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119-hr-1274119th Congress

PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025

Sponsored By: Representative Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would reauthorize and substantially expand the PROTECT Our Children Act to strengthen the federal approach against child exploitation by requiring a more detailed, technology-aware national strategy. It would change the National Strategy timing to every four years and add a long list of required analyses and reviews to guide prevention, investigation, and prosecution efforts.

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  • Families and children would see a sharper federal focus on prevention because the strategy must analyze current and future trends, including new technologies that affect child exploitation.
  • ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) task forces and local law enforcement would face expanded reporting and oversight requirements. The bill would require reviews of the number and location of task forces, trained personnel, federal grants, and results such as arrests, referrals, prosecutions, and convictions.
  • Federal investigative and prosecutorial agencies would need to provide detailed activity and resource estimates. The plan must assess DOJ programs, investigations, arrests, prosecutions, sentencing, and estimate resources for ICAC task forces and agencies named like the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals, Secret Service, Postal Service, and Department of Defense investigative offices.
  • Judges and legal trainers would get new education requirements. The bill calls for education on links between intrafamilial contact offenses and technology-facilitated crimes and an assessment of training needs for ICAC-affiliated entities.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 3 mixed.

More funding for child-exploitation task forces

If enacted, the bill would authorize $70 million in FY2026, $80 million in FY2027, and $90 million in FY2028 for PROTECT programs. At least 20% of these funds would be set aside to support task forces, training, technology, research, and wellness. Grant recipients would also need to report how many child victims they identify. Funding would start in FY2026; other changes would start upon enactment.

Ends authorization for regional forensic labs

If enacted, the bill would repeal the law that authorized additional regional computer forensic labs. This would remove the legal basis to create or fund those labs under that title. The repeal would take effect upon enactment.

Broader national plan and optional data system

If enacted, the national strategy would come every four years instead of every two. The strategy would have to cover trends and new technology, goals and coordination plans, reviews of federal efforts, resource needs for task forces and agencies, data on cases, training needs, and judicial education. The bill would also make the national data system for Internet Crimes Against Children task forces optional instead of required. These changes would take effect upon enactment.

New duties and legal shields for child-crime task forces

If enacted, child‑exploitation task forces would have to do both reactive and proactive work, including digital forensics. They would pursue prosecutions, act on leads (including CyberTipline reports) using set priorities, and include Tribal and military jurisdictions. DOJ would evaluate task forces for operational effectiveness. The bill would also shield task forces and member agencies from most lawsuits or charges over those prioritization decisions. Claims would still be allowed for intentional misconduct, actual malice, reckless acts causing physical injury without legal justification, or actions unrelated to their duties. These changes would take effect upon enactment.

More data required in provider reports

If enacted, covered providers would need to include all supplemental data in their child‑exploitation reports. This would expand what must be sent under existing reporting rules. The change would take effect upon enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]

FL • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2]

    NJ • R

    Sponsored 2/12/2025

  • Rep. Moskowitz, Jared [D-FL-23]

    FL • D

    Sponsored 2/12/2025

  • Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 2/12/2025

  • Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1]

    WV • R

    Sponsored 3/10/2025

  • Rep. Schmidt, Derek [R-KS-2]

    KS • R

    Sponsored 10/17/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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