HR 4334 — Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act

Summary

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.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in House Current html July 10, 2025

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill modifies the Armed Career Criminal Act by changing sentencing provisions and definitions related to convictions for firearm offenses.

• 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2)

  (a)(6), (h), (i), (j), or (o) of section 922 → (a)(6), (d), (h), (i), (j), or (o) of section 922, or, except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, subsection (g) of section 922

  This change expands the categories of violations under section 922 that can lead to increased penalties for armed career criminals.

• 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)

  the existing text of subsection (e) → (e)(1) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(g) and has 3 or more previous serious felony convictions for offenses committed on occasions different from one another shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years, and, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall not suspend the sentence of, or grant a probationary sentence to, such person with respect to the conviction under section 922(g). (2) In this subsection— (A) the term `offense punishable by imprisonment for a statutory maximum term of not less than 10 years' includes an offense (without regard to the application of any sentencing guideline, statutory criterion, or judgment that may provide for a shorter period of imprisonment within the statutory sentencing range) for which the statute provides for a range in the period of imprisonment that may be imposed at sentencing the maximum term of which is not less than 10 years; and (B) the term `serious felony conviction' means— (i) any conviction by a court that, at the time of sentencing, was a felony offense punishable by imprisonment for a statutory maximum term of not less than 10 years; or (ii) any group of convictions for which a court imposed in the same proceeding or in consolidated proceedings a total term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years, regardless of how many years of that total term the defendant served in custody.

  This amendment introduces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for individuals with three or more serious felony convictions who violate section 922(g), and it also defines what constitutes a serious felony conviction.

Action History

1. July 10, 2025

   Introduced in House

2. July 10, 2025

   Introduced in House

3. July 10, 2025

   Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

• David Kustoff · Primary

Subjects