HR 5540 United States House · 119th Congress

Justice for Exonerees Act

This bill increases federal compensation for individuals wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. It raises the maximum damages award from $50,000 to $70,000 under 28 U.S.C. § 2513. The bill also requires annual inflation adjustments to this amount using the Consumer Price Index. These changes directly affect people exonerated after serving prison time for crimes they did not commit. The key mechanism is updating the compensation amount and linking it to inflation.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Sep 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Sep 19, 2025 Last action Sep 19, 2025
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Sep 19, 2025
Committee
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
lower
Sep 19, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters
DDemocratic
CA
43