Payback Act

House Bill

H.R. 7646

119th Congress

Payback Act

In Committee

Introduced:Feb 23, 2026

Primary Sponsor

Jasmine Crockett

D - TX

Cosponsors

0

Quick Stats

Summary

This bill would require the Treasury Department to refund American consumers for the extra costs they've paid due to tariffs that were imposed by the President without Congress's approval. Essentially, it aims to compensate everyday Americans for higher prices on imported goods when those price increases resulted from tariffs that bypassed the normal legislative process.

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Introduced2/23/2026

StatusReferred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

ChamberHouse

Data from Congress.gov

See this page through your district lens

Enter ZIP to personalize representatives and vote context.

Stay on top of this issue

Subscribe for weekly bill and representative updates.

Vote Prediction

Payback Act

This bill would require the Treasury Department to refund American consumers for the extra costs they've paid due to tariffs that were imposed by the President without Congress's approval. Essentially, it aims to compensate everyday Americans for higher prices

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill would require the Treasury Department to refund American consumers for the extra costs they've paid due to tariffs that were imposed by the President without Congress's approval. Essentially, it aims to compensate everyday Americans for higher prices on imported goods when those price increases resulted from tariffs that bypassed the normal legislative process.

Bill Number: 7646
Introduced: 2/23/2026
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Payback Act
Bill Number: 7646
Sponsor: No sponsor
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced: 2/23/2026
Summary: This bill would require the Treasury Department to refund American consumers for the extra costs they've paid due to tariffs that were imposed by the President without Congress's approval. Essentially, it aims to compensate everyday Americans for higher prices on imported goods when those price incr

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill would require the Treasury Department to refund American consumers for the extra costs they've paid due to tariffs that were imposed by the President without Congress's approval. Essentially, it aims to compensate everyday Americans for higher prices on imported goods when those price increases resulted from tariffs that bypassed the normal legislative process.

Last updated: 2/24/2026

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Consumers would receive refunds for increased costs caused by tariffs imposed without congressional authorization
Targets tariffs imposed through executive action rather than through the normal legislative process where Congress votes
Addresses the concern that unilateral tariffs raise prices on everyday goods like electronics, clothing, and household items
Reasserts Congress's constitutional role in regulating international trade and taxation
Currently has no cosponsors and faces significant political hurdles in the Republican-controlled House

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If passed, this bill would directly benefit American consumers and families who have paid higher prices for imported goods due to executive tariffs. The refunds would potentially put money back in people's wallets, though the mechanism for calculating and distributing these refunds remains unclear from the basic summary. The bill also represents a broader constitutional question about whether the President or Congress should control trade policy decisions that affect consumer prices.

Policy Areas

No policy areas assigned yet.

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

7646, 119th Congress (2026). "Payback Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/119-hr-7646

Public Opinions

Community submissions related to this bill.

Share your opinion

No public opinions yet. Be the first to submit one for this bill.