Sponsors
The bill increases penalties to strengthen deterrence against material support for terrorism, but does so by imposing long mandatory sentences and removing sentencing flexibility — improving perceived security while raising costs and risks of disproportionate punishment, especially for immigrants and other defendants.
Taxpayers and the general public: the bill increases penalties for providing material support to terrorists, which may strengthen deterrence and reduce terrorism-related harms.
Immigrants and other defendants: removing indeterminate sentencing language limits judges' ability to tailor punishments for lesser culpability or coercion, increasing risk of disproportionate outcomes.
Individuals convicted of providing material support: face much longer mandatory prison terms (minimums of ~20 years up to life), reducing judicial discretion to mitigate based on case-specific circumstances.
Taxpayers: longer mandatory sentences will likely increase incarceration costs because people will serve substantially longer prison terms.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Imposes a 20-year (or life) mandatory minimum sentence for providing material support to terrorists or to designated terrorist organizations, replacing prior maximum/indeterminate phrasing.
Introduced March 24, 2026 by Sheri Biggs · Last progress March 24, 2026
Changes federal criminal penalties for providing material support to terrorists and to designated foreign terrorist organizations by replacing maximum-only or indeterminate sentencing language with a mandatory minimum prison term of 20 years (or life). It amends the federal statutes that prohibit providing material support so convictions carry a floor of at least 20 years instead of the previous phrasing that set maximums or allowed variable terms.