Govwatch

Introduced

In Committee

3

Passed One Chamber

4

Passed Both

5

Signed into Law

Sponsor

Jamie Raskin

Democrat · MD · Representative

Votes with party: 98.5% (601 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/R000606

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (106)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-05-20

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

House Committee on the JudiciaryReferred To · 2026-05-20

Plain-English Summary

The federal government would be prohibited from using taxpayer money to pay settlements or awards in cases where the government admits wrongdoing or agrees to compromise with individuals or organizations suing it. This change would affect how federal agencies handle legal disputes and could limit the amount of money available for resolving claims against the government. The proposal is currently under review by the House Judiciary Committee.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Government Operations and Politics

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8914 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8914 To amend section 1304 of title 31, United States Code to restrict payments for compromise settlements or awards. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 20, 2026 Mr. Raskin (for himself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Olszewski, Ms. Balint, and Mr. Thanedar) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend section 1304 of title 31, United States Code to restrict payments for compromise settlements or awards. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``No Taxpayer-Funded Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON FEDERAL FUNDS IN CONNECTION WITH TRUMP, ET AL. V. IRS, ET AL. No Federal funds may be used to create or make payments to fund the compensation fund created by the settlement agreement entered into on May 18, 2026, in connection with the disposition of Trump, et al. v. IRS, et al., Civil Action No. 1:26-cv-20609-KMW, before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS FOR COMPROMISE SETTLEMENTS OR AWARDS. Section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(e) A compromise settlement or award may not be paid to-- ``(1) the President or Vice President; ``(2) the parent, spouse, child, or spouse of a child of the President or Vice President; ``(3) a presidentially-owned entity; ``(4) any member of the cabinet; ``(5) any individual who is employed by the Executive Office of the President who is paid at a rate of basic pay equivalent to or exceeding the GS-15 level; ``(6) a political appointee; and ``(7) an individual who served in a position described under paragraph (4), (5), or (6) during the period for which the President who appointed such individual is in Office, including any period after such individual leaves such a position. ``(f) A compromise settlement or award may not be paid with respect to a claim alleging harm resulting from an investigation, prosecution, or conviction for an offense related to-- ``(1) the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol; ``(2) interference in the 2016 presidential election by a foreign government; or ``(3) the same facts or circumstances as a civil action filed against the United States that was dismissed with prejudice. ``(g)(1) Not later than 30 days after the date on which a payment of more than $100,000 is made for a compromise settlement or award in accordance with this section, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the Chair and Ranking Members of the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the following: ``(A) The name of the plaintiff or awardee of such settlement or award. ``(B) The type of judgment for which the settlement or award was made. ``(C) The name of each attorney representing the plaintiff or awardee. ``(D) The name of each agency involved in the claim and the name of each official approving such settlement or award. ``(E) A brief description of the facts and circumstances that gave rise to the settlement or award and the authority authorizing such settlement or award. ``(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide notice to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of…

Show the remaining 566 words

the Senate prior to authorizing a payment for a compromise settlement or award in accordance with this section if that payment-- ``(A) is of more than $250,000 to be made for a compromise settlement or award in accordance with this section; or ``(B) is to be made on the basis of imminent litigation or suit against the United States, or against its agencies or officials upon obligations or liabilities of the United States. ``(3) A payment for which a notice is required to be submitted under paragraph (2) may not be made for a period of 120 days after the date on which such notice is received. ``(h) In the case that a compromise settlement or award is made in violation of subsection (e) or (f), the Attorney General may bring a civil action against a plaintiff or awardee who received a settlement or award in violation of subsection (e) or (f) in an appropriate district court for injunctive relief and repayment of such settlement or award. ``(i) Nothing in this section, or an amendment made by this section, shall be construed to prohibit Congress from appropriating funds for a payment prohibited by this section on an individual per claim basis. ``(j) A settlement or award made on or after January 20, 2025, (including any settlement or award entered into prior to the date of the enactment of this subsection) shall be subject to the requirements of subsections (e) through (h). ``(k) The Secretary of the Treasury may not establish a compensation fund, or approve a payment to such a fund, and no Federal funds may be used by the Secretary to so establish such a fund or approve such a payment-- ``(1) pursuant to a compromise settlement with the President; or ``(2) if such payment would be in violation of subsection (e) or (f) if made from the Judgment Fund. ``(l) In this section-- ``(1) the term `presidentially-owned entity' means a corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, other legal entity, or sole proprietorship in which the President or Vice President has an ownership stake, except that such term does not include an entity in which more than 100 people have an ownership stake and the President or Vice President, as applicable, holds no more than five percent in a beneficial ownership stake and that-- ``(A) issues securities registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l); ``(B) is an investment company registered pursuant to section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8) that does not have a stated policy of concentrating the investments of the investment company in any industry, business, single country other than the United States, or bonds of a single State within the United States; or ``(C) is a unit investment trust, as defined in section 4 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-4) that-- ``(i) is a regulated investment company, as defined in section 851 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and ``(ii) does not have a stated policy of concentrating the investments of the investment company in any industry, business, single country other than the United States, or bonds of a single State within the United States; and ``(2) the term `political appointee' shall have the meaning given such term in section 9803 of title 5.''. <all>

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