Braun's First Bill: Bipartisan Effort To Not Pay Congress During Shutdowns

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced his first bill Tuesday after being sworn in for his first term last week.

The "No Budget, No Pay" bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), would prevent members of Congress from receiving pay during a government shutdown.

Braun spoke about the bill on Fox News, saying no one should get paid for not doing their job.

"If you don't have a budget in place by the end of the fiscal year, beginning of the new one, no one in [Congress] gets a pay check," Braun said on Fox. "It's not like that's a hard bar to adhere to. You've got a year to work on it, and that should be plenty of time to get a budget out in regular order."

"I'm a Main Street entrepreneur, and if you ran your budget in a business like Congress does with the federal government's, you'd be out of a job quickly."
https://t.co/cTGz2bVts7

— Senator Mike Braun (@SenatorBraun) January 8, 2019

Braun supports President Donald Trump's request for $5.7 billion for a wall along the southern border. Dispute over the wall has resulted in the current partial government shutdown.

According to CNN, more than 60 members of Congress have announced they'll forego pay during the shutdown, including Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) and Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Braun has also signed onto a resolution from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would impose term limits on members of Congress.

During his first term, Braun will serve on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Judiciary Committee.

Braun unseated Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) in November after a contentious race that drew national attention.