Congress toughens penalties for credit card fraud, demands federal-state coordination report
H.R. 3810 — SKIM Act · Filed by Vince Fong (R-CA) · 17 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 6, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase criminal penalties for access device fraud (credit card skimming, counterfeiting) by raising baseline sentences and setting a floor of level 14 offense severity, and mandates the Attorney General to report to Congress within 90 days on federal, state, and local law enforcement coordination efforts to combat such fraud, including assessment of gaps in assistance and legislative recommendations.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is twofold: (1) a mandatory increase in sentencing guidelines for access device fraud crimes, and (2) a reporting requirement on federal-state law enforcement coordination. Both are straightforward criminal-justice measures with no hidden riders or private beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Sentencing floor of level 14 may increase federal prison population and associated costs, with potential disparate impact on lower-income defendants who cannot afford sophisticated defense.
- Report requirement may expose significant gaps in federal assistance to state/local law enforcement, potentially creating political pressure for additional federal funding or resources.
- Broader definition of 'loss' in fraud cases (including all unauthorized charges on 10+ counterfeit devices) may increase calculated loss amounts and push sentences higher than historical practice.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary people benefit from stronger criminal penalties that deter credit card fraud and identity theft, and from transparency about how well federal and state law enforcement coordinate to stop it. The reporting requirement creates accountability for federal agencies to assist state/local law enforcement.
Named in the bill
United States Sentencing Commission, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, House Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, House Committee on Homeland Security, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (access device fraud statute)
Where it stands
17 cosponsors: 17 Republicans.
- Jun 6, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 6, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,303 characters) on Sep 5, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 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 2026-10-21.
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