Sponsors (9)
Creates enhanced criminal penalties for economic espionage benefiting designated foreign adversaries and increases corporate fines tied to the value of stolen trade secrets; inserts unspecified changes to the Espionage Act.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish mandatory minimum penalties for economic and defense espionage when committed on behalf of foreign adversaries.
Introduced June 23, 2025 by Pat Harrigan · Last progress June 23, 2025
The bill strengthens tools and penalties to deter state-sponsored theft and unauthorized defense disclosures—potentially improving national security and protecting critical infrastructure—but does so by imposing very harsh mandatory sentences, enormous corporate fines, and broader criminal exposure that could chill lawful reporting, strain companies and taxpayers, and limit judicial discretion.
Critical infrastructure operators, financial institutions, and the public benefit from clearer criminal tools and stronger deterrents that make state-sponsored theft of trade secrets and unauthorized disclosures of defense-related information easier to prosecute and discourage.
Federal prosecutors and DOJ gain clearer statutory language and stiffer sentencing ranges that can aid charging decisions and convictions in cases involving foreign state actors or defense information.
Workers and customers of affected companies may see reduced disruptions and better job/service protection if espionage-related harms to critical infrastructure are prevented.
Individuals convicted under the enhanced provisions (including employees) face very long mandatory minimum prison terms (around 10 years) and loss of supervised release eligibility.
Companies found liable face extremely large statutory penalties (the greater of $20 million or 5× the value), which could cause severe financial strain, layoffs, or service disruptions affecting employees and customers.
Federal employees, contractors, researchers, and potential whistleblowers could face broader criminal liability and ambiguous/overbroad language that chills lawful reporting, academic work, or other protected disclosures.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Adds tougher criminal penalties for economic espionage when done to benefit a defined "covered nation," raises corporate fines tied to the value of stolen trade secrets, and proposes an unspecified amendment to the Espionage Act's provisions on gathering or transmitting defense information. It defines an aggravated category when theft or disclosure risks destruction or incapacitation of critical infrastructure and creates higher individual and organizational punishments for those cases. The bill mainly changes federal criminal law (18 U.S.C. §§ 1831 and 793): it inserts a new enhanced-penalty subsection for economic espionage tied to foreign adversaries and directs an unknown change to the post-(f) text of the Espionage Act, which could alter elements, definitions, or penalties for mishandling defense information if the inserted text is substantive.