The "no budget, no pay" idea is still a long shot, but it's actually getting an official hearing Wednesday from the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee as part of a package of congressional reform proposals from a centrist group called No Labels.

The idea is simple. If Congress doesn't pass a budget and all 12 of the accompanying spending bills setting annual agency budgets on time, every lawmaker's paycheck would get cut off. No exceptions.

"Congress has missed so many budget and appropriations deadlines over the years that no one takes these deadlines seriously," Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., said. "We often fund programs on a short-term basis, sometimes month-to-month or even week-to-week. Political standoffs have even led to complete government shutdowns. This is inexcusable. We no longer have 'one nation, under God, indivisible,' but 'one nation, yet again, interrupted.'"