Congress caps what you can recover suing federal agencies—except for vets.
H.R. 9295 — Stop Serial Litigation Act of 2026 · Filed by Michael Rulli (R-OH) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jun 11, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill caps attorney fees and expert witness costs that citizens and nonprofits can recover when they win against federal agencies in court or administrative hearings. Most parties can recover no more than $300,000 per year and attorneys can charge no more than $175/hour (or $125/hour for VA and Social Security cases), with exceptions only for those two agencies. The bill also requires more detailed documentation of time and tasks performed.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a cap on recoverable attorney fees and expert costs in suits against federal agencies. While framed as preventing 'serial litigation,' it functions as a cost-shifting device that makes it harder for citizens to afford counsel when challenging government action.
What the text implies
- Caps apply only to non-VA/non-SSA agencies, creating a two-tier system where veterans and Social Security claimants retain stronger fee-recovery rights than other citizens challenging federal action.
- The $300,000 annual cap per party may force nonprofits and small businesses to abandon meritorious claims or settle for less than full relief because they cannot afford to litigate to completion.
- Hourly rate caps ($175/hour, adjusted only downward for inflation) will erode real attorney compensation over time, potentially reducing the pool of qualified counsel willing to take cases against the government.
- Requirement for granular time documentation (dates, task descriptors, time per task) increases administrative burden on prevailing parties and creates new grounds for fee disputes and reductions.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens and nonprofits suing federal agencies face new caps on attorney fees and expert costs they can recover if they win, making it financially harder to afford legal representation to challenge government action. The caps apply broadly except to VA and Social Security cases, effectively raising the cost of access to courts for ordinary people challenging agency decisions.
Who stands to gain
- federal agencies (reduced fee liability when sued)
- the federal government (lower cost of litigation losses)
Named in the bill
Veteran's Administration, Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, 5 U.S.C. chapter 5, 28 U.S.C. chapter 161, 28 U.S.C. section 2412
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jun 11, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 11, 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.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,032 characters) on Aug 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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