U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., continues to call for stopping congressional pay raises until the federal government has a balanced budget, as he testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee last week.
Buchanan, who sits on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, showcased his proposal, which he brought out in January, to ban congressional pay raises until there’s a balanced budget.
When he testified before the committee, Buchanan highlighted his proposal stopping congressional pay raises until the budget is balanced.
“Our national debt is on an unsustainable path,” Buchanan said. “We are clearly bankrupting our children and grandchildren. I have no confidence in this Congress – Republicans and Democrats – to do anything on this issue short of a balanced budget amendment.”
Over the last decade, Buchanan has been one of the leaders in Congress in pushing for adding a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. At the start of this year, Buchanan introduced his latest proposed amendment requiring the federal government to have a balanced budget.
Buchanan’s “No Pay Raise for Congress Act” hasn’t gained much momentum since he brought it out towards the end of January. At that time, Buchanan’s bill was sent to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform and the U.S. House Administration Committees. Neither committee has acted on the bill over the past six months. There is one co-sponsor of the bill: U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ill., who is the vice chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee.
Also in January, Buchanan unveiled his proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution which was sent to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
First elected to Congress in 2006, Buchanan was in business and chaired the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He also sat on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before entering politics.
