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Nine years ago this week, after years of effort, something important happened.

A grassroots effort, led by the No Labels community, brought real bipartisan change to Washington with the signing into law of a simple idea called “No Budget, No Pay” – based on the simple idea that if Congress couldn’t do the basic act of passing a spending blueprint for the federal government, then members of the House and Senate would (literally) pay a price.

“No Budget, No Pay” became a rallying cry – of a simple call for accountability – and drew support from both parties.  Members of Congress could not receive their paychecks unless a formal budget was in place.

Thousands of folks from all over the country were energized by this powerful reform, both substantive and symbolic.  In some ways, that was the moment No Labels arrived as a political force, and we have capitalized on the momentum ever since.

The lessons from that successful effort are clear. The sensible voices calling for two-party solutions can make powerful change – if we seize on smart ideas, organize and energize our movement, develop allies on Capitol Hill in both parties who work together, and demand that Washington listen to us, not the extreme voices on both sides who elevate fighting over fixing.

As we assemble a comprehensive new agenda that can garner bipartisan support, the template of “No Budget, No Pay” is a great way to think about how commonsense ideas can turn into federal law and improve the real lives of real people.

Right now, Congress has in its hands the power to push through two-party solutions to a number of important challenges – safeguarding the Electoral College counting process, competing economically with China, addressing our supply chain troubles, and standing up together against Russian aggression.

To get you fired up to encourage these efforts, here’s a video we just made, which we would love you to watch and share with others.

Using tools we didn’t have nine years ago (including social media platforms that did not exist), we can band together and demand that members of Congress do the people’s business together, just as they did on infrastructure.

“No Budget, No Pay” didn’t revolutionize the country. It lasted only for a couple years, after which we have had more than a few occasions where Congress has not been able to get its act together and pass a budget.

But we demonstrated that we could bring the voices of the center to Washington, assemble a coalition, and get stuff done.  In the coming weeks and months, we will have more projects like this to tell you about – and we are going to need your voices to make it all happen.

Please retweet our video on Twitter, like it on Facebook or Instagram, and help us encourage the efforts of our bicameral, bipartisan allies.

Happy anniversary, NBNP!

All the best,

Margaret