Congress·In Committee·S. 4572

Ending Passenger Rail Forced Arbitration Act

Amtrak: Ending Forced Arbitration for Passengers

May 19·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A senate committee

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for review. It is considered active, but no further hearings or votes have been scheduled at this time. There is no companion bill currently associated with this legislation.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill faces a steep climb because similar efforts to limit arbitration usually lack the broad support needed to pass both chambers of Congress.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 5238 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
S. 5238 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill would stop Amtrak from putting forced arbitration clauses in its ticket contracts. These clauses currently prevent passengers from suing the company in a public court if they are injured or treated unfairly.
The rule would cover consumer disputes, like personal injury claims, and civil rights cases involving discrimination based on race, religion, or disability. This ensures passengers can have their day in court.
It also protects the right of passengers to join together in class-action lawsuits. Right now, Amtrak can often force people to settle their complaints one-on-one in private meetings rather than as a group.
The law would take effect immediately for any new legal claims that happen after it is signed. It would not change how Amtrak handles disputes with its employees, as those are covered by separate labor rules.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 19, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

May 19, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Ending Passenger Rail Forced Arbitration Act

Bill NumberS 4572

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(10)

D: 9I: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.