[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 211 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8731-S8732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
        Whitehouse, Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Sanders, and Ms. 
        Warren):
  S. 3470. A bill to amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to 
hold certain public employers liable in civil actions for deprivation 
of rights, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to reintroduce the Accountability 
for Federal Law Enforcement Act, legislation that would ensure that 
individuals whose constitutional or civil rights are violated by 
Federal law enforcement officers have access to justice.
  This legislation would amend 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 to include Federal 
law enforcement Agencies--defined as ``public employers''--alongside 
State and local actors. It would create a statutory right of action 
allowing individuals, regardless of citizenship, to seek damages for 
civil rights violations committed by Federal law enforcement officers.
  The bill would also allow suits against Federal Agencies when their 
employees violate constitutional rights, regardless of whether an 
Agency policy caused the harm, and would waive sovereign immunity for 
these claims to ensure that victims have access to redress in Federal 
court.
  Importantly, the bill preserves existing defenses for individual 
officers, leaving the qualified immunity doctrine unchanged.
  In recent months, Federal law enforcement Agencies have carried out 
high-profile raids and operations in communities across the country, 
including in California, where officers have been documented using 
violent and excessive tactics against immigrants, citizens, 
journalists, and bystanders. These incidents are not isolated; they 
reflect a broader pattern of

[[Page S8732]]

unaccountable conduct that erodes public trust and undermines the 
legitimacy of Federal authority.
  When officers violate constitutional rights without consequence, the 
damage extends far beyond any single case. It deepens fear in already 
vulnerable communities and weakens faith in equal justice under law.
  Under current law, individuals may sue State and local officers for 
civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, but there is no 
statutory right to sue Federal officers for comparable violations. The 
only available remedy--the Bivens doctrine--has been sharply limited by 
the U.S. Supreme Court.
  In Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 1971, the Court recognized a 
damages remedy for certain Fourth Amendment violations by Federal 
officers. Subsequent decisions extended Bivens to a Fifth Amendment 
gender discrimination claim and an Eighth Amendment claim for 
inadequate medical care. However, the Court has since restricted Bivens 
to just those three limited contexts, foreclosing other types of 
violations and leaving victims of Federal misconduct without a remedy.
  The absence of accountability for Federal law enforcement misconduct 
cannot stand. Every person, citizen or not, should be able to seek 
redress when their constitutional rights are violated by those sworn to 
uphold them.
  The Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act would close this 
gap and reaffirm a fundamental principle: that the rule of law applies 
equally to all, including those who enforce it.
                                 ______