# 119-s-83: Thin Blue Line Act

119-s-83, Thin Blue Line Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX); status introduced (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-83
- 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-83
- Congress: 119
- Title: Thin Blue Line Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-14
- Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 16
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**Adds killing or targeting police, firefighters, and other first responders as a federal death-penalty aggravating factor.** The bill would amend 18 U.S.C. § 3592(c) to add a new aggravating factor that applies when a defendant killed or attempted to kill a person who is authorized to prevent, detain, investigate, prosecute, incarcerate, apprehend, or arrest for criminal violations, or who is a firefighter or other first responder. It covers cases where the victim was killed or targeted while performing official duties, because of those duties, or because of their status as a public official or employee. This creates an additional basis prosecutors can cite when seeking the death penalty in federal cases.

## Cosponsors (16)

- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] (R-TN), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] (R-WI), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2025-01-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-01-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL), 2025-01-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Moody, Ashley [R-FL] (R-FL), 2026-02-05T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Harsher federal sentences for attacks on officers: benefit, low. If enacted, prosecutors and federal judges could use a new aggravating factor in death-penalty cases. It would cover people authorized to do law enforcement, prosecution, incarceration, arrest, or first responder duties. The factor applies if the person was killed while on duty, because of their jo…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act
- 119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025
- 119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-s-9: Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-83 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/83)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752)
- [119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-401)
- [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186)
- [119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-6)
- [119-s-9: Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-9)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-83 (as of 2026-08-11).