# 119-s-5116: MERIT Act

119-s-5116, MERIT Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN] (R-IN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-09).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5116
- As of: 2026-08-09
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5116
- Congress: 119
- Title: MERIT Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-23
- Sponsor: Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN] (R-IN)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-09

## Summary

**Ban preferential admissions tied to alumni or donors.** The bill would add that restriction to accreditation reviews, require public compliance reports to Congress, and fund a privacy-focused feasibility study on third-party data collection. - Students and families: Would curb admissions or tangible education benefits that are decided because an applicant is related to an alumnus or donor. Applicants may still show "demonstrated interest" if schools publish clear criteria and make opportunities equally accessible. - Colleges and accreditors: Would add a new accreditation standard to assess preferential treatment and require the Education Secretary to report on compliance, technical assistance, and monitoring 180 days after negotiated rulemaking ends and then every two years. - Data and privacy: Would require a feasibility study, within 2 years, on using the National Student Clearinghouse to produce institution-level analyses of legacy/donor impacts while weighing data accuracy, IPEDS integration, confidentiality, and protections against creating a nationwide personally identifiable information database.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA] (D-GA), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-07-23T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Ban legacy and donor preferences: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require college accrediting agencies to check whether schools refrain from giving admissions or tangible education benefits when an applicant's relationship to an alumnus or donor is the deciding factor. It would define "preferential treatment" as when that relationship i…
- Study donor and legacy admissions data: mixed, low. If enacted, the Education Department would study, within two years, whether it could work with the National Student Clearinghouse to collect and produce institution-level analyses of the impact of admissions tied to alumni or donor relationships. The study would evaluate data accuracy, whether inst…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-s-4395: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.

## Sources
- [119-s-5116 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5116)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1032)
- [119-s-4395: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4395)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5116 (as of 2026-08-09).