Baldwin, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Repeal Law that Lets Senators Pocket $500,000 for Being Lawfully Investigated

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and her colleagues introduced the Anti-Cash Grab Act, legislation that will repeal a provision — quietly added into the Senate government funding bill by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) at the last minute — that allows senators to collect $500,000 for every phone record lawfully obtained. Senator Baldwin voted against the government funding bill that contained this measure.

“While 22 million Americans are being told there’s no money to stop their skyrocketing premiums, Republicans greenlit a taxpayer-funded payday for themselves,” said Senator Baldwin. “Americans believe no one is above the law, and if you are part of an attempt to overturn a fair and free election, you should be investigated – not paid $500,000. I voted against the bill that had this tucked in, and we need to repeal this self-dealing law as soon as possible.”

The Anti-Cash Grab Act would undo the unprecedented attempt by Senate Republicans to line their own pockets at the expense of American taxpayers. This bill would strike a provision, buried deep within the 394-page Republican government funding bill, that allows certain Republican Senators to collect $500,000 for each instance in which their phone records were lawfully acquired in accordance with due process requirements at the time of lawful investigations.

The provision was put in the bill after it was revealed that, in the FBI’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, eight Senators had their phone records lawfully analyzed due to their part in the President’s scheme.

The Anti-Cash Grab Act is led by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and co-sponsored by Senator Baldwin and 25 of their colleagues.

A one-page summary of the bill is here. The full text of the bill is here. 

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