Only the right has signed this so far (Bill Ranking)
H.R. 378 · 119th Congress (2025-2026)
43 members · Left 0 · Center 4 · Right 39 (Bill Ranking)
| Sponsor | Rep. Buchanan, Vern (R-FL) (Introduced 01/14/2025) |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Voting Record | Lean right · DW-NOMINATE +0.36 · measured from every roll-call vote this member has cast (voteview.com) (Sponsor Ranking) |
| Support |
LLLCLRR support across the spectrum: 43 members signed on (Bill Ranking) this bill: sponsor + current cosponsors, each once |
| Committees | House - Judiciary Committee |
| Latest Action | 01/14/2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. |
| Roll Call Votes | There have been no roll call votes |
| Source | view on congress.gov → |
Introduced in House (01/14/2025)
Thin Blue Line Act
This bill expands the list of statutory aggravating factors in death penalty determinations to also include killing or targeting a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or other first responder.
119 HR 378 IH: Thin Blue Line Act U.S. House of Representatives 2025-01-14 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I119th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 378IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 14, 2025Mr. Buchanan (for himself, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Ezell, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Bost, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. LaLota, Ms. De La Cruz, Mrs. Houchin, Mrs. Luna, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Valadao, and Mr. Obernolte) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryA BILLTo amend title 18, United States Code, to provide additional aggravating factors for the imposition of the death penalty based on the status of the victim.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Thin Blue Line Act.2.Aggravating factors for death penaltySection 3592(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (16) the following:(17)Killing or targeting of law enforcement officer(A)The defendant killed or attempted to kill, in the circumstance described in subparagraph (B), a person who is authorized by law—(i)to engage in or supervise the prevention, detention, investigation, or prosecution, or the incarceration of any person for any criminal violation of law;(ii)to apprehend, arrest, or prosecute an individual for any criminal violation of law; or(iii)to be a firefighter or other first responder.(B)The circumstance referred to in subparagraph (A) is that the person was killed or targeted—(i)while he or she was engaged in the performance of his or her official duties;(ii)because of the performance of his or her official duties; or(iii)because of his or her status as a public official or employee..
The bill's own words, from our database (synced from the GPO BILLS XML); paragraph breaks added at the bill's section boundaries, nothing else changed.
| Date | Chamber | All Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 01/14/2025 | Library of Congress | Introduced in House |
| 01/14/2025 | Library of Congress | Introduced in House |
| 01/14/2025 | House floor actions | Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. |
| Title Type | Title |
|---|---|
| Display Title | Thin Blue Line Act |
| Official Title as Introduced | To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide additional aggravating factors for the imposition of the death penalty based on the status of the victim. |
| Short Title(s) as Introduced | Thin Blue Line Act |
There are no amendments to this bill.
* = Original cosponsor
| Committee | Activity |
|---|---|
| House - Judiciary Committee | 01/14/2025 Referred To |
Policy Area: Crime and Law Enforcement
All data on this page comes from our own database (legislation.congress_* tables), synced daily from the GPO govinfo BILLSTATUS and BILLS collections. Formatted after congress.gov; nothing is generated. Member placement is their DW-NOMINATE score (voteview.com, Lewis et al.) - a measurement of roll-call voting behavior, not our judgement. Buckets: Left below −0.50 · Lean Left to −0.25 · Center to +0.25 · Lean Right to +0.50 · Right above +0.50. The bill's Support meter aggregates the people who signed the bill - sponsor and current cosponsors, each counted once - nothing else.