{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-lujan-schiff-raskin-ocasio-cortez-introduce-bicameral-legislation-imposing-gift-ban-on-supreme-court-justices/", "Welch, Luj\u00e1n, Schiff, Raskin, Ocasio-Cortez Introduce Bicameral Legislation Imposing Gift Ban on Supreme Court Justices", "2026-07-17", "2026", "2026-07", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "Legislation cracks down on lavish gifts to Supreme Court Justices with $50 limit aligning ethics rules with Congress, other judges, and federal officials\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, this week joined U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in introducing the High Court Gift Ban Act, legislation to close a glaring ethics loophole that allows U.S. Supreme Court Justices to accept lavish gifts from wealthy benefactors and individuals with interests before the Court. U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) introduced companion legislation in the House.\n\n\u201cFor years, conservative Supreme Court Justices have accepted expensive gifts and travel from their friends who have business before the Court. It\u2019s unethical, and it\u2019s why public trust in the Court has eroded. Those serving on the Supreme Court should be held to the same ethical standards as every other federal judge\u2014and it\u2019s high time they are,\u201d said Senator Welch. \u201cI\u2019m proud to partner with Senators Luj\u00e1n and Schiff on this bill to increase accountability and restore public trust in our nation\u2019s most powerful court.\u201d\n\n\u201cOver the past several years, we\u2019ve seen far too many reports detailing how lavish gifts and luxury travel have undermined public confidence in the Supreme Court,\u201d said Senator Luj\u00e1n. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to partner with colleagues to introduce the High Court Gift Ban Act, which would hold Supreme Court justices to the same ethical standards as other high-ranking federal officials. The Supreme Court \u2014 our nation\u2019s highest and most powerful court \u2014 should be held to the highest ethical standards to protect our democracy from the influence of dark money and special interests.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Supreme Court has lost the trust of the American people, and Justices accepting lavish gifts from wealthy individuals with business before the court has only made matters worse. We need to put an end to these egregious conflicts of interest and can start by establishing basic ethical standards for the Justices,\u201d said Senator Schiff.\n\n\u201cIn every other part of the federal government, taking lavish gifts from interested parties is called corruption\u2014but at the Supreme Court, it\u2019s bizarrely been treated as a job perk. A gaping ethics loophole has allowed Justices to accept lavish gifts from individuals who may have business before the Court, which totally undermines public confidence in judicial fairness and independence. Our bill closes this indefensible loophole by saying that Supreme Court Justices should follow the same basic gift rules as every other federal official and their fellow judges. Americans shouldn\u2019t have to wonder whether wealthy litigants and interested parties are influencing Supreme Court decisions with trips to luxury resorts, flights on private jets, and cruises on luxury yachts,\u201d said Ranking Member Raskin.\n\n\u201cThe Supreme Court is facing a major corruption crisis. As it stands, Supreme Court Justices are legally allowed to accept gifts from wealthy benefactors and people with special interests before the Court, actively furthering the distrust between working-class Americans and our legal institutions. That is why I am proud to introduce the High Court Gift Ban Act, alongside Congressman Jamie Raskin and Senator Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n, to remove the influence of dark money from our nation\u2019s highest judicial body. We must pass this commonsense proposal to safeguard the sanctity of our legal institutions and democracy,\u201d said Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.\n\nUnlike other federal judges, Members of Congress, and executive branch officials\u2014who are all bound by strict gift rules\u2014Supreme Court Justices are not currently bound by any limits on the value of the gifts they can accept. Investigative reporting has shown that some Justices have exploited this loophole, taking in lavish \u201cgifts\u201d from wealthy benefactors and political allies worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.\n\nThe scale of these undisclosed perks is staggering. One analysis found that Justices have accepted at least 445 gifts worth nearly $5 million over the past two decades. Reports have detailed that Justice Clarence Thomas alone received more than $4.2 million in luxury travel and other benefits from wealthy individuals with interests before the Court, including trips to Bali, stays at exclusive private retreats, and even a forgiven loan to purchase a luxury motor coach.\n\nThe High Court Gift Ban Act would block Justices from receiving gifts valued at more than $50 in a single instance or more than $100 in aggregate over the course of a year. It would also cap gifts of personal hospitality, like free trips on billionaire\u2019s yachts and private jets, which are currently unregulated. This brings the Supreme Court in line with similar ethical standards applying to Members of Congress and other federal officials.\n\nThe High Court Gift Ban Act is endorsed by leading advocacy organizations, including: AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers, Alliance for Justice, American Humanist Association, Center for American Progress, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Clean Elections Texas, Courage California, Court Accountability, Courts Matter Illinois, EarthJustice, Enough of Gun Violence, Equality California, FFRF Action Fund, Fix the Court, Free Speech for People, Government Information Watch, Greenpeace USA, Indivisible, Leage of Conservation Voters, MoveOn, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Women\u2019s Law Center, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Ohio Fair Courts Alliance, People for the American Way, People Power United, Public Citizen, Reproductive Freedom for All, Secular Coalition for America, Secure Elections Network, Stand Up America, Supreme Court Integrity Project, Take Back the Court Action Fund, True North Research, Voices for Progress, and The Workers Circle.\n\nRead and download the full text of the bill.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-18T06:58:50Z", "2026-07-18T07:00:34Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-lujan-schiff-raskin-ocasio-cortez-introduce-bicameral-legislation-imposing-gift-ban-on-supreme-court-justices/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 6.069029914215207, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}