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H.R. 4187

U.S. House•In House Committee

Summary

H.R. 4187, the Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2025, was introduced in the House on Jun 26, 2025 by Rep. Ted Lieu (D) with 7 co-sponsors. It was referred to Judiciary, and last saw action on Jun 26, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Record

Text

H.R. 4187 has 7 co-sponsors.

hb4187/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 4187 IH: Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-06-26
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 4187  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   June 26, 2025   Mr. Lieu  (for himself,  Mrs. McBath ,  Mr. Johnson of Georgia ,  Mr. Panetta ,  Ms. Norton ,  Mr. Krishnamoorthi , and  Ms. Velázquez ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify the causation element in the Federal hate crime statute, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2025  .
2.
Clarification as to causation element in hate crimes
Section 249(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—
(A)
by striking  because of  and inserting  if ; and
(B)
by inserting after  origin of any person  the following:  was a contributory motivating factor for causing or attempting to cause such injury ; and
(2)
in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter preceding clause (i)—
(A)
by striking  because of  and inserting  if ; and
(B)
by inserting after  disability of any person  the following:  was a contributory motivating factor for causing or attempting to cause such injury .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-06-26
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Jun 26, 2025

hb4187/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (06/26/2025)

Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2025

This bill lowers the standard for establishing that a defendant's conduct constitutes a federal hate crime offense.

Currently, federal law prohibits willfully causing bodily injury or using a dangerous weapon to attempt to do so because of the actual or perceived protected characteristic (e.g., race or religion) of any person. In a prosecution for a hate crime offense, the government must establish that the defendant committed prohibited conduct because of a specific protected characteristic.

The phrase because of is not defined. However, since 2014, courts have generally held that because of relates to causation and requires the government to establish but-for causation. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in United States v. Miller that in a prosecution for a hate crime offense, the phrase because of required the government to establish that but for the religion of the victims, the defendants would not have committed the assaults.

This bill replaces the because of standard, which relates to causation, with a new standard related to motive. Under the new standard, willfully causing bodily injury or using a dangerous weapon to attempt to do so is a hate crime offense if the actual or perceived protected characteristic of any person is a contributory motivating factor in the offense.

Sponsors

Rep. Ted Lieu (D) sponsors H.R. 4187, and 7 members have co-sponsored it, 6 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 4187 went before 1 committee: Judiciary.

Judiciary
Judiciary
Referred To · Jun 26, 2025 · 2,181 Bills

Actions

H.R. 4187 has taken 2 actions since Jun 26, 2025.

ChamberAction
Jun 26, 2025
House
Introduced in House
Jun 26, 2025
House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.Judiciary Committee

Votes

H.R. 4187 has not gone to a roll call.

Titles

H.R. 4187 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2025 — Display Title
  • Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2025 — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify the causation element in the Federal hate crime statute, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 4187 under Crime and Law Enforcement, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 4187’s is Crime and Law Enforcement.

hr4187/policy-areas.txt
Crime and Law EnforcementAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 4187, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 110 (Thursday, June 26, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. LIEU:H.R. 4187.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:U.S. Const., Art 1, Sec. 8[Page H3012]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com