U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) released the following statements applauding House passage of legislation that mirrors Senate legislation they authored to 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,” Heinrich said.

“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,” Kelly said. “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 the Anti-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, Heinrich filed an amendment in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) appropriations legislation to repeal the ‘Arctic Frost’ provision.