Congress·In Committee·H.R. 9575

Hold Vandals Accountable Act of 2026

Federal Property: Lowering Damage Threshold for Vandalism Charges

To amend title 18, United States Code, to decrease the sum of damage or attempted damage to property of the United States, and for other purposes.

Jul 2·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

Most bills introduced by a single member without a large group of supporters fail to move past the initial committee stage. This specific change to criminal law may not be a high priority for the current session.

Key Points

This bill changes the rules for how people are punished when they damage property owned by the United States government. It lowers the dollar amount of damage needed to trigger more serious legal penalties from $1,000 down to $500.
Under current law, damaging federal property like buildings or monuments is treated more harshly if the repair cost is high. By lowering this limit to $500, more people could face tougher charges and longer prison time for smaller amounts of damage.
The plan aims to stop people from vandalizing government property by making the consequences more severe. This would affect anyone caught breaking, defacing, or attempting to damage things like federal offices, park equipment, or government vehicles.
If this becomes law, it would give federal prosecutors more power to seek stricter punishments for crimes that were previously considered less serious. This could lead to an increase in the number of people facing significant fines or jail time for vandalism.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jul 2, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Jul 2, 2026

Introduced in House

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

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

To amend title 18, United States Code, to decrease the sum of damage or attempted damage to property of the United States, and for other purposes.

Bill NumberHR 9575

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.