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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 4310

Back the Blue Act of 2025

House Committee Reviews Back the Blue Act to Toughen Penalties for Attacks on Police

9 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text
Part of: Congress Pushes New Federal Protections and Penalties for Law Enforcement
⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law

Key Points

  • Creates new federal crimes for killing or assaulting certain officers, including state/local officers whose agencies get federal money.
  • Sets tougher minimum prison sentences: assault can range from up to 1 year to at least 20 years if a deadly weapon is used; killing can mean at least 10 years, up to life, and in some cases the death penalty.
  • Adds a federal crime for crossing state lines to avoid prosecution for killing (or trying to kill) certain law enforcement or public safety officers.
  • Limits some federal court challenges after state convictions in cases involving the killing of a public safety officer or judge, aiming to make sentences harder to overturn.
  • Directs the Justice Department to award up to $20 million per year in grants (2026–2030) for programs meant to improve trust, training, transparency, technology policies, and officer wellness.
Criminal JusticeGun PolicyCivil Rights

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Negative Impacts(1)
Criminal Record
Hurts
Mixed Impacts(1)
Tribal Member
Neutral
Positive Impacts(1)
Gun Owner
Helps

State Impacts

District of ColumbiaDC
Mixed

DC is explicitly included in the definition of covered public agencies. If DC agencies receive federal financial assistance, assaults or killings of covered officers could trigger the new federal crimes and penalties, and DC agencies could compete for DOJ grants to improve community trust and training.

Puerto RicoPR
Mixed

Puerto Rico is explicitly included in the definition of covered public agencies. If Puerto Rico agencies receive federal financial assistance, assaults or killings of covered officers could be prosecuted under the new federal crimes, and agencies/nonprofits could apply for DOJ grants aimed at improving trust, training, and wellness.

U.S. Virgin IslandsVI
Mixed

The Virgin Islands are explicitly included as covered. Local public safety agencies that receive federal financial assistance could see certain officer assaults/kills handled with added federal charges and penalties, and could apply for DOJ relationship-building grants.

GuamGU
Mixed

Guam is explicitly included as covered. Agencies receiving federal financial assistance could have added federal criminal tools for officer attacks and can pursue DOJ grants focused on trust, training, and wellness.

American SamoaAS
Mixed

American Samoa is explicitly included as covered. If local public safety agencies receive federal financial assistance, the bill’s new federal crimes/penalties could apply to attacks on covered officers, and agencies/nonprofits can seek DOJ grants to improve community relationships and training.

Northern Mariana IslandsMP
Mixed

The Northern Mariana Islands are explicitly included as covered. Agencies receiving federal financial assistance could see additional federal prosecution options for attacks on officers and can apply for DOJ grants aimed at trust, accountability, training, and wellness.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Jul 10, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Jul 10, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

Related News

4 articles
GOP pushes death penalty option for killing law enforcement officers
foxnews.com logoFox News·2 months ago

GOP pushes death penalty option for killing law enforcement officers

Covers the Back the Blue Act proposal to create new federal crimes and tougher penalties (including death penalty in some cases) for killing/assaulting certain officers, plus related provisions.

Right
House Passes $900B NDAA with Law Enforcement Boosts as Back the Blue Act Reintroduced in Senate
fedagent.com logoFEDagent·4 months ago

House Passes $900B NDAA with Law Enforcement Boosts as Back the Blue Act Reintroduced in Senate

Mentions the Back the Blue Act being reintroduced in the Senate alongside broader law-enforcement-related provisions; mostly defense-bill focused, but includes policy mention for context.

Hyde-Smith Renews Support for ‘Back the Blue Act’
picayuneitem.com logoThe Picayune Item·4 months ago

Hyde-Smith Renews Support for ‘Back the Blue Act’

Local-outlet coverage of Sen. Hyde-Smith backing S.3366 (Back the Blue Act), describing increased penalties for attacks on law enforcement/federal judges and other public safety officers.

Related Bills

1 bill
S. 3366Related bill

Back the Blue Act of 2025

Dec 4 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Back the Blue Act of 2025

Bill NumberHR 4310
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(2)
D: 1R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.