Career Criminal Accountability Act of 2026

Repeat federal offenders face tougher sentences

This bill would create a federal three-strikes sentencing rule. A judge would add extra prison time when a defendant has at least 3 accrued "strikes." Strikes would be weighted: listed misdemeanors 0.25, listed nonviolent felonies 0.5, and listed firearm or violent felonies 1. Juvenile misdemeanors would not count; juvenile felonies would count at smaller fractions (0.25 or 0.5). No enhancement would apply if the 3-strike total exists only because the current conviction is a listed misdemeanor. Strikes from one continuous criminal episode would not be combined; if strikes come from two episodes each episode must include a felony to count. If a defendant reaches 3 strikes, judges would add consecutive terms tied to the most serious current offense: +10 years for most listed nonviolent felonies, +15 years for listed firearm felonies, +20 years for a specified violent subset, and, in some cases meeting the bill's prior-conviction tests, a consecutive life term. Judges would be required to determine three-strikes status at sentencing.