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Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025
To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to acts of aggression against the United States a member of a criminal enterprise or any conspirator associated with an enterprise involved in cybercrimes, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill authorizes the President to issue letters of marque and reprisal against individuals or entities identified as members of criminal enterprises or conspirators involved in cybercrimes that pose a threat to U.S. national security. The bill defines cybercrime broadly to include computer fraud, ransomware attacks, cryptocurrency theft, and other unauthorized computer access offenses. The President would be authorized to commission privately armed entities to seize persons and property belonging to identified cybercriminals outside U.S. geographic boundaries, subject to the posting of security bonds to ensure compliance with the terms of the letters.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to David Schweikert’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $273,533
- CEO $16,700
- STENSON TAMADDON $13,700
- OPTIMA FINANCIAL GROUP $13,600
- BRODIE GENERATIONAL CAPITAL PARTNERS $13,200
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for David Schweikert → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Aug 15, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. · house
- Aug 15, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 15, 2025
Mr. Schweikert introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to acts of aggression against the United States a member of a criminal enterprise or any conspirator associated with an enterprise involved in cybercrimes, 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 “Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants the Congress the power to grant letters of marque and reprisal to punish, deter, and prevent the acts of aggression and depredations and other acts of war committed by scam centers.
(2) Criminal enterprises that employ cybercrimes and coerced labor present an unusual and extraordinary threat to the economic and national security of the United States.
SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF LETTERS OF MARQUE AND REPRISAL.
(a) Authority of President.—The President of the United States is authorized and requested to commission, under officially issued letters of marque and reprisal, so many of privately armed and equipped persons and entities as, in the judgment of the President, the service may require, with suitable instructions to the leaders thereof, to employ all means reasonably necessary to seize outside the geographic boundaries of the United States and its territories the person and property of any individual or foreign government, as applicable, who the President determines is a member of a criminal enterprise or any conspirator associated with an enterprise involved in cybercrime who is responsible for an act of aggression against the United States.
(b) Security Bonds.—No letter of marque and reprisal shall be issued by the President without requiring the posting of a security bond in such amount as the President shall determine is sufficient to ensure that the letter be executed according to the terms and conditions thereof.
(c) Definitions.—For the purposes of this section—
(1) the term “cybercrime” includes—
(A) an offense under section 1030 of title 18, United States Code;
(B) accessing a computer without authorization to obtain national security information, including sharing or retaining such information;
(C) accessing a computer without authorization to obtain personally identifiable information;
(D) accessing a Government computer without authorization;
(E) accessing a computer without authorization to engage in fraud;
(F) causing damage to a computer by transmitting a program, information, code, or command;
(G) trafficking in passwords or other means of accessing a computer without authorization;
(H) a pig butchering scam;
(I) a ransomware attack;
(J) cryptocurrency theft; or
(K) identity theft; and
(2) the term “criminal enterprise” includes a foreign government. <all>
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