the checks and balances of the normal legislative process. Thus, the President could veto a bill changing Members’ salaries if he thought it inappropriate. A change in salary must be done via a bill or joint resolution, both of which are presented to the President for a signature. Nor could the two chambers together adopt a concurrent resolution, which does not go to the President for a signature. It also means that either the House or Senate could not change its salary via a simple resolution, which does not go to either the other chamber or the President for approval. Article I, Section 6 states, “The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.” Three points are worth highlighting here.įirst, the clause requires that pay be “ascertained by Law.” This means Congress must set its own pay. The congressional compensation clause in the Constitution, as adopted at the Convention, does not have quite the same provisions as those for the Executive and Judicial Branches. Similarly, Article III, Section 1, states that Federal judges are entitled to a salary, which may not be decreased while in office (though increases are not prohibited). To that end, Article II, Section 1, states that the President’s salary may not increase or decrease during his term, nor may the Federal or state governments provide other compensation. Thus, the Framers sought to prevent such abuses of power. Delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention understood that a person’s livelihood could be used to control and corrupt them. Pay for officers of the United States is a constitutional issue. Finally, citizens have the ultimate say-so at the ballot box. The Constitution includes checks on Congress’ power. Since Congress controls the country’s purse strings and can pass spending bills, it has the most direct control over Member salaries. Using Search Terms and Filters on Congress.For more information on congressional pay and benefit, also see “How Much Do Members of Congress Get Paid?” and “Busting Congressional Myths.”.About Senate Executive and Other Communications.About Committees and Committee Materials.Creating and Using Email Alerts (Video).Diagram of the Legislative ProcessĮn Español: Descripción General del Proceso Legislativo | JPG | PDF Related In both chambers, party leaders keep their membership informed of the anticipated floor schedule using various methods – like periodic whip notices or other frequent communications. (When the leader refrains from making such a request because he has been informed that a Senator would object, it is often said that a Senator has placed a hold on the bill.) If no one objects to such a request when it is made, then the Senate can immediately begin consideration of the bill in question. Â Alternatively, the majority leader can ask unanimous consent that the Senate take up a certain bill. If it eventually agrees to the motion by a majority vote, the Senate can then begin consideration of the bill. Once a Senator – typically the majority leader – makes such a motion that the Senate proceed to a certain bill, the Senate can then normally debate the motion to proceed. One way the Senate can take up a bill is by agreeing to a motion to proceed to it. In the Senate, majority party leadership does not use the same set of rules as the House to bring bills to the floor. These different mechanisms by which the majority party proposes floor consideration of a bill are discussed in more detail in the next section. Alternatively, leadership may ask the Rules Committee to start the process of bringing a specific bill to the floor for more lengthy consideration and possible amendments. For example, after consulting with committee leaders, majority party leadership may decide to schedule a bill for expedited floor consideration. In the House, majority party leadership decides which bills the House will consider, and in what order. It is also possible, although less common, for a bill to come directly to the floor without being reported and placed on a calendar. Many will never be brought up on the floor during the course of a two-year Congress. These calendars are essentially a list of bills eligible for floor consideration however, the bills on the calendars are not guaranteed floor consideration. Once a committee has reported a bill, it is placed on one of the respective chamber’s calendars.
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