OutSpent
Series 3: The Fine Print

Commemorative Series No. 3 · The Fine Print

OUTSPENTNo. 10/74
Joseph Biden
Joseph
Biden
U.S. Senate · D-DE
VOTED YES★ BOUGHT & PAID FOR ★THE FINE PRINT · 2005$S.256
Taken from the card industry
$148,165
S.256 · the bankruptcy bill · 2005tap to flip ⤺
★ BOUGHT & PAID FOR ★THE FINE PRINT · 2005$S.256
WHO THEY WORK FORNo. 10/74
Credit Cards$132,625
MBNAMastercardVisaAmerican ExpressDiscover
Card-Issuing Banks$15,540
CitigroupBank of AmericaJPMorgan
Made it harder to clear credit-card debt in bankruptcy. Filings got ~38% costlier; insolvency didn't fall. · 109-1-44OUTSPENT

Card 10 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
$148,165
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.

Across the sets

Biden also appears in:

Don't recognize a logo? Here's the key.
Credit Cards$132,625
  • MBNA$128,125
  • Mastercard$2,000
  • Visa$1,000
  • American Express$1,000
  • Discover$500
Card-Issuing Banks$15,540
  • Citigroup$8,150
  • Bank of America$6,440
  • JPMorgan$950
BurrGraham

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