Sponsors (13)
The bill shifts and stabilizes bankruptcy fee revenue to strengthen trustee pay and court funding and to improve predictability, but it does so by reallocating fees and extending terms in ways that raise costs for filers, reduce funding flexibility, and introduce implementation and accountability risks.
Bankruptcy oversight and case administration (U.S. Trustee System, courts, trustees) will get steadier, more predictable funding through redirected fee shares and statutory deposit rules, supporting continued operations and oversight.
Court clerks, trustees, and filers will face clearer, more fixed fee allocations and timing (including effective-date rules and quarterly collection mechanics), improving predictability for administrators and participants.
Trustees administering Chapter 7 cases will receive higher per-case compensation and simplified compensation rules, raising pay for those handling bankruptcy estates and reducing some litigation over pay provisions.
Bankruptcy filers (individuals and businesses) will likely face higher or reallocated fees and professional compensation rules, increasing the cost of using the bankruptcy system.
Reallocating fixed portions of filing fees to specific funds reduces overall flexibility and may cut or eliminate transfers to entities that previously received funding, potentially shrinking support for related programs and court needs.
Unclear or garbled statutory language and unspecified replacement text create implementation uncertainty that could trigger litigation, administrative delays, and confusion for courts, trustees, and filers.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Raises trustee pay, reallocates bankruptcy-fee receipts among federal funds, and extends temporary bankruptcy-judge terms from 5 to 10 years.
Official title: To amend titles 11 and 28, United States Code, to modify the compensation payable to trustees serving in cases under chapter 7 of title 11, United States Code, to extend the term of certain temporary offices of bankruptcy judges, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 10, 2025 by Benjamin Cline · Last progress June 10, 2025
Increases compensation for bankruptcy trustees, changes how bankruptcy filing and quarterly fees are allocated among federal bankruptcy-related funds, and lengthens temporary bankruptcy-judgeship terms from 5 years to 10 years. The bill also prescribes how fee receipts are deposited for FY2026–FY2031 and makes the fee and compensation changes apply to cases on or after the first October 1 after enactment. The measure reallocates fixed-dollar and percentage amounts from existing bankruptcy-fee streams to several funds (including the United States Trustee System Fund and two special funds), amends related deposit and accounting rules in title 28, and removes a cross-reference in the trustee-compensation statute; several technical and timing provisions govern which pending and new cases are affected.