Across-the-board cuts, known as sequestration, are set to go into effect Friday. There are a number of reasons for how we got here, but one in particular defies logic: the Senate Majority hasn’t passed a budget in 1,400 days.

You know what happens when you go more than three and half years without a budget? You wake up to find you have added over $5 trillion to your already staggering amount of debt.

Year after year, we run trillion dollar deficits. Our national debt now sits at a jaw dropping 16.6 trillion dollars. Despite this, the Senate Majority still hasn’t put its spending plans on paper.

The average American family doesn’t have the luxury to spend in this type freewheeling manner. If you or I tried to run our household this way, the bank would cut us off.  However, there is no penalty when the Senate does it—until now.

Now, members of Congress will face consequences for failing to pass a budget. Included in the recent debt ceiling extension is a provision that withholds pay for members of Congress if a budget is not agreed upon. It’s a simple idea. If you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid.

With that law now on the books, the Senate Majority has a newfound appreciation for the budget process and promises to pass one this year. Given the way they have rejected the need for a budget over the past 1,400 days, we must remain committed to pushing them to follow through on that pledge. 

To keep the pressure on the Senate Majority, we have unveiled a new website that documents the importance of a budget and the costs to the country for failing to govern by one. Take a moment to visit the site’s “Action Center” in the bottom left hand corner to help spread the word.