Introduced December 23, 2025 by Josh S. Gottheimer · Last progress December 23, 2025
The bill strengthens federal protections and enforcement against package theft—benefiting delivery recipients and carriers—while expanding federal criminal jurisdiction, which raises the risk of federal prosecutions for offenders and increases taxpayer-funded enforcement costs.
Renters, homeowners, and other delivery recipients gain stronger federal legal protections because theft of packages in transit is made federally prosecutable, increasing the chance intercepted deliveries will be investigated and prosecuted.
Private and commercial interstate carriers face reduced theft losses and lower liability exposure because offenders can be subject to federal penalties for stealing in-transit packages.
Federal law enforcement and the Department of Justice gain clearer authority to investigate and prosecute package thefts that cross state lines, improving cross-jurisdiction enforcement.
People who take packages (and those prosecuted for such conduct) could face federal criminal penalties for offenses previously handled by states, increasing the likelihood of federal prosecution and exposure to longer federal sentences.
Taxpayers may bear higher costs because expanding federal jurisdiction can increase DOJ enforcement spending and federal court caseloads.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Makes it a federal crime to steal, embezzle, or fraudulently take packages delivered by private or commercial interstate carriers before the addressee or agent physically possesses them.
Makes it a federal crime to steal, embezzle, or fraudulently take packages that have been delivered by private or commercial interstate carriers but not yet taken into physical possession by the addressee or the addressee's agent. It also states, nonbindingly, that Congress has authority to extend to private and commercial interstate carriers the same protections that apply to items carried as interstate or foreign commerce.