Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3470 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3470

  To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to hold certain 
public employers liable in civil actions for deprivation of rights, and 
                          for other purposes.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 15, 2025

 Mr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Whitehouse, 
  Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Sanders, and Ms. Warren) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to hold certain 
public employers liable in civil actions for deprivation of rights, 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 ``Accountability for Federal Law 
Enforcement Act''.

SEC. 2. CIVIL ACTION FOR DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS.

    Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 
U.S.C. 1983) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Every'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In this section, the term `public employer' means a Federal 
law enforcement agency that, at the time of a deprivation of any 
rights, privileges, or immunities described in section (b), employs, or 
contracts with an individual to perform the duties of, a Federal law 
enforcement officer or any other officer empowered by law to execute 
searches, to seize evidence, or to make arrests.
    ``(b) Every'';
            (2) in subsection (b), as so designated, by inserting ``the 
        United States or'' before ``any State''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) If, while acting under color of law, any officer who is 
empowered by law to execute searches, to seize evidence, or to make 
arrests subjects or causes to be subjected any citizen of the United 
States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the 
deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the 
Constitution and laws, the public employer of that officer shall be 
liable to the party injured for the conduct of the officer in an action 
at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, 
regardless of whether a policy or custom of the public employer caused 
the violation, and regardless of whether the officer has any defense or 
immunity from suit or liability. This paragraph shall constitute a 
waiver of sovereign immunity of the United States with respect to 
Federal law enforcement agencies for any claim brought under this 
section. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit or 
preclude any legal, equitable, or other remedy that is available, under 
this section or under any other source of law, against an individual 
officer.''.
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