# 119-hr-209: Inaction Has Consequences Act

119-hr-209, Inaction Has Consequences Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1] (R-VA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-209
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-209
- Congress: 119
- Title: Inaction Has Consequences Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-03
- Sponsor: Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1] (R-VA)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

This bill would create a system to temporarily **withhold Members' pay** when the House has not passed each annual regular appropriation bill by a set deadline. Withheld amounts would go into escrow and be released at the end of the Congress.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Onder, Robert F. [R-MO-3] (R-MO), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2] (R-VA), 2025-11-19T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Congress pay held if budgets late: cost, high. If enacted, starting in fiscal year 2026, pay for Members would go into escrow when their chamber has not passed all regular spending bills on the first day of the fiscal year. The escrow would end when that chamber passes all the bills or when that Congress ends. Taxes and other withholdings would…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-5509: Safe Step Act
- 119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act
- 119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-209 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/209)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-5509: Safe Step Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5509)
- [119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3277)
- [119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2853)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-209 (as of 2026-04-21).