# 119-s-4445: Veterans Protection from Fraud Act of 2026

119-s-4445, Veterans Protection from Fraud Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4445
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4445
- Congress: 119
- Title: Veterans Protection from Fraud Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-30
- Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**This bill would expand federal criminal penalties by explicitly covering targeted veterans as victims eligible for enhanced punishment.** It would add a new subparagraph (C) to 18 U.S.C. §2326(2) that incorporates the term “targeted veterans,” as defined in 38 U.S.C. §101, so that veterans of any age are included among the categories that can trigger enhanced penalties for crimes against protected persons.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Stronger penalties for targeted veterans: benefit, medium. This bill would add "targeted veterans" to the list of people eligible for tougher federal penalties for crimes. "Targeted veterans" would be as defined in 38 U.S.C. §101. The change would apply to targeted veterans of any age. It would work inside the existing enhanced-penalty rules of 18 U.S.C. §…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-4062: Next Generation 9–1–1 Act
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-554: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-4627: FARM AI Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-4445 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4445)

## Related
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-4062: Next Generation 9–1–1 Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4062)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-554: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-554)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-4627: FARM AI Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4627)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4445 (as of 2026-08-11).