Congress tightens corporate settlement deals, demands public disclosure and victim input

What it does

This bill tightens rules around deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and non-prosecution agreements (NPAs)—deals where the government agrees to pause or drop prosecution of a corporation in exchange for fines and reforms. It bars NPAs entirely for corporate crimes unless approved by a court, creates a new Office of Corporate Enforcement to monitor compliance, requires public disclosure of all such agreements within 30 days, and prohibits courts from approving DPAs for crimes involving death, serious injury, terrorism, money laundering, human trafficking, or repeat offenders. Citizens gain transparency and stronger accountability; corporations lose the ability to quietly settle without court oversight.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is procedural and transparency-focused: it restricts the government's ability to settle corporate crimes outside court, mandates public disclosure, and creates enforcement infrastructure. It is not a substantive criminal-law change but a governance reform aimed at making corporate prosecution more rigorous and visible.

What the text implies

• The prohibition on NPAs (section 3785) may shift settlement pressure toward guilty pleas and trials, potentially increasing litigation costs and court docket burden, though this serves the stated public-interest goal of rigorous prosecution.
• The new Office of Corporate Enforcement creates a permanent bureaucratic structure with independent monitoring authority; its budget and staffing are not specified, leaving implementation scope uncertain.
• Victim notification and hearing rights (section 3161(h)(2)(B)(iii)) may slow agreement approval timelines, potentially delaying resolution of corporate cases.
• The retroactive disclosure requirement (3 years of historical agreements back to 1993) may expose settled cases to renewed public scrutiny and potential political pressure for reopening.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill strengthens public accountability by requiring court approval and public disclosure of corporate settlement deals, preventing corporations from quietly buying their way out of prosecution. Victims gain explicit rights to be heard before agreements are finalized, and repeat offenders are barred from using these agreements—all of which serve the public interest in deterrence and justice.

Named in the bill

Department of Justice, Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Office of Corporate Enforcement, Federal courts (district courts), Business entities (corporations, partnerships, LLCs), Crime victims

Where it stands

9 cosponsors: 9 Democrats.

• May 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 15, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $20,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.

Mary Scanlon, the sponsor, reported $491,978 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Bartlett Maritime Corp. — $10,000 on 1 filing
• Human Coalition — $10,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 13, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.