Senator Ruben Gallego

The 25 richest Americans paid pay an average tax rate of 3.4 percent. A teacher pays more than that. So does a waitress, a plumber, a nurse. Here’s how they pull it off, and here’s how my bill is going to stop it.

It’s a strategy called “Buy, borrow, die.” The ultra-rich don’t get a paycheck like you and I – a paycheck they’d have to pay taxes on – they get ‘paid’ in stocks. They don’t sell their stock, because selling means paying taxes. So, they borrow against it instead. Loans aren’t taxed income, so they pull millions, even billions, in cash. Tax free.

Their fortune keeps growing the whole time. When they die, they hand it all down to their heirs, and the tax bill on those gains disappears completely. Buy. Borrow. Die. Pay nothing.

Meanwhile you pay taxes on every paycheck. The money comes out before you even see it. One set of rules for working people. Another for the people who can afford lawyers to find the loopholes.

Today, I’m introducing the ROBINHOOD Act. When a billionaire borrows against their fortune to fund their lifestyle, we treat it as what it is. Cashing in. And we tax it the same as if they sold.

This only touches people with over $100 million in income or a billion in assets. Not you. Not small business owners. The very top. It’s a simple rule: if you use your wealth like cash, you pay taxes like the rest of us.

Vault: Gallego targets ‘buy, borrow, die’ tax maneuver Sen. Ruben Gallego will introduce a bill this week that’s aimed at cracking down on what Democrats call the “buy, borrow, die” approach to avoiding taxes.

Happy Pride Month, Arizona! Whoever you are, whoever you love, you belong here.

Yesterday, I toured the new Superhumans Center in Odesa. It gives Ukrainians wounded in Russia's war prosthetics, surgery, and rehabilitation, free of charge. I met people rebuilding their lives after losing limbs. American support helped make it possible. This is what standing with Ukraine looks like.

Closed out the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa tonight. Leaders from across the region gathered in a city Russia bombs almost every week.

The Black Sea is where Ukraine’s survival, NATO’s security, global food supply, and America’s interests meet. The U.S. should be leading here, not leaving the table.

Today I had the honor of walking through Odesa, a city living under the constant threat of Russian attack. From the Potemkin Steps, you look out over the Black Sea, the port, and what remains of the Hotel Odesa, struck by a Russian missile in 2023.

As a Marine who served in Iraq, I know what war does to a place and to the people who endure it. I came to see it for myself, and to stand with the people of Ukraine. In recent days, Russia has again launched deadly attacks on Ukraine, wounding civilians and reminding the world what Ukrainians faces every day. And still, Ukrainians endure. They rebuild. They fight for their country and their future.

Spent the morning in Madrid with the Real Instituto Elcano / Elcano Royal Institute , some of Spain’s sharpest foreign policy minds.

Spain is one of our oldest allies. Our troops train at their bases. And Trump wants to kick them out of NATO and pull U.S. troops out. That doesn’t make us stronger. It makes our enemies happier.

I served alongside allies like these. You don’t throw that away.

Arizona’s future depends on strong energy, defense, water, and tech partnerships.

That’s why I met with the American Chamber of Commerce in Spain to bring investment home, strengthen our defense supply chains, and make sure Arizona competes and wins.

Arizona and the Basque Country know how to build, from energy to advanced manufacturing to the talent that powers both.

Great meeting with President Imanol Pradales to strengthen ties, grow good jobs, and find new ways to work together.

This Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country. Their sacrifice made everything possible and we carry them with us every day.