Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) is teaming up with some of his Democratic colleagues to try to reform Congress.
Partisan bickering has kept the two parties from agreeing to a budget for the past three years. Rigell wants to change that by tying lawmakers' salaries to their ability to pass a budget. The "No Budget, No Pay Act" would cut off lawmakers' salaries if they can't agree to a budget by Oct. 1 of each year.
Speaking in front of the Capitol this week, Rigell bemoaned the gridlock in D.C.
"This beautiful institution behind us is truly dysfunctional," Rigell said. "Though it has the appearance of beauty on the outside, inside it s not working."
Rigell and a bipartisan group of nine of his colleagues formed the Fix Congress Now Caucus. In addition to trying to get a budget passed annually, the group is attempting to bring more comity to Washington, he said.
"We do need to kind of … slug it out, in the best sense of the phrase," Rigell said. "But we do that in a respectful, civil way, and that is not the case here so often. And we want to change that."
Rigell seems to have an uphill battle convincing the rest of his state's delegation to tie their salaries to their performance though. So far, the only other Virginian to sign onto the effort is Republican Rep. Robert Hurt.
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