Graham Hoffman Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2278 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2278

  To amend title 18, United States Code, to punish criminal offenses 
          targeting first responders, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 15, 2025

   Mr. Schmitt (for himself, Mr. Hawley, Ms. Hassan, Mrs. Moody, Mr. 
 Risch, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Hagerty) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 18, United States Code, to punish criminal offenses 
          targeting first responders, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Graham Hoffman Act''.

SEC. 2. CRIMES TARGETING FIRST RESPONDERS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 121. Crimes targeting first responders
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in 
subsection (b), knowingly assaults a first responder engaged in 
official duties causing serious bodily injury, or attempts to do so--
            ``(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in 
        accordance with this title, or both; and
            ``(2) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for 
        life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if--
                    ``(A) death results from the offense; or
                    ``(B) the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt 
                to kidnap, or an attempt to kill.
    ``(b) Circumstances Described.--For purposes of subsection (a), the 
circumstances described in this subsection are that--
            ``(1) the conduct described in subsection (a) occurs during 
        the course of, or as the result of, the travel of the defendant 
        or the victim--
                    ``(A) across a State line or national border; or
                    ``(B) using a channel, facility, or instrumentality 
                of interstate or foreign commerce;
            ``(2) the defendant uses a channel, facility, or 
        instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in connection 
        with the conduct described in subsection (a);
            ``(3) in connection with the conduct described in 
        subsection (a), the defendant employs a firearm, dangerous 
        weapon, explosive or incendiary device, or other weapon that 
        has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce;
            ``(4) the conduct described in subsection (a)--
                    ``(A) interferes with commercial or other economic 
                activity in which the victim is engaged at the time of 
                the conduct; or
                    ``(B) otherwise affects interstate or foreign 
                commerce; or
            ``(5) the victim is a Federal first responder.
    ``(c) Certification Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--No prosecution of any offense described 
        in this section may be undertaken by the United States, except 
        under the certification in writing of the Attorney General, or 
        a designee, that--
                    ``(A) the State does not have jurisdiction;
                    ``(B) the State has requested that the Federal 
                Government assume jurisdiction;
                    ``(C) the verdict or sentence obtained pursuant to 
                State charges left demonstratively unvindicated the 
                Federal interest in protecting the public safety; or
                    ``(D) a prosecution by the United States is in the 
                public interest and necessary to secure substantial 
                justice.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to limit the authority of Federal officers, 
        or a Federal grand jury, to investigate possible violations of 
        this section.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) First responder.--The term `first responder' means--
                    ``(A) a firefighter, a law enforcement officer, or 
                a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew, as those 
                terms are defined in section 1204 of title I of the 
                Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
                U.S.C. 10284); or
                    ``(B) an officially recognized or designated 
                employee or volunteer member of a paramedic ALS 
                intercept service that meet the requirements under 
                section 410.40(d) of title 42, Code of Federal 
                Regulations (or any successor regulation).
            ``(2) State.--The term `State' means a State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, 
        territory, or possession of the United States.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 7 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``121. Crimes targeting first responders.''.
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