# 119-s-5617: Combating Critical Infrastructure Vandalism Act of 2026

119-s-5617, Combating Critical Infrastructure Vandalism Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5617
- As of: 2026-10-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5617
- Congress: 119
- Title: Combating Critical Infrastructure Vandalism Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-30
- Sponsor: Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-17

## Summary

**Expands federal vandalism law to make willful damage to copper, fiber, and coaxial cables used for telecommunications and information services a federal offense.** The bill would amend 18 U.S.C. § 1362 to cover cables that affect interstate or foreign commerce, including cables under construction, while carving out customer premises equipment and exempting certain lawful concerted activities.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Ban and penalties for cable vandalism: benefit, medium. If enacted, this bill would make it a federal crime to willfully or maliciously injure, destroy, or steal copper, fiber, or coaxial cable used to provide telecommunications or information services that are used in or affect interstate or foreign commerce. The ban would cover cables already built an…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026
- 119-s-3492: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025
- 119-s-237: Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025
- 119-s-4429: Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026
- 119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-5617 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5617)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4668)
- [119-s-3492: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3492)
- [119-s-237: Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-237)
- [119-s-4429: Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4429)
- [119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1816)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5617 (as of 2026-10-17).