Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is introducing legislation to block federal bureaucrats from accepting cash prizes. This move comes after Hawley accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of exploiting loopholes in federal laws to receive over $1 million in cash prizes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hawley’s Bill

Hawley’s bill, dubbed the No Cash Prizes for Bureaucrats Act, would close the loopholes that allowed Fauci to receive the cash prizes. The bill would block federal employees from receiving rewards for medicine and research, as well as block employees from soliciting such rewards.

Hawley cited public records showing that Fauci, while director of the National Institutes of Health, used employees to solicit at least eight cash awards for himself, with one award check alone totaling $900,000. Hawley accused Fauci of using federal employees to help obtain the awards, including the Dan David Award, which carried a $900,000 cash prize.

Fauci’s Response

Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times during a Wednesday hearing with the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, refusing to answer Hawley’s questions about the cash prizes. Hawley pointed to internal emails from Fauci’s staff, including one from former chief of staff Greg Folkers discussing a nomination for the Dan David Prize.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.