H.R. 4334 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on the Judiciary, Jul 10, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryBroadens which prior crimes trigger mandatory minimums
The Armed Career Criminal Act already imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum prison sentence on people who illegally possess firearms and have at least three serious prior convictions. This bill changes which past convictions count toward that threshold. Instead of only counting prior violent felonies or serious drug offenses, it would count any prior felony conviction punishable by 10 years or more in prison, or any group of prior convictions from the same proceeding that add up to 10 years or more.
How it affects you
This change would directly affect people prosecuted for illegally possessing firearms, potentially making it more likely they would face a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence if they have certain prior criminal convictions. It could also affect their families and communities where they live.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Jul 10, 2025)
Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act
This bill expands the criminal offenses that qualify as prior convictions for the purpose of enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).
Currently, the ACCA imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum prison term on a defendant who possesses, receives, or transports a firearm as a prohibited person (e.g., felon) and has three or more prior convictions for a serious drug offense or violent felony (or both) committed on separate occasions.
The term serious drug offense means a federal or state offense with a statutory maximum prison term of 10 years or more. A state offense must involve the manufacture, distribution, or possession of a controlled substance as defined in the Controlled Substances Act.
The term violent felony means any crime punishable by a prison term of more than one year that (1) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force; or (2) is burglary, arson, or extortion, or involves explosives.
This bill replaces serious drug offense and violent felony with a new category of qualifying prior offense: serious felony convictions. The term serious felony conviction means (1) any conviction that, at the time of sentencing, was a felony offense punishable by a statutory maximum prison term of 10 years or more; or (2) any group of convictions imposed in the same proceeding or in consolidated proceedings with a total prison term of 10 years of more, regardless of how many years the defendant served.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 4334
A BILL
Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act
Sponsor: Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN-8) · Introduced Jul 10, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jul 10, 2025: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.”