S. 5528: Supreme Court Review Act of 2026

This bill would create a special, faster Senate process for certain joint resolutions that respond to specific Supreme Court decisions.

What kinds of Supreme Court decisions are covered

The bill applies only to a covered Supreme Court decision, which is a Supreme Court ruling that either:

• interprets a federal statute, or
• interprets or reinterprets the Constitution in a way that reduces an individual right or privilege that was previously protected.

What kinds of resolutions can use this process

A joint resolution can qualify if it:

• is introduced within 10 legislative days after the Supreme Court decision;
• has a title identifying the specific decision it addresses;
• contains no preamble; and
• is germane, meaning it must be directly related to that Supreme Court decision.

Senate committee and floor process

If a qualifying resolution is referred to committee, the committee can be forced to release it after a set period if the Senate minority leader or the committee’s ranking member makes a motion during a specified window. Only one covered resolution may be placed on the calendar for a given Supreme Court decision under this procedure.

Once a covered resolution is on the calendar, the bill sets up expedited Senate floor consideration:

• a motion to proceed can be made within 10 legislative days;
• that motion would not be debatable and most procedural objections would be waived;
• up to 10 hours of debate would be allowed on the resolution and related amendments and motions;
• only germane amendments would be allowed, with a limit of five germane amendments from each party leader or designee, plus germane committee amendments;
• motions to postpone or recommit would not be allowed; and
• the Senate would vote on passage immediately after debate ends.

Limits on what can be included

The bill directs the Senate to strike any non-germane material from the resolution or related amendments. It also sets out criteria the chair should use to decide whether a provision is germane, focusing on whether it is directly tied to the statute or issue discussed in the Supreme Court decision.

Other procedural rules

The bill also provides that:

• if the Senate passes one covered resolution about a particular Supreme Court decision, it generally cannot take up another one on the same decision;
• appeals of procedural rulings would be decided without debate;
• if the House sends over a related joint resolution within 40 legislative days of the Supreme Court decision, the Senate must place it on the calendar right away and give it the same expedited treatment; and
• if the President vetoes a covered resolution, the Senate would get up to 2 hours to consider the veto message.

Effect on congressional powers

The bill says it does not limit Congress’s existing ability to consider and pass legislation about the same issue through other normal procedures. It mainly creates an optional fast-track process for these specific post-Supreme-Court resolutions in the Senate.

Relevant Companies

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