Heinrich’s Repeal of the ‘Arctic Frost’ Provision Signed into Law

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after his legislation to repeal the 'Arctic Frost' provision was signed into law today.

The 'Arctic Frost' provision, which was passed within the FY26 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill over Heinrich's objections, allowed a few specific Republican senators to collect $500,000 for every phone record that was previously, lawfully obtained.

"Included in the legislation signed into law today was my bill to repeal the 'Arctic Frost' provision, which would have let a few Republican senators collect hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money for legally obtained phone records. Getting this done is a win for taxpayers and a rejection of an ill-conceived cash grab that would have taken money away from public safety and used it to line politician's pockets."

This follows legislation Heinrich and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) introduced last November, the Anti-Cash Grab Act, to repeal the 'Arctic Frost' provision, which Heinrich attempted to pass by unanimous consent in November and byamendment in January.

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