President can punish pirates who attack ships at sea.
H.R. 1998 — Sanction Sea Pirates Act of 2025 · Filed by Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 10, 2025 · Passed chamber
Your members of Congress
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What it does
The bill lets the President freeze money for pirates. It bans their travel and stops their visas. The President can do this to anyone who breaks U.S. piracy laws. Food and medicine can still reach people in need.
Who it affects
Ship crews and companies that move goods across oceans are protected. People who work in shipping, insurance, and maritime security benefit from safer seas.
One thing to notice
Banks in the United States may have to freeze pirate money. Food and medicine transfers stay allowed, but other money transfers may be blocked.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
- Mar 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on Foreign Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period…”
- Apr 9, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Apr 9, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Voice Vote”
- Jun 23, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”
- Jun 23, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Burchett moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- piracy — Attacking or stealing from ships on the ocean.
- freeze — Stop someone from using their money or property.
- visas — Permission to enter the United States.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,396 characters) on Jul 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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