If Vermont Senator Peter Welch and his colleagues have their way, Clarence Thomas might be sleeping in a pup tent.
That may be the most he can afford if a new Senate bill succeeds in limiting gifts to Supreme Court Justices to $50 in value.
Here are the details.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) led Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) in introducing the High Court Gift Ban Act, legislation that would ban Supreme Court Justices from receiving gifts valued at over $50 and help strengthen ethical standards of the Supreme Court. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08) introduced companion legislation in the House.
Under current law, Supreme Court justices are not held to the same restrictions on accepting gifts that apply to Members of Congress, federal judges, and other federal officials. Recent analysis by Fix the Court estimates that in the last two decades, Supreme Court justices have accepted hundreds of gifts valued at nearly $5 million.
“For years, conservative Supreme Court Justices have accepted expensive gifts and travel from their friends who have business before the Court. It's unethical, and it’s 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—and it’s high time they are,” said Senator Welch. “I'm proud to partner with Senator Luján on this bill to increase accountability and restore public trust in our nation's most powerful court.”
Specifically, the High Court Gift Ban Act will:
Ban justices (Supreme Court and all 2,300 lower court judges) from receiving gifts valued at more than $50 in a single instance or more than $100 in aggregate in a year;
Cap gifts of personal hospitality, which are currently unregulated, at a value equal to the tax threshold for personal gifts, currently about $18,000;
Contain exemptions in line with those for Members of Congress;
Enforce prohibitions by requiring referrals to the Attorney General for investigation;
Align civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance with the government-wide financial disclosure law, the Ethics in Government Act: Up to $50,000 for civil violations; Fines and up to one year in prison for criminal penalties.
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