HR6982-119

What This Bill Does

The Preventing Prosecutors from Protecting Predators Act of 2026 adds prosecutorial data-reporting conditions to Violence Against Women Act grants. Each chief prosecuting officer of a covered office serving at least 100,000 people and receiving funds under the relevant grant part must submit annual reports to the Attorney General. Covered offices include State, territorial, Tribal, district attorney, State's attorney, county attorney, city attorney, solicitor, or similar prosecutorial offices. Reports must cover referred cases, declined cases and reasons, defendants' prior arrests or convictions, pending cases, probation, parole, sex offender registry status, bail requests and outcomes, pretrial detention, trial convictions, plea convictions, acquittals, mistrials, dismissals, diversion or deferred prosecution, sentencing recommendations, justifications, and actual sentences. Covered offenses include rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, sex trafficking, child pornography, incest, voyeurism, solicitation of minors, nonconsensual intimate-image distribution, and related attempts or conspiracies. The Attorney General must set uniform standards, require offense-segregated reporting, submit information to House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and publish it online. Offices that fail to report lose 25 to 50 percent of otherwise allocable funds the next fiscal year. Offices declining more than half of referred covered cases may face corrective action plans, grant conditions, and up to two fiscal years of reduced or suspended eligibility.

Who Benefits and How

Victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and trafficking benefit from more public visibility into prosecutorial decisions and case outcomes. Congress, the Attorney General, researchers, journalists, and community oversight groups benefit from standardized data comparing declinations, plea deals, bail, sentencing, and repeat-offender indicators across large offices. Federal grant administrators gain leverage to require reporting and corrective action.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Covered prosecutors' offices must collect detailed annual case data, explain declinations and dismissals, track defendant histories, organize reports by covered offense, and face public scrutiny. Offices that miss reports risk losing 25 to 50 percent of grant funds, and offices with high declination rates may need corrective action plans or lose eligibility for up to two fiscal years. DOJ staff must define uniform standards, process reports, publish data, send it to Congress, withhold funds, and monitor compliance.

Key Provisions

• Requires annual prosecutorial reports from large covered offices receiving VAWA-related grant funds.
• Requires data on referrals, declinations, bail, plea agreements, trial outcomes, dismissals, diversion, sentencing, and defendant histories.
• Defines covered offenses to include sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, sex trafficking, child pornography, and related offenses.
• Directs the Attorney General to set uniform standards, publish data online, and submit information to Judiciary Committees.
• Authorizes grant withholding, corrective action plans, grant conditions, and future eligibility reductions for nonreporting or high declination rates.