S. 3021 · Where this bill is now
In the House
Passed the Senate Dec 16, 2025. Received Dec 17, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryStrengthens penalties for child exploitation crimes
This bill expands what's considered illegal when it comes to child sexual abuse material, including edited or altered images of real minors. It also increases the criminal penalties—meaning harsher punishments—for making, sharing, or possessing this material. The bill gives federal law enforcement broader power to prosecute these crimes.
How it affects you
This bill doesn't directly change anything in daily life for most people. However, if you work in law enforcement or child protection, you'd see expanded tools to investigate and prosecute child exploitation. For people who create, distribute, or possess child sexual abuse material, the consequences would become more severe.
Read the official summary (Passed Senate, Dec 16, 2025)
Enhancing Necessary Federal Offenses Regarding Child Exploitation Act or the ENFORCE Act
This bill broadens the scope of prohibited conduct and increases criminal penalties for child pornography offenses involving the production or distribution of an adapted or modified depiction of an identifiable minor. The bill also expands federal enforcement of criminal offenses involving the possession, receipt, distribution, or production of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.
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 SessionS. 3021
AN ACT
ENFORCE Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) · Introduced Oct 21, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Dec 17, 2025: “Held at the desk.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 2 official versions.