[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4299 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4299
To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit Presidents and Vice
Presidents from receiving damages payments from the United States, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 15 (legislative day, April 14), 2026
Ms. Warren (for herself and Mr. Schumer) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit Presidents and Vice
Presidents from receiving damages payments from the United States, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer
Funds Act''.
SEC. 2. SETTLEMENT PAYMENTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 161 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2417. Rules for payments to current and former Presidents and
Vice Presidents
``(a) Definitions.--In this section, the term `covered individual'
means--
``(1) the President;
``(2) the Vice President;
``(3) a former President if the former Vice President of
the former President is President;
``(4) the spouse or dependent child of an individual
described in paragraphs (1) through (3); and
``(5) a trust (or a trustee acting on behalf of a trust) or
any other legal vehicle or entity established, or serving, for
the benefit of, or owned or controlled by, an individual
described in paragraphs (1) through (4).
``(b) Ban on Covered Individuals Obtaining Settlement Payments From
the United States.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
covered individual may--
``(1) recover or agree to recover damages, reimbursement,
payment of attorney's fees, or any other payment, whether
monetary or in kind, from the United States related to any
administrative claim, civil action, or other claim against the
United States through a settlement agreement, consent decree,
administrative resolution of the claim, or similar arrangement;
or
``(2) direct any payment described in paragraph (1) to be
made to a third party.
``(c) Ban on Filing Administrative Claims Seeking Damages.--No
covered individual may file an administrative claim against the United
States seeking to recover damages, reimbursement, payment of attorney's
fees, or any other payment, whether monetary or in kind, from the
United States.
``(d) Administrative Processing and Making of Payments.--No
department or agency of the United States may administratively process
or fulfill a claim for damages, reimbursement, payment of attorney's
fees, or any other payment, whether monetary or in kind, filed by or on
behalf of a covered individual, through a settlement agreement, consent
decree, administrative resolution of the claim, or similar arrangement.
``(e) Guardrails for Lawsuits Seeking Damages.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, a court--
``(1) may not award any damages other than actual or
compensatory damages to a covered individual in a civil action
against the United States under any other provision of law; and
``(2) may award actual or compensatory damages to a covered
individual in a civil action against the United States under
any other provision of law only if--
``(A) the covered individual agrees to the court
appointment of an independent counsel, removable only
by the court for cause, to represent the agency
defending against the claim of the covered individual;
``(B) the court appoints an independent counsel
under subparagraph (A); and
``(C) subject to the continued supervision of the
court, any agency involved in the litigation cooperates
with the independent counsel appointed under
subparagraph (A), including by facilitating access to
documents and employees necessary to complete the work
of the independent counsel.
``(f) Transparency Requirement.--In any action brought under
subsection (e), the court shall make public and free of charge, via an
online, publicly accessible, and user-friendly method all filings and
proceedings in an action described in subsection (e), including through
making the audio of each session conducted by the court during the
proceedings available online contemporaneously with the session.
``(g) Guardrails for Former Covered Individuals.--After a President
or Vice President leaves office, that former President or Vice
President or other former covered individual described in paragraphs
(3) through (5) of subsection (a) may file an administrative claim or
suit against the United States and the United States may adjudicate or
settle such claim or suit, if--
``(1) the agency or department against which the claim or
suit is filed appoints an expert, career employee who can only
be removed for good cause to lead any review and adjudication
of the claim during any administrative or settlement process;
``(2) no executive branch employee or official appointed by
a covered individual participates in any capacity in reviewing,
litigating against, or adjudicating the claim or settlement;
``(3) for any agreement to make a payment from the United
States to a former covered individual, the terms of the
agreement are published in the Federal Register not later than
7 days after the date on which the agreement is entered;
``(4) for any payment from the United States to a former
covered individual, the amount, date, and form of payment is
published in the Federal Register not later than 7 days after
the date on which the payment is made; and
``(5) the agency or department against which the claim or
suit is filed submits to the appropriate congressional
committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives a
copy of--
``(A) the claim or suit prior to assessing the
claim or suit; and
``(B) any resulting approval or denial of the claim
or settlement concurrently with notification to the
claimant.
``(h) Penalties.--
``(1) In general.--A covered individual who willfully
violates subsection (b) or knowingly violates subsection (c)
shall be subject to disgorgement of the payment, civil
penalties of not more than the greater of $1,000,000 or an
amount that is equal to the aggregate amount of any payment or
payments, imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or any
combination thereof.
``(2) Officers and employees.--Any individual who willfully
causes a department of agency to violate subsection (d) shall
be subject to civil penalties of not more than $50,000,
imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
``(i) Limitations.--
``(1) Statute of limitations for enforcement of this act.--
No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished, or made
subject to civil monetary penalties, for a violation of this
section, unless the indictment is found or the information is
instituted within 10 years after such offense shall have been
committed.
``(2) Tolling of statute of limitations for underlying
claims.--The limitations period for any claim a covered
individual seeks to bring against the United States shall be
tolled during the period beginning on the date on which the
individual becomes a covered individual and ending on the day
after the date on which the term in office of the covered
individual expires.
``(j) Applicability.--This section shall apply to any request for,
processing of a request for, or recovery of damages, reimbursement,
payment of attorney's fees, or other payment, whether monetary or in
kind, occurring after the date of enactment of this section, regardless
of when the related claim or cause of action arose.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 161 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``2417. Rules for payments to current and former Presidents and Vice
Presidents.''.
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