In a statement provided exclusively to The Daily Caller, erstwhile Republican presidential candidate and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman lauded the House Republicans’ announcement that they would vote on a bill tying the salaries of members of Congress to passing a budget.
House Republican leadership announced earlier Friday at their retreat in Williamsburg, Va. that the House would vote next week to raise the debt ceiling for three months, in a bill that would also contain a provision that if Congress did not pass a budget, members would not get paid. (RELATED: House GOP raises stakes in budget battle)
The goal is to force the Senate to pass a concrete budget — something that has not happened for the past three years.
“In adopting ‘No Budget No Pay’ the House Republicans have taken a great step towards starting to hold politicians accountable for their unwilling to make decisions,” Huntsman said of the plan. “Every American develops a budget they have to live within, and it’s time for our politicians to do the same or find other employment. Incentives matter. Adding a cost to kicking the can down the road is a terrific first step towards a more functional Washington.”
Huntsman recently signed on as a national leader of No Labels, a group focused on finding bipartisan solutions to push through Washington gridlock. The group is taking credit for the proposal, saying it pushed the idea in December 2011 through Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee and Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, who introduced it in their respective chambers of commerce.
“The House GOP leadership has evidently decided to endorse the No Budget, No Pay concept,” said No Labels Co-Founder and former Comptroller General Dave Walker in a statement. “This is a major step forward to helping ensure that the Congress passes a budget and is held accountable if it fails to do so.”
No Labels currently has a petition up on its website urging Congress to pass the bill.