Safe Access to Cash Act of 2023

Summary

Safe Access to Cash Act of 2023 This bill establishes a new federal statutory framework to govern robbery offenses involving ATMs and related conduct. Currently, the federal bank robbery statute makes it a federal crime to take or attempt to take by force and violence or by intimidation, money or other property from any bank, credit union, or savings and loan association. A violation is punishable by a statutory maximum prison term of 20 years (or 25 years, if the offense includes assault or use of a dangerous weapon). However, federal circuit courts have split on whether forcing someone to withdraw money from an ATM qualifies as an offense under the federal bank robbery statute. In United States v. Chavez, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the bank customer, rather than the bank, had possession of the funds when the robbery occurred, so a necessary element of the federal bank robbery statute--that the money belonged to the bank--was not satisfied. In contrast, the Tenth, Seventh, and Fourth Circuits have held that directly forcing a bank customer to withdraw money from an ATM constitutes a federal bank robbery because the funds belonged to the bank when the withdrawal occurred. This bill establishes new statutory criminal offenses for ATM robbery and related offenses such as ATM theft. A violation is subject to the same criminal penalties as an offense under the federal bank robbery statute--a statutory maximum prison term of 20 years (or 25 years, if the offense includes assault or use of a dangerous weapon).

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Timeline

1. 17 May 2023

   Introduced

   Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 17 May 2023

   Introduced

   Introduced in House

   Source: IntroReferral

3. 17 May 2023

   Introduced

   Introduced in House

   Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Introduced in House · 17 May 2023 · Official file

Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in House (text)

  Introduced in House · EN · 17 May 2023

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House (PDF)

  Introduced in House · EN · 17 May 2023

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 17 May 2023

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• John Rose · R · Sponsor
• Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4] · D · Sponsor
• Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] · D · Cosponsor
• Donald Payne · D · Cosponsor
• James Baird · R · Cosponsor
• Rep. Fitzgerald, Scott [R-WI-5] · R · Cosponsor
• Daniel Meuser · R · Cosponsor
• Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5] · R · Cosponsor
• Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11] · D · Cosponsor
• Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8] · R · Cosponsor
• Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] · D · Cosponsor
• · hsju00 · Standing

Related records

• related to → Safe Access to Cash Act of 2026