H.R. 8888

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8888 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8888

To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit Amtrak from 
including mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts of carriage, and 
for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 19, 2026

Mr. Deluzio (for himself and Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit Amtrak from 
including mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts of carriage, and 
for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Ending Passenger Rail Forced 
Arbitration Act''.

SEC. 2. NO VALIDITY OR ENFORCEABILITY OF ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS FOR 
CONSUMER AND CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTES.

(a) In General.--Chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 24324. Prohibition on mandatory arbitration
``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
``(1) to prohibit predispute arbitration agreements that 
force arbitration of consumer and civil rights disputes between 
Amtrak and customers of Amtrak; and
``(2) to prohibit agreements and practices that interfere 
with the right of customers to participate in a joint, class, 
or collective action related to consumer and civil rights 
disputes between Amtrak and customers of Amtrak.
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Amtrak.--The term `Amtrak' means the National 
Railroad Passenger Corporation.
``(2) Civil rights dispute.--The term `civil rights 
dispute' means a dispute--
``(A) arising from an alleged violation of--
``(i) the Constitution of the United States 
or the constitution of a State; or
``(ii) any Federal, State, or local law 
that prohibits discrimination on the basis of--
``(I) race, sex, age, gender 
identity, sexual orientation, 
disability, religion, or national 
origin; or
``(II) any legally protected status 
in education, employment, credit, 
housing, public accommodations and 
facilities, voting, veterans and 
servicemembers, health care, or a 
program funded or conducted by the 
Federal Government or a State 
government, including any law referred 
to or described in section 62(e) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
including parts of such law not 
explicitly referenced in such section 
that relate to protecting individuals 
on any such basis; and
``(B) in which at least 1 party alleging a 
violation described in subparagraph (A) consists of 1 
or more customers (or their authorized representative), 
including 1 or more individuals seeking certification 
as a class under rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure or a comparable rule or provision of State 
law.
``(3) Consumer dispute.--The term `consumer dispute' means 
any dispute, including all claims related to personal injuries, 
between Amtrak and 1 or more customers who seek or acquire--
``(A) services and accommodations provided by 
Amtrak; or
``(B) carriage on Amtrak trains and equipment.
``(4) Customer.--The term `customer' means any individual, 
except for an employee of Amtrak and without regard to whether 
the individual is a minor or paid for the transportation, who 
seeks or acquires--
``(A) services and accommodations provided by 
Amtrak; or
``(B) carriage on Amtrak trains and equipment.
``(5) Predispute arbitration agreement.--The term 
`predispute arbitration agreement' means an agreement to 
arbitrate a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of the 
making of the agreement.
``(6) Predispute joint-action waiver.--The term `predispute 
joint-action waiver' means an agreement, whether or not part of 
a predispute arbitration agreement, which would prohibit, or 
waive the right of, 1 of the parties to the agreement to 
participate in a joint, class, or collective action in a 
judicial, arbitral, administrative, or other forum, concerning 
a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of the making of 
the agreement.
``(7) Rail passenger carrier.--The term `rail passenger 
carrier' means a rail carrier providing--
``(A) intercity rail passenger transportation (as 
such term is defined in section 24102); or
``(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as 
such term is defined in section 26105) transportation, 
excluding a tourist, historic, scenic, or excursion 
rail carrier.
``(c) In General.--
``(1) In general.--All predispute arbitration agreements 
and predispute joint-action waivers shall be invalid and 
unenforceable with respect to a consumer or civil rights 
dispute between Amtrak (in its capacity as a rail passenger 
carrier) and a customer of Amtrak.
``(2) Applicability.--
``(A) In general.--A determination of whether this 
section applies to a particular dispute shall be made 
in accordance with Federal law.
``(B) Authority of court.--The applicability of 
this section to an agreement to arbitrate and the 
validity and enforceability of an agreement to which 
this section applies shall be determined by a court, 
rather than by an arbitrator, regardless of whether--
``(i) the party resisting arbitration 
challenges the arbitration agreement 
specifically or in conjunction with other terms 
of the contract containing such agreement; and
``(ii) the agreement purports to delegate 
such determinations to an arbitrator.
``(C) Exclusion.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed to apply to a predispute arbitration 
agreement or joint-action waiver invoked in connection 
with any dispute subject to the Railway Labor Act (45 
U.S.C. 151 et seq.).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)--
(1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act; and
(2) shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that 
arises or accrues on or after such date.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 243 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``24324. Prohibition on mandatory arbitration.''.
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