WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. House passed Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) legislation, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, by a 211-197 vote.
Due to the Biden Administration’s decision to finalize a rule that revives the Obama-era policy of directing corporate settlement funds to third-party organizations, Coach Tuberville and U.S. Representative Lance Gooden (R-TX) reintroduced their Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act in February 2023. The bill would prohibit the Department of Justice (DOJ) from allowing defendants to enter quid-pro-quo agreements that entail donations to left-wing entities in exchange for reduced fines and tax deductions. This legislation ensures settlement funds go only to the victims, injured parties in the dispute, or the Treasury.
“I’m glad to see my colleagues in the House vote to curb corruption at the DOJ,” Coach Tuberville said. “The practice of funneling settlement dollars to political activists is an unacceptable abuse of the system. If money is owed following a settlement agreement, every cent of that payout should go to those directly impacted by the defendants, or back to the Treasury. Public servants should not be allowed to use their influence to line the pockets of individuals who share the political views of the current administration.”
In July 2022, Senator Tuberville and Representative Gooden led a bicameral letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland stating opposition to the DOJ’s return to the Obama-era practice of directing legal settlements to partisan, non-victim organizations. The letter was signed by dozens of members of Congress.
Original cosponsors in the U.S. Senate include Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Rick Scott (R-FL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Ted Budd (R-NC).
Original cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives include Representatives Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Tom Tiffany (R-WI), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Scott Perry (R-PA), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Randy Weber (R-TX), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Gary Palmer (R-AL), and Ben Cline (R-VA).
BACKGROUND:
The Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act would prohibit settling parties in a federal dispute from reducing their punishments by making “donations” to outside organizations. This bill would end the executive overreach of picking special interest groups to benefit from a settlement. For example, under President Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ), settling parties were forced to pay a portion of their settlement obligations, under the guise of “donations,” to outside groups of the Department’s choosing that overwhelmingly pushed a partisan agenda. This practice turned federal settlements into liberal slush funds. President Trump’s Department of Justice explicitly halted this policy, but without legislative action, the Biden DOJ is expected to finalize a rule that allows the practice to continue in order to bolster a progressive policy agenda.
The Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act is endorsed by the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, FreedomWorks, and Americans for Prosperity.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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