Senate targets Obama budget director’s pay

The Senate late Friday backed withholding the White House budget director’s pay if the president is late delivering a budget.

{mosads}The budget amendment, which has no force of law, was sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas.). It was passed by voice vote.

The amendment would also withhold the pay of the deputy director and deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget. 

President Obama was supposed to deliver his budget by the first Monday of February under the law, but his 2014 budget is now slated to come out in April. 

Cornyn told the Senate that “the president has rendered himself entirely irrelevant,” in the budget process since the House and Senate will have acted first. 

He noted that after Congress enacted a “No Budget, No Pay” law this year, the Senate brought a budget to the floor for the first time in four years. 

No Democrats rose to defend Obama.

Obama has nominated Sylvia Burwell to take over has his budget director, a position that was vacated in 2012 when Jack Lew became Obama’s chief of staff. Lew is now the Treasury Secretary.

Acting Director Jeff Zients is expected to present Obama’s budget when it comes out April 8.