# 119-hr-1698: Law Enforcement Protection and Privacy Act of 2025

119-hr-1698, Law Enforcement Protection and Privacy Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1698
- As of: 2026-09-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1698
- Congress: 119
- Title: Law Enforcement Protection and Privacy Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 25
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-03

## Summary

**Protecting firearm trace data** by exempting ATF trace records from public disclosure and creating civil penalties and a private lawsuit path for unlawful disclosures. This bill would add a new FOIA exemption for the ATF’s Firearms Trace System and for certain dealer records under 18 U.S.C. 923.

## Cosponsors (25)

- Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14] (R-TX), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Babin, Brian [R-TX-36] (R-TX), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schmidt, Derek [R-KS-2] (R-KS), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [R-TN-3] (R-TN), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Collins, Mike [R-GA-10] (R-GA), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26] (R-TX), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rutherford, John H. [R-FL-5] (R-FL), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1] (R-MD), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Messmer, Mark B. [R-IN-8] (R-IN), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL), 2025-03-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Yakym, Rudy [R-IN-2] (R-IN), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] (R-TX), 2025-03-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crenshaw, Dan [R-TX-2] (R-TX), 2025-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harshbarger, Diana [R-TN-1] (R-TN), 2025-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DesJarlais, Scott [R-TN-4] (R-TN), 2025-08-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] (R-NY), 2025-09-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Max L. [R-OH-7] (R-OH), 2025-09-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jackson, Ronny [R-TX-13] (R-TX), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Nehls, Troy E. [R-TX-22] (R-TX), 2025-10-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rogers, Mike D. [R-AL-3] (R-AL), 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jack, Brian [R-GA-3] (R-GA), 2025-12-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6] (R-WI), 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gooden, Lance [R-TX-5] (R-TX), 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] (R-NY), 2026-03-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Licensed gun dealers could sue over leaks: benefit, high. If enacted, federally licensed firearm businesses could sue over unlawful disclosures of protected records. Courts could award the greater of triple damages (including lost income or reputational harm) or $25,000 per disclosed item, plus possible punitive damages and attorney’s fees. The Attorney G…
- Keeps other legal remedies available: benefit, low. The bill would not block any other legal remedies. If a court strikes part of the Act, the rest would still apply. These rules would take effect upon enactment.
- FOIA shield for firearm trace records: mixed, medium. The bill would add a FOIA exemption for ATF firearm trace data and certain licensee records. Agencies could deny FOIA requests for the Firearms Trace System and for records dealers must keep or report under federal law. This would reduce public access to those records, while shielding sensitive tra…
- Who and what counts as protected info: mixed, low. The bill would define key terms. It would name the covered disclosure statute, adopt the federal definition of agency, and define local entities. It would define protected information to include the ATF Firearms Trace System and dealer records that must be kept or reported. These definitions would…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
- 119-hr-45: FIND Act
- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act
- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1698 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1698)

## Related
- [119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8800)
- [119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1181)
- [119-hr-45: FIND Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-45)
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-404)
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1698 (as of 2026-09-03).