Foreign Adversary Federal Offense Act 2025

Full Title:
Foreign Adversary Federal Offense Act of 2025

Summary#

This bill would change two federal criminal provisions to add higher penalties when offenses are done to advance the interests of a "covered nation" (as defined in section 4872 of title 10).

For economic espionage (18 U.S.C. 1831), the bill would add special penalties: individuals who commit the offense to benefit a covered nation would face fines up to $5,000,000 and prison terms of at least 10 years and up to 15 years. If the offense resulted in "severe harm to economic or national security," the prison term could be from 10 to 20 years. Offenders in these cases would be ineligible for supervised release. An organization that commits the offense to benefit a covered nation would face a fine equal to the greater of $20,000,000 or five times the value of the stolen trade secret, including expenses for research and design and other costs of reproducing the trade secret that the organization avoided.

The bill defines "severe harm to economic or national security" for this section as transmission of nonpublic information about the security, design, operation, or vulnerability of critical infrastructure (using the USA PATRIOT Act definition of critical infrastructure) where acting on that information would pose a significant threat of incapacitation or destruction of that infrastructure.

For unlawful gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information (18 U.S.C. 793), the bill would add a mandatory minimum penalty when the violation was committed to advance the interests of a covered nation. In that case, the offender would be fined or imprisoned for not less than 15 years and not more than any term of years or for life, or both.

As noted in the provided metadata, the measure was introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

What it means for you#

  • If a person knowingly steals or transmits trade secrets to benefit a covered nation, this bill would create higher minimum prison terms and larger fines than currently apply.
  • If an organization steals a trade secret to benefit a covered nation, it could face very large fines tied to the value of the stolen information.
  • If someone wrongfully handles defense information to benefit a covered nation, the bill would impose a minimum prison term of 15 years and potentially much longer sentences.
  • The bill uses the legal term "covered nation" as defined in title 10, section 4872, and it links some enhanced penalties to harms to critical infrastructure as defined in the USA PATRIOT Act.

Expenses#

  • Individual fines for economic espionage to benefit a covered nation: up to $5,000,000.
  • Individual prison terms for such economic espionage: at least 10 years, up to 15 years; if the offense causes "severe harm," up to 20 years.
  • Organization fines for economic espionage to benefit a covered nation: the greater of $20,000,000 or five times the value of the stolen trade secret (including certain research and reproduction cost savings).
  • Defense-information offenses committed to benefit a covered nation: fines under title 18 or imprisonment of not less than 15 years and up to any term of years or for life.
  • No publicly available information on federal implementation costs, enforcement costs, or other budgetary effects in the provided text and metadata.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.