James T. Woods Act
Latest action · Mar 2, 2026 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 346.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedDec 15, 2025
- Passed HouseJan 12, 2026
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
James T. Woods Act
This bill expands the federal framework for combating the online exploitation of children. Among its provisions, the bill establishes new criminal offenses, expands reporting requirements, and facilitates the prosecution and sentencing of offenders.
TITLE I—SAFE ACT
Sentencing Accountability For Exploitation Act or the SAFE Act
This title directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines and policy statements applicable to federal criminal offenses involving the production, receipt, transport, shipment, or distribution of child sexual abuse material to (1) account for the actual and potential harm from the offense and changes since the last amendments with respect to the typical offense behavior and modern technologies, and (2) better reflect the spectrum of offender culpability.
TITLE II—ENDING COERCION OF CHILDREN AND HARM ONLINE
Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online Act or the ECCHO Act
This title establishes a federal framework to combat the online coercion of minors to commit harm. The title creates new criminal offenses, expands reporting of instances involving the online coercion of minors, facilitates the prosecution of offenders, and expands protections for minors who testify in court.
TITLE III—STOP SEXTORTION
Stop Sextortion Act
This title criminalizes threats to distribute child sexual abuse material to intimidate, coerce, extort, or cause substantial emotional distress. This practice is commonly referred to as sextortion. The title also increases criminal penalties for related offenses that involve the use of child sexual abuse material to intimidate, coerce, extort, or cause substantial emotional distress.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 9, 2026 to Jan 12, 2026.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-KS | Derek Schmidt | Jan 9, 2026 | |
| D-NY | Laura Gillen | Jan 12, 2026 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Dec 15, 2025Markup Dec 18, 2025 |
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 13, 2026Markup Feb 26, 2026Reported Mar 2, 2026 |
Actions 13
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 2, 2026Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Mar 2, 2026Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 346.
- Feb 26, 2026Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Jan 13, 2026Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Jan 12, 2026Ms. Lee (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Jan 12, 2026Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H628-630)
- Jan 12, 2026DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6719.
- Jan 12, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H628)
- Jan 12, 2026Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Dec 18, 2025Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Dec 18, 2025Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Voice Vote.
- Dec 15, 2025Introduced in House
- Dec 15, 2025Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E57 | Lucy McBath D-GA | Jan 20, 2026 |
| House | Debate and remarks H628–H630Text printed H628 | Andy Biggs R-AZ, Jamie Raskin D-MD, Laurel M. Lee R-FL, Mark Harris R-NC | Jan 12, 2026 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jul 27, 2026H.R. 6719, James T. Woods ActAs reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 2, 2026
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 211, December 15, 2025, page H5899.
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3394 | SAFE Act | Related bill | Dec 9, 2025 |
| S 3397 | ECCHO Act | Related bill | Dec 9, 2025 |
| S 3398 | Stop Sextortion Act | Related bill | Dec 9, 2025 |
| S 3704 | COP Act | Related bill | Jan 27, 2026 |
Titles 9
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit threats to a minor, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- COP Act of 2025
- Combating Online Predators Act of 2025
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate
- James T. Woods Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- Combating Online Predators Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate for portions of this bill
- Stop Sextortion Act
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- COP Act
- Combating Online Predators Act
- Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
- To prohibit threats to a minor, and for other purposes.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 2, 2026Reported to Senate
- Jan 13, 2026Referred in Senate
- Jan 12, 2026Engrossed in House
- Dec 15, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
