Federal RuleAug 21
62
DOL Rewrites Disability Rules for 'Merit-Based Opportunity' Push
RuleLabor DepartmentFederal Contract Compliance Programs OfficeSignificant Wallet
119-hr-10397119th Congress
Survivors’ Rights Restitution Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
Introduced
Summary
A federal compensation program for survivors of sexual abuse connected to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell. This bill would create the Survivors' Rights Restitution Program, run by the Attorney General, to let survivors or personal representatives seek monetary awards when the federal government failed to provide rights under 18 U.S.C. § 3771.
Show full summary
- Survivors and personal representatives can file one petition per survivor to seek awards and must show entitlement by a preponderance of the evidence. Petitions are filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and served on the Attorney General, who must publish a notice in the Federal Register within 30 days without personally identifiable information.
- Claims are decided by a new Office of Special Adjudicators inside the Court of Federal Claims. The office must have at least six adjudicators, at least four of whom are licensed mental health professionals, and decisions must be issued as promptly as practicable but no later than 120 days after filing.
- Adjudicators must consider economic and noneconomic losses and may not award punitive damages. Awards may not be less than $123,000, are tax-exempt and excluded from means-tested benefit calculations, and must be paid within 20 days from the Survivors' Rights Restitution Fund. Attorneys' fees and costs may be included in awards and cannot be charged beyond the award; fees may also be recovered if a petition was brought in good faith even if no compensation is ultimately awarded.
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Cash awards for Epstein survivors
If enacted, eligible survivors (or a deceased survivor's personal representative) would be able to get money from a new Survivors' Rights Restitution Program. Awards would consider economic and noneconomic losses and could not be less than $123,000. Awards could not include punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs would be paid from awards; attorneys could not charge fees beyond amounts awarded. The Attorney General would pay awards from the Survivors' Rights Restitution Fund within 20 days of an award. Awards would be excluded from federal gross income and would not count when determining eligibility for means-tested benefits.
How to file and prove claims
If enacted, you would start a claim by filing a petition in the United States Court of Federal Claims and serving the Attorney General. You may file only one petition per person. You would need to prove entitlement by a preponderance of the evidence. Special adjudicators would issue written decisions with findings and must act as soon as practicable but not later than 120 days after filing, excluding suspended time. Either party could ask for one 30-day suspension; further suspensions could total up to 150 days. You would have 30 days to ask the Court of Federal Claims to review a decision. The bill would create an Office of Special Adjudicators with at least six adjudicators, at least four of whom must be licensed mental health professionals. Proceedings would be less adversarial, with flexible evidence rules, limited discovery, and fewer routine oral hearings. The Attorney General would publish a notice of each petition in the Federal Register within 30 days without personal data, and filings would generally stay private unless the submitter consents; decisions would be released with sensitive information redacted if requested.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
MA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]
WA • D
Sponsored 10/22/2026
Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3]
NM • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
NC • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3]
AZ • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Balint, Becca [D-VT-At Large]
VT • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]
OH • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1]
MO • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-2]
PA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7]
IN • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9]
NY • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4]
PA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3]
OR • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10]
FL • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]
IL • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29]
TX • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7]
AZ • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4]
GA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8]
MA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large]
DE • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4]
VA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10]
NJ • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Menefee, Christian D. [D-TX-18]
TX • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7]
MD • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]
WI • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1]
ME • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
IL • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3]
IL • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6]
WA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6]
OR • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1]
NM • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20]
NY • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Walkinshaw, James R. [D-VA-11]
VA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]
FL • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]
FL • D
Sponsored 9/15/2026
Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13]
OH • D
Sponsored 9/16/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov