Sponsors (4)
The bill increases and reallocates bankruptcy filing-fee funding to boost trustee pay, stabilize trustee-system funding, and extend judgeships—improving administrative capacity and predictability—but it raises costs for filers, shifts more burden onto participants, and creates legal, funding-flexibility, and short-term implementation uncertainties.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees (and the trustees system) receive higher, more clearly specified per-case compensation, which should improve trustee recruitment/retention and quality of case administration for creditors and debtors.
The bill creates fixed, per-case allocations (e.g., set amounts to the U.S. Trustee System Fund and Treasury) that make funding for the U.S. Trustee Program and related Treasury receipts more predictable for budgeting and program planning.
Extending and retaining temporary bankruptcy judgeships preserves judicial capacity and case continuity, reducing turnover and backlog risk for bankruptcy filers and large creditors.
Bankruptcy filers — including individuals and small businesses reorganizing or liquidating — will face higher fees and administrative costs to fund increased trustee pay and fixed per-case allocations, raising the cost of using the bankruptcy system.
The bill shifts more of the cost of bankruptcy administration onto participants (via filing fees) rather than general appropriations, which reduces budgetary transparency and places a greater burden on people using the system.
Apparent drafting errors (e.g., the §330 insertion issue) and the removal of an existing provision (§330(e)) could create legal uncertainty about trustee compensation levels and payment timing, risking delays and disputes for trustees and case parties.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Raises per-case trustee pay, changes how bankruptcy fees are divided among special funds (moving some to fixed per-case amounts), and extends several temporary bankruptcy appointments from 5 to 10 years.
Official title: 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 December 10, 2025 by Christopher A. Coons · Last progress February 6, 2026
Raises per-case compensation for bankruptcy trustees, changes how several bankruptcy filing and quarterly fees are allocated among the United States Trustee System Fund and other special funds, and lengthens multiple temporary bankruptcy appointment or authorization periods from 5 years to 10 years. Most changes take effect on the first calendar quarter after enactment, with trustee pay and certain fee rules tied to an October 1 effective date for covered cases.