II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 550 

To restore statutory rights to the people of the United States from forced 

arbitration. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2017 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. HEITKAMP, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BOOKER, and Mrs. 

SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To restore statutory rights to the people of the United States 

from forced arbitration. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring Statutory 

5 Rights and Interests of the States Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND INTENT. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code 

9 (commonly known as the ‘‘Federal Arbitration 


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1 Act’’), represented an exercise of legislative power 

2 that required courts to recognize private voluntary 

3 agreements to arbitrate commercial disputes at a 

4 time when the courts were refusing to do so on 

5 grounds that arbitration represented a usurpation of 

6 the authority of the courts to resolve legal disputes. 

7 (2) The Federal Arbitration Act did not, and 

8 should not have been interpreted to, supplant or nul9 lify the legislatively created rights and remedies that 

10 Congress, exercising its power under article I of the 

11 Constitution of the United States, has granted to 

12 the people of the United States for resolving dis13 putes in State and Federal courts. 

14 (3) Recent court decisions, including AT&T Mo15 bility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011) and 

16 American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, 

17 133 S. Ct. 2304 (2013), have interpreted the Fed18 eral Arbitration Act to broadly preempt rights and 

19 remedies established under substantive State and 

20 Federal law. As a result, these decisions have en21 abled business entities to avoid or nullify legal duties 

22 created by congressional enactment, resulting in mil23 lions of people in the United States being unable to 

24 vindicate their rights in State and Federal courts. 


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1 (4) States have a compelling interest in enact2 ing rights and remedies to protect the welfare of 

3 their citizens, and the Federal Arbitration Act 

4 should not be, and should not have been, interpreted 

5 to preempt State legislation that enacted rights and 

6 remedies to protect the welfare of their citizens. 

7 (b) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—In enacting this Act, it 

8 is the intent of Congress— 

9 (1) to restate and reinstitute the primacy of 

10 congressional and State legislative bodies as the cre11 ators of the rights and remedies available to all the 

12 people of the United States; 

13 (2) to clarify that congressionally established 

14 rights and remedies may not be waived prior to the 

15 institution of a dispute by the party intended to be 

16 protected by such statute; and 

17 (3) to reinstate and reaffirm existing rights and 

18 remedies of the people of the United States enacted 

19 since the enactment of the Federal Arbitration Act 

20 regarding access to the courts that have, or may 

21 have been, abrogated or diminished. 


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1 SEC. 3. ARBITRATION OF FEDERAL STATUTORY CAUSES OF 

2 ACTION. 

3 (a) ADJUDICATION OF FEDERAL STATUTORY RIGHTS

4 OF ACTION.—Section 2 of title 9, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘A written’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

7 IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (b), 

8 a written’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

11 a written provision that requires arbitration of a claim for 

12 damages or injunctive relief brought by an individual or 

13 small business concern (as defined in section 3 of the 

14 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), in either an indi15 vidual or representative capacity, arising from the alleged 

16 violation of a Federal or State statute, the Constitution 

17 of the United States, or a constitution of a State, unless 

18 the written agreement to arbitrate is entered into by both 

19 parties after the claim has arisen and pertains solely to 

20 an existing claim. 

21 ‘‘(c) INTERACTION WITH STATE LAW.—In sub22 section (a), the term ‘grounds as exist at law or in equity 

23 for the revocation of a contract’ includes a Federal or 

24 State statute, or the finding of a Federal or State court, 

25 that prohibits the agreement to arbitrate on grounds that 

26 the agreement is unconscionable, invalid because there was 


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1 no meeting of the minds, or otherwise unenforceable as 

2 a matter of contract law or public policy. 

3 ‘‘(d) VALIDITY AND ENFORCEABILITY.—A deter4 mination as to whether this chapter applies to an agree5 ment to arbitrate shall be made by a court, rather than 

6 an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting 

7 arbitration challenges the agreement to arbitrate specifi8 cally or in conjunction with other terms of the contract 

9 containing such agreement.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. VACATING AN AWARD MADE IN VIOLATION OF SEC11 TION 2 OF TITLE 9, UNITED STATES CODE. 

12 Section 10(a) of title 9, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) where the arbitration took place in viola20 tion of section 2.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY. 

22 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 

23 shall apply with respect to any dispute or claim that arises 

24 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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