🇺🇸 SIGN THE PETITION: Support the Leaders Eat Last Act 🇺🇸

We're $35 TRILLION in debt. We pay nearly $1 TRILLION annually just in INTEREST. That's YOUR money vanishing into thin air while Congress keeps their paychecks flowing during shutdowns they create.

The Leaders Eat Last Act is proposed legislation that would fundamentally change how Congress operates during budget failures. Here's exactly what it does:

ZERO CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING UNTIL BUDGET IS BALANCED:

When Congress fails to pass a balanced budget by the deadline, every single congressional operational expense gets cut to $0. And I mean EVERYTHING:

• Member salaries: $0 • Staff salaries: $0
• Travel reimbursements: $0 • Hotel accommodations: $0 • Drivers and transportation: $0 • Security details: $0 • Parking passes: $0 • Office supplies: Pay out of pocket at Office Max • Coffee and refreshments: Buy it yourself • Printing and copying: On your own dime • Committee operations: $0 • Per diems: $0 • Any and all operational expenses: $0

THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCE:

Unlike current shutdowns where Congress keeps getting paid while everyone else suffers, this Act ensures essential government services CONTINUE while Congress gets NOTHING. That means:

✅ Active-duty military gets paid WITHOUT interruption (they work regardless, so they get paid regardless) ✅ Social Security checks keep going out ✅ Medicare and Medicaid continue ✅ Veterans' benefits don't stop ✅ National defense stays funded ✅ Essential public safety continues

BUT:

❌ Federal employees who are furloughed (sent home, not working) do NOT get paid during the shutdown ❌ No retroactive pay for furloughed employees once government reopens ❌ Furloughed employees keep their benefits (health insurance, retirement contributions) but not their paychecks

THE ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM:

Congressional funding is INCLUDED in the balanced budget requirement. This means they can't just balance the budget for everyone else and then pay themselves. Their salaries, their staff, their operations—all of it is part of the equation.

If they overspend? It comes out of the Congressional budget for the next cycle. If the budget falls out of balance at ANY point during the fiscal year, congressional funding freezes IMMEDIATELY and staff budgets get cut by 20% until balance is restored.

No back pay for Congress. You don't work, you don't get paid. You don't balance the budget, you don't get paid. Period.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

Every working American understands this: If you don't do your job, you don't get paid. If you can't manage your household budget, you don't get to go on vacation or buy luxuries. You make do until the books are balanced.

Congress has failed to pass a balanced budget for YEARS. They've added TRILLIONS to our national debt. We now pay almost $1 TRILLION annually just servicing that debt—money that could go to infrastructure, veterans, education, or back in taxpayers' pockets.

Meanwhile, during shutdowns THEY create through their failure to do their jobs, they keep getting paid while military families worry about making rent and federal workers get furloughed.

THE MARINE CORPS PRINCIPLE:

This Act is based on the military leadership principle "Leaders Eat Last." In the Marines, officers literally eat AFTER their troops. The philosophy is simple: "As a leader, I will not be seen eating when my soldiers starve. I serve them."

Congress should operate the same way. They serve US. They should feel the consequences of their failures FIRST and MOST, not last and least.

ADDITIONAL PROVISION - CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY COURT:

This Act also establishes that Congress operates under a military-style justice system (similar to UCMJ) with the same accountability standards. This applies to both current AND former congressional personnel, ensuring that the same standards of conduct and consequences that apply to our military apply to our legislative leaders.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

If Congress can't balance the budget, they work for free. They want their paychecks back? BALANCE THE BUDGET. They want their staff paid? BALANCE THE BUDGET. They want to travel on taxpayer dime? BALANCE THE BUDGET.

It's that simple.

This isn't about punishment. It's about aligning incentives. Right now, Congress has zero personal consequences for fiscal irresponsibility. This Act creates consequences. It forces them to prioritize the nation's financial health over their own comfort.

Every household in America has to balance their budget or face consequences. Why should Congress be any different?

Sign the petition. Share this message. Demand that Congress pass the Leaders Eat Last Act.

It's time our leaders learned what every working American already knows: If you can't balance your budget, you don't get luxuries. You get NOTHING until the job is done.