No Payola Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The No Payola Act repeals section 213 of title II of division C of Public Law 119-37 and the amendments that section made to section 10 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2005, codified at 2 U.S.C. 6628. The repealed section concerned Senate notification requirements tied to legal process for disclosures of Senate data and added a private right of action. The bill says the repealed section and amendments have no force or effect. It also creates a disgorgement rule: any Senator who, between enactment of Public Law 119-37 and enactment of this Act, is awarded funds under the repealed private right of action must pay the same amount into the Treasury general fund.
Who Benefits and How
Senate administrative and legal offices benefit because the repealed notification framework no longer applies to disclosures of Senate data. Entities responding to legal process for Senate data benefit from removal of the added statutory notification and liability structure. The Treasury general fund benefits if any Senator must disgorge funds awarded under the repealed private right of action. Public-integrity advocates benefit from the bill's bar on Senators retaining awards under the repealed cause of action.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Senators awarded funds under the repealed private right of action must pay an equal amount into the Treasury general fund. Potential plaintiffs lose the repealed private right of action and cannot rely on section 213 or its amendments. Senate counsel and administrative staff must treat the repealed provisions as having no force or effect. Treasury staff may need to receive and account for any required disgorgement payments.
Key Provisions
- Repeals section 213 of title II of division C of Public Law 119-37.
- Repeals and nullifies the amendments that section 213 made to 2 U.S.C. 6628.
- Requires any Senator awarded funds under the repealed private right of action during the interim period to pay an equal amount into the Treasury general fund.
- Provides that the repealed section and amendments have no force or effect.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Repeals a 2026 appropriations provision that created Senate legal-process notification and private-right-of-action rules for disclosures of Senate data, nullifies the amendments to 2 U.S.C. 6628, and requires any Senator who received an award under the repealed cause of action during the interim period to pay an equal amount into the Treasury general fund.
Key Policy Areas
Congressional Administration, Legal Process, Treasury
Primary Purpose
Repeals a 2026 appropriations provision that created Senate legal-process notification and private-right-of-action rules for disclosures of Senate data, nullifies the amendments to 2 U.S.C. 6628, and requires any Senator who received an award under the repealed cause of action during the interim period to pay an equal amount into the Treasury general fund.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Senate administrative offices
- Senate legal offices
- Entities responding to Senate-data legal process
- Treasury general fund
- Public-integrity advocates
Identified Costs
- Senators awarded funds under the repealed cause of action
- Potential private-right-of-action plaintiffs
- Senate counsel
- Treasury accounting staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Leger Fernandez (for herself, Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Neguse) …
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Senate administrative offices, Senators awarded funds under the repealed cause of action, Treasury general fund
Positive-direction: Senate administrative offices, Treasury general fund
Negative-direction: Senators awarded funds under the repealed cause of action
Entities responding to Senate data legal process
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology