# 119-s-490: Protecting Americans’ Privacy Act of 2025

119-s-490, Protecting Americans’ Privacy Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] (D-NY); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-490
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-490
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protecting Americans’ Privacy Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-06
- Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Tightens privacy around the Treasury’s payment systems.** This bill would bar many nonfederal actors and certain federal employees from accessing or exercising administrative control over Department of the Treasury public money receipt or payment systems and would prevent disclosures of tax return information through those systems. - Taxpayers gain a private right of action. They could sue for unauthorized access or disclosure and recover the greater of actual damages or $250,000 per violation, plus punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. - Federal employees and contractors face new access limits. The bill would block access by individuals who are not federal employees or contractors with at least one year of continuous service, civil servants with under one year of service, federal employees who hold senior or board roles at covered entities, and those with certain conflicts or without a written ethics agreement. - Treasury systems and tax confidentiality rules are reinforced. The bill forbids facilitating improper access, amends Internal Revenue Code section 6103 to restrict disclosures via Treasury systems, and raises the code’s disclosure damages cap to $250,000 per violation.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D-MI), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] (D-WA), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Ban on unauthorized Treasury access: benefit, high. This bill would ban knowingly accessing or controlling any Department of the Treasury public money receipt or payment system if you are not an allowed federal employee or a long-term contractor. It would also bar anyone from helping or knowingly permitting such access. If enacted, people harmed by…
- Stronger tax privacy, larger damages: benefit, high. The bill would bar disclosing tax returns or return information via Treasury payment systems to certain disqualified employees. It would also raise civil damages for unlawful inspection or disclosure to the greater of actual damages or $250,000 per violation. If enacted, taxpayers could sue covered…

## Related bills

- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
- 119-s-2523: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-490 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/490)

## Related
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [119-s-2523: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2523)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-490 (as of 2025-12-21).