Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Last progress June 10, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 10, 2025 by Benjamin Cline
Updated 2 days ago
Last progress August 8, 2025 (6 months ago)
Raises pay for Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees, changes how certain bankruptcy filing fees are allocated and deposited to fund the United States Trustee system and the Treasury, and lengthens several temporary bankruptcy-judge terms from 5 years to 10 years. The Act preserves courts’ authority to waive fees for indigent filers and sets specific deposit rules for several fiscal years. Sets the effective date as the first October 1 after enactment, with most fee and filing changes applying to bankruptcy cases that begin on or after that date and some temporary-judge term changes applying to specified pending cases or fee periods starting on or after that date.
Congress has amended laws about bankruptcy fees when needed so the bankruptcy system stays self-supporting and the costs are fairly shared by users.
Because it is important that the bankruptcy system be self-funded and not cost taxpayers, Congress monitors the system’s funding needs and requires periodic reporting by the Attorney General on the United States Trustee System Fund.
Congress has established fees (including filing fees and chapter 11 quarterly fees) that together fund the courts, judges, United States trustees, and trustees serving in bankruptcy cases under title 11, United States Code.
Trustees serving in bankruptcy cases under title 11 are vital to the bankruptcy system and provide front-line services, administering thousands of cases.
Chapter 7 trustees return assets to government creditors, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Administration, and other federal, state, and municipal governments.
Primary effects: Chapter 7 trustees will receive higher compensation, and the United States Trustee Program will receive revised and likely increased funding through reallocated filing fees and directed deposits. Bankruptcy filers (individual debtors) could experience indirect effects if filing fees or fee structures shift, but the Act preserves judges’ and courts’ authority to waive fees for indigent filers. Bankruptcy courts and administrative staff will need to implement new deposit routing and accounting procedures for the redirected fees and apply updated filing-fee rules to new cases that start on or after the effective date. Temporary bankruptcy judges whose appointments were tied to 5-year statutory terms will have those terms extended to 10 years where the prior statutory text is amended, affecting judicial staffing stability and appointment timelines. The Treasury receives specified directed deposits for certain fiscal years, altering federal receipts and internal fund accounting without creating a new entitlement program. Overall, the bill mostly affects bankruptcy system participants (trustees, the U.S. Trustee Program, bankruptcy courts, and debtors) and federal accounting for those fees; impacts on ordinary creditors and the broader public are small and indirect.
Updated 1 day ago
Last progress February 3, 2026 (4 days ago)
