OutSpent
Series 3: The Fine Print

Commemorative Series No. 3 · The Fine Print

OUTSPENTNo. 55/74
Conrad Burns
Conrad
Burns
U.S. Senate · R-MT
VOTED YES★ BOUGHT & PAID FOR ★THE FINE PRINT · 2005$S.256
Taken from the card industry
$16,100
S.256 · the bankruptcy bill · 2005tap to flip ⤺
★ BOUGHT & PAID FOR ★THE FINE PRINT · 2005$S.256
WHO THEY WORK FORNo. 55/74
Card-Issuing Banks$13,350
Am. Bankers Assn.CitigroupWells Fargo
Credit Cards$2,750
DiscoverAmerican Express
Made it harder to clear credit-card debt in bankruptcy. Filings got ~38% costlier; insolvency didn't fall. · 109-1-44OUTSPENT

Card 55 of 74 · tap the card to see who they work for

Beyond the check

The check is only the part you can see.

They took
$16,100
The industry spent on the bill
$100M+

on an eight-year industry push to pass the bankruptcy bill

After office

We checked the public record. No industry job, board seat, or gift after this vote.

Sometimes the vote really is free.

The industry figure is lobbying spent on the bill, not a payment to this senator. Source: contemporary reporting (NBER; PBS Frontline). Everything here is documented public record; nothing alleges an illegal act.

★ Hall of Shame

Burns voted with the money in more than one set:

Don't recognize a logo? Here's the key.
Card-Issuing Banks$13,350
  • Am. Bankers Assn.$7,500
  • Citigroup$4,100
  • Wells Fargo$1,750
Credit Cards$2,750
  • Discover$2,000
  • American Express$750
SessionsEnzi

Is one of them yours?

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