United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee 4 D cosponsors

S 5021 — Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced July 16, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 22% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 4 sponsors

    1 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (4 D).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

This bill aims to address the issue of degrees from institutions that are not valuable for students.

The bill proposes measures to protect students from obtaining degrees that may not provide them with viable career opportunities. It focuses on ensuring that educational institutions offer worthwhile programs.

What this means for you
  • Families: Families could feel more assured about the value of education investments for their children.
  • Students: This means students may have better information to choose programs that can lead to successful careers.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 543 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (543)

543 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 543 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors S 5021?
S 5021 is sponsored by Merkley, Jeff (Democratic), Durbin, Richard J. (Democratic), Blumenthal, Richard (Democratic), and Shaheen, Jeanne (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 5021?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced July 16, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 5021?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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