Federal law targets ATM robbery with up to life sentences
S. 3798 — Safe Access to Cash Act of 2026 · Filed by Ted Cruz (R-TX) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 5, 2026 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill creates new federal criminal offenses specifically for ATM robbery, tampering, and related crimes. It establishes penalties ranging from 1 year to life imprisonment depending on the severity—robbery of ATM users or servicers faces up to 20 years; theft of $1,000+ from an ATM faces up to 10 years; assault during ATM crimes faces up to 25 years; and killing during an ATM crime faces up to 30 years or life. The law applies to all ATMs connected to financial networks, whether located inside or outside a bank building.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is the creation of new federal criminal offenses and penalties for ATM-related crimes. It is a straightforward public-safety measure with no hidden provisions, tax carve-outs, or private beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Expansion of federal jurisdiction over street crime previously prosecuted at state/local level may shift enforcement resources and create potential overlap with state robbery statutes.
- Definition of ATM includes machines 'owned, operated, or sponsored by' financial institutions regardless of location, potentially capturing third-party ATM networks and independent operators in federal jurisdiction.
- Felony penalties for receiving or possessing stolen ATM property (subsection c) may criminalize downstream handlers with knowledge, extending liability chains beyond the primary theft.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates federal criminal penalties for ATM robbery, tampering, and violence associated with ATM crimes, protecting citizens who use ATMs and those who service them. The expansion of federal jurisdiction to cover ATMs regardless of location strengthens law enforcement's ability to prosecute these crimes, reducing a category of street crime and violent theft.
Named in the bill
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Banks, Credit unions, Savings and loan associations, ATM networks
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Feb 5, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Feb 5, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
- Mar 5, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.”
- Sep 30, 2026 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
5 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $3,574,111 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 78% of bills with at least one filing.
Ted Cruz, the sponsor, reported $531,115 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Bankers Association — $3,510,000 on 1 filing
- Ncr Atleos — $30,000 on 1 filing
- Ncr Atleos — $20,000 on 1 filing
- The Sentencing Project — $14,111 on 1 filing
- National Armored Car Association — $0 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,632 characters) on Jul 9, 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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