Congress
The Senate unanimously passed the Diversity Jurisdiction Inflation Adjustment Act, a bipartisan bill that would raise the amount-in-controversy requirement for many state-law disputes between citizens of different states. The current threshold is more than $75,000. The bill would set it at more than $150,000 and provide inflation adjustments every ten years. Senate passage is a completed legislative action, but the proposal is not yet law.
Diversity jurisdiction allows a federal court to hear specified cases that ordinarily arise under state law when the parties are citizens of different states and the monetary threshold is met. Congress last changed the threshold in 1996. The Judicial Conference recommended a $150,000 level in 2021, according to the bill sponsors. Supporters say the update would preserve federal capacity for higher-value interstate disputes and leave lower-value cases to state courts.
The measure is sponsored by Senators Chris Coons and Sheldon Whitehouse, both Democrats, and John Kennedy and Ted Cruz, both Republicans. Its unanimous passage reflects agreement in the chamber present for the action, not completion of the bicameral process. The House can pass the Senate text, amend it or take no action. If amended, the chambers would need to resolve differences before sending an enrolled bill to the president.
Practical effects will depend on case values and pleading rules. Some plaintiffs whose claims fall between the old and new thresholds could no longer invoke diversity jurisdiction and would proceed in state court unless another federal basis exists. Businesses and defendants evaluating removal from state to federal court would also recalculate strategy. Indexing once each decade may prevent another long freeze, but the bill’s exact effective provisions and treatment of pending cases matter.
Silas’s stone count: confirmed are Senate passage, the $150,000 proposal and decennial indexing. Claims that federal courts have already lost jurisdiction over current cases are false because the measure is not enacted. Disputed are the workload benefits and access consequences. Unknown are House timing, amendments and presidential action. Expected next is referral or consideration in the House. On Capitol Hill, ‘passed the Senate’ is one landing, not the top of the staircase; the enrolled text and effective date determine when courthouse practice actually changes. Lawyers should also check transition language before assuming that a newly enacted threshold applies to complaints or removal notices already pending. Committee reports or House amendments could expose exceptions not captured in a headline.
The final bill number, enrolled text and effective-date clause will control; a sponsor’s summary cannot substitute for any House amendment.
Sources
- Office of Senator Chris Coons — Bipartisan bill to update federal diversity jurisdiction threshold passes Senate (08-25-2026)
- U.S. Senate — Recent Floor Activity (08-24-2026)