January 22nd, 2026House Passes Heinrich, Kelly Legislation to Repeal Cash Grabs for Senators

WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) released the following statements applauding House passage of legislation that mirrors Senate legislation theyauthoredto repeal the ‘Arctic Frost’ provision, which allows Republican senators to collect $500,000 for every phone record that was previously, lawfully obtained.
“I’m pleased the House unanimously passed this legislation to repeal a last-minute provision that lets a few Republican senators collect hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money for legally obtained phone records. This is a wrong-headed cash grab, and the Senate needs to end it next week,”said Heinrich.
“This Republican-led effort was a blatant cash grab that never should have become law in the first place. I’m glad the House moved quickly to repeal it and put a stop to politicians lining their own pockets at the taxpayers’ expense,”said Kelly. “Arizona families are facing a serious cost-of-living crisis, and their elected officials should be focused on helping them, not taking a payout for themselves.”
Heinrich and Kelly are the authors of theAnti-Cash Grab Act, legislation that will repeal U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) ‘Arctic Frost’ provision, which allows Republican senators to collect $500,000 for every phone record that was previously, lawfully obtained.
Last week, Heinrichfiled an amendmentin Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) appropriations legislation to repeal the ‘Arctic Frost’ provision.
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