# 119-s-4572: Ending Passenger Rail Forced Arbitration Act

119-s-4572, Ending Passenger Rail Forced Arbitration Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4572
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4572
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ending Passenger Rail Forced Arbitration Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-19
- Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 10
- Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Stops Amtrak from forcing customers into arbitration for consumer and civil-rights disputes.** The bill would also ban clauses that block customers from joining class or collective actions and say courts, not arbitrators, decide if those clauses apply. - Customers: People who use Amtrak would be able to bring consumer claims or civil-rights suits in court and seek class certification when appropriate. - Amtrak: Amtrak could not rely on predispute arbitration agreements or predispute joint-action waivers to force these disputes into private arbitration. - Legal scope and timing: The bill would define civil-rights disputes broadly to cover discrimination based on race, sex, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or national origin across areas like employment, housing, voting, health care, and public accommodations. It would exclude disputes covered by the Railway Labor Act and would take effect on enactment, applying to disputes that arise on or after that date.

## Cosponsors (10)

- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Amtrak customers: no forced arbitration: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would make predispute arbitration agreements and predispute joint-action waivers invalid for consumer and civil-rights disputes between Amtrak and its customers. Customers would be able to sue in court and join class, collective, or joint actions instead of being forced into a…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-4572 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4572)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4572 (as of 2026-09-10).