Ben Cline (R-VA)
Fraud Accountability and Mandatory Sentencing Act
A Republican bill with 1 Republican cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is called the Fraud Accountability and Mandatory Sentencing Act. It targets fraud related to government benefits like food assistance, social security, unemployment, and health insurance. The bill allows the Attorney General to bring civil actions against State officers and employees who know about fraud and fail to stop it. It also removes normal immunity protections for these State workers if they fail to prevent fraud. Furthermore, the legislation establishes strict mandatory minimum prison sentences for people convicted of covered fraud offenses involving these benefits. Courts are also prohibited from placing offenders on probation or suspending their sentences.
Yes
- Scored +6
Does this give the federal government more power?
The bill increases federal oversight by allowing the Attorney General to bring civil actions against state officers and employees who fail to prevent fraud in government benefit programs.
- Scored +5
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The legislation enforces accountability and personal liability for state officials who know about fraud in public benefit programs and fail to act.
The opposite
- Scored -8
Does this shorten or soften prison sentences?
The bill establishes strict mandatory minimum prison sentences for fraud offenses involving government benefits and removes judicial discretion to grant probation.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
- Civil Accountability for State Workers: Under Section 2, the Attorney General can bring civil actions against State officers and employees who have knowledge of fraud in covered benefits and the power to prevent it, but fail or refuse to do so. This provision holds public officials accountable if they stand by while benefit programs are defrauded.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Severe Prison Sentences: Under Section 3, individuals found guilty of a covered fraud offense involving a covered benefit face mandatory minimum prison sentences ranging from not less than 1 year to not less than 20 years, depending on the monetary loss. This applies even for losses under $40,000, and successive violations double the minimum term.
- Denial of Probation: Under Section 3, courts are prohibited from placing anyone on probation or suspending their sentence for these specific offenses, which removes judicial discretion in sentencing.
- Removal of Official Immunity: Under Section 2, normal immunity that would usually protect State officers and employees acting within the scope of their employment does not apply in these civil actions.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this give the federal government more power? — The bill increases federal oversight by allowing the Attorney General to bring civil actions against state officers and employees who fail to prevent fraud in government benefit programs. Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The legislation enforces accountability and personal liability for state officials who know about fraud in public benefit programs and fail to act.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this shorten or soften prison sentences? — The bill establishes strict mandatory minimum prison sentences for fraud offenses involving government benefits and removes judicial discretion to grant probation.
- 11/5/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 10/29/2026
- Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Introduced in House
Harriet HagemanRepublican · Wyoming