Sponsors (6)
The bill strengthens anti-corruption enforcement and protects public funds by expanding bribery criminal penalties, but it also broadens who can be criminally prosecuted and raises incarceration and compliance costs for defendants, families, contractors, and taxpayers.
State, local, and tribal communities — stronger criminal penalties for bribery aim to deter corrupt payments and increase protections for people interacting with government agents.
Government contractors and state/local governments — criminalizing both giving and receiving sizable bribes should improve government accountability and reduce corruption in procurement and public contracting.
Taxpayers — deterring corrupt dealings in programs and contracts worth $5,000 or more may reduce fraud and waste, protecting public funds.
Agents of organizations and public servants — a $1,000 threshold for criminal offers/acceptances and broader coverage of offers risks criminalizing lower-value interactions that were previously handled administratively, increasing prosecutions and exposure to criminal liability.
Defendants, their families, and taxpayers — raised maximum penalties (up to 15 years) mean more people may face long prison terms, increasing human costs and public incarceration expenditures.
Government contractors and public agencies — expanded criminal liability for both offerers and agents will increase compliance burdens, legal risk, and administrative costs for organizations working with government.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Raises max prison time for certain bribery to 15 years and creates a federal crime for gratuities of $1,000+ tied to official acts in transactions worth $5,000+.
Introduced June 26, 2025 by Daniel Goldman · Last progress June 26, 2025
Amends the federal criminal statute that covers bribery and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds by increasing the maximum prison term for certain bribery offenses from 10 to 15 years and by creating a new federal crime for gratuities. The bill makes it illegal to knowingly give, offer, or promise, or for an agent to demand, receive, or accept, any item of value of $1,000 or more in connection with an official act tied to any business or transaction (or series of transactions) worth $5,000 or more, and updates related subsections and cross-references.