Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens deterrence and gives prosecutors clearer tools to punish violent or harassing crimes that are directed or coordinated by foreign governments—improving protection and accountability for victims and public servants—at the cost of higher incarceration expenses, greater prosecutorial leverage, and notable civil‑liberties and legal-fairness risks especially for those with foreign ties.
People in the U.S. — including victims, the public, and communities that host federal employees — are better protected because crimes (kidnapping, murder-for-hire, assaults, stalking, threats) that are directed or coordinated by foreign governments carry substantially higher penalties, creating stronger deterrence against foreign-directed violent or weaponized attacks.
Federal prosecutors and courts gain clearer statutory authority and sentencing tools to pursue enhanced penalties in cases involving alleged direction or coordination by foreign governments, aiding investigations and prosecutions across multiple violent-offense categories.
Federal employees, public officials, and candidates specifically face stronger protection because assaults, threats, and plots against them that involve foreign-government direction can trigger up to roughly 10 additional years, increasing accountability for attacks on public servants.
Taxpayers and communities face higher incarceration and prosecution costs if the enhancements are applied broadly, because defendants convicted under the foreign-direction/coordination enhancements may receive substantially longer prison terms.
Defendants face much higher sentencing exposure, which expands prosecutorial leverage and increases pressure to plead guilty—potentially producing plea-driven resolutions even when coordination with a foreign government is disputed.
Broad or vague language about 'direction or coordination' with a foreign government risks expanded investigations into speech or association with foreign actors and could enable overcharging in politically sensitive cases, raising civil‑liberties concerns.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Adds prison-time enhancements to several violent federal crimes when they are committed knowingly at the direction of, or in coordination with, a foreign government or its agent.
Adds new federal sentencing enhancements so people who commit or conspire to commit certain violent crimes while acting at the direction of, or in coordination with, a foreign government (or an agent of a foreign government) receive additional prison time. The enhanced penalties apply across several federal criminal laws covering kidnapping, murder-for-hire, assaults on federal officials, certain domestic violence that crosses state lines, attacks on officers, and crimes against the President or those protected by the Secret Service. The bill specifies how many additional years a court may impose in different cases (for example, up to 10 years more for kidnapping tied to a foreign government, up to 5–10 years more for murder-for-hire depending on injury, and up to 10 years more for attacks on federal officers when foreign coordination is at issue). It also adds rules for conspiracies when one or more co-conspirators knowingly coordinated with a foreign government and the defendant knew about that coordination. No separate funding or effective date is specified in the text provided.
Introduced March 26, 2025 by Margaret Wood Hassan · Last progress June 11, 2025