HouseH.R. 1181119th Congress
Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1181 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 447
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 1181
[Report No. 119-522]
To prohibit payment card networks and covered entities from requiring
the use of or assigning merchant category codes that distinguish a
firearms retailer from general-merchandise retailer or sporting-goods
retailer, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2025
Mr. Moore of West Virginia (for himself, Mr. Barr, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Bean
of Florida, Mr. Cline, Mr. Perry, Ms. Van Duyne, Mr. Guthrie, Mr.
Collins, Mr. Finstad, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. Webster of Florida, Mr.
Guest, Mr. Rulli, Mr. Williams of Texas, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr.
Bost, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Moore of North Carolina, Mr.
Newhouse, Mr. Comer, Mr. Womack, Mr. Rose, Mr. Yakym, Mr. Gill of
Texas, and Mr. Rutherford) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services
February 25, 2026
Additional sponsors: Ms. Boebert, Mr. Messmer, Mr. McDowell, Mr. Biggs
of Arizona, Mr. Issa, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Bergman, Mr.
Arrington, Mr. Huizenga, Mr. Kennedy of Utah, Ms. De La Cruz, Mr.
Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. Clyde, Mr. LaLota, Mr.
Graves, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Gooden, Mr. Kustoff, Mrs.
Harshbarger, Mr. Langworthy, Mr. Amodei of Nevada, Mr. Murphy, Mr.
Moolenaar, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. Van
Orden, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Latta, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr.
Nehls, Mrs. Hinson, Mr. Walberg, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Sessions,
Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Stauber, Mr.
Scott Franklin of Florida, Mr. Mann, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Moore of Utah,
Ms. Letlow, Mr. Estes, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Strong, Mr. Shreve, Mr. Feenstra,
Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Tiffany, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Cloud, Mr.
Ellzey, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Hern of Oklahoma, Mr.
Pfluger, Mr. Zinke, Mr. Babin, Mr. Ezell, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Miller of
Ohio, Mr. Harrigan, Mr. McGuire, Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas, Mr. Kelly
of Mississippi, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Hurd of Colorado,
Mr. Goldman of Texas, Mr. Evans of Colorado, Mr. Jack, Mr. Loudermilk,
Mr. Harris of North Carolina, Mr. Baumgartner, Mr. Fallon, Ms.
Stefanik, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Steube, Mr. Meuser, Mrs.
Miller of Illinois, Mrs. McClain, Mr. Timmons, Mr. Hunt, Mr. Downing,
Mr. Wied, Ms. Fedorchak, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona, Ms. Lee
of Florida, Mr. Begich, Mr. Fry, Mr. Jackson of Texas, Mrs. Biggs of
South Carolina, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Moran, Mrs. Fischbach, Mr. Patronis,
Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Owens, and Mr. Joyce of Ohio
February 25, 2026
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on
February 11, 2025]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit payment card networks and covered entities from requiring
the use of or assigning merchant category codes that distinguish a
firearms retailer from general-merchandise retailer or sporting-goods
retailer, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Privacy in Purchases
Act''.
SEC. 2. DISTINGUISHING FIREARM RETAILERS PROHIBITED.
(a) Prohibitions Relating to Merchant Category Codes.--
(1) For payment card networks.--A payment card network may
not require--
(A) a firearms retailer to use a merchant category
code that--
(i) is used only or primarily for firearms
retailers; or
(ii) identifies such retailer as engaged in
the business of selling firearms, ammunition,
accessories of firearms, or components of
firearms; or
(B) a covered entity to assign a merchant category
code that is used only or primarily for firearms
retailers or that identifies a firearms retailer as
engaged in the business of selling firearms.
(2) For covered entities.--A covered entity may not assign
to a firearms retailer any merchant category code that is used
only or primarily for firearms retailers or that identifies
such retailer as engaged in the business of selling firearms,
ammunition, accessories of firearms, or components of firearms.
(b) Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall enforce this
section and shall, not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this section, establish a process for individuals,
including firearms retailers, to submit complaints relating to
alleged violations of this section.
(2) Investigation.--The Attorney General shall investigate
any complaint received through the processes established by the
Attorney General under paragraph (1).
(3) Written notice.--If the Attorney General determines,
after conducting an investigation under paragraph (2), that a
payment card network or covered entity has violated this
section, the Attorney General shall send a written notice of
such violation to such payment card network or covered entity
that requires the payment card network or covered entity to
remedy the violation not later than 30 days after the date on
which the payment card network or covered entity receives such
notice.
(4) Injunction.--
(A) In general.--If a payment card network or
covered entity does not remedy a violation within 30
days of receiving a written notice under paragraph (3),
the Attorney General may bring an action in Federal
court to enjoin the violating behavior.
(B) No private right of action.--This Act does not
create a private right of action.
(c) Preemption.--
(1) In general.--Any law of a State or local government
regulating the assignment, use, or disclosure of merchant
category codes that are used only or primarily for firearms
retailers or that identifies a retailer as engaged in the
business of selling firearms, ammunition, accessories of
firearms, or components of firearms is hereby preempted.
(2) Limitation.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), nothing in
this Act may be construed to prevent a payment card network or
a covered entity from complying with any Federal, State, or
local law or regulations related to dispute processing, fraud,
compliance management, or protecting transaction integrity from
concerns related to illegal or suspicious activities, data
breaches, or cyber risks.
(d) Report.--The Attorney General shall, each year, submit a report
to the Congress that--
(1) identifies the number of investigations undertaken by
the Attorney General under subsection (b);
(2) includes a summary of such investigations and their
disposition; and
(3) provides any available data and analysis that relates
to the effectiveness of this Act.
(e) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Ammunition.--The term ``ammunition'' has the meaning
given the term in section 921(a)(17)(A) of title 18, United
States Code.
(2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means any
entity that--
(A) has on the date of the enactment of this
section, or establishes after the date of the enactment
of this section, a relationship with a merchant for the
purposes of processing credit, debit, or prepaid
transactions; or
(B) has on the date of the enactment of this
section, or establishes after the date of the enactment
of this section, a relationship with an entity that
establishes a relationship with a merchant for the
purposes of processing credit transactions, debit
transactions, or prepaid transactions.
(3) Firearm.--The term ``firearm'' means--
(A) a ``firearm'' as such term is defined in
section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code;
(B) a ``shotgun'' as such term is defined in
section 921(a)(5) of title 18, United States Code;
(C) a ``rifle'' as such term is defined in section
921(a)(7) of title 18, United States Code;
(D) an ``antique firearm'' as such term is defined
in section 921(a)(16) of title 18, United States Code;
(E) a ``semiautomatic rifle'' as such term is
defined in section 921(a)(29) of title 18, United
States Code; and
(F) a ``handgun'' as such term is defined in
section 921(a)(30) of title 18, United States Code.
(4) Firearms retailer.--The term ``firearms retailer''
means a person, entity, or retail location physically located
in the United States that is engaged in the business of selling
or trading--
(A) firearms;
(B) ammunition;
(C) accessories of firearms; or
(D) components of firearms.
(5) Merchant category code.--The term ``merchant category
code'' means a multi-digit code, issued by the International
Organization for Standardization, for the purposes of enabling
the classification of merchants into specific categories based
on the type of business, trade, or services supplied.
(6) Payment card network.--The term ``payment card
network'' means an entity that directly or through a network
participant, processor, or agent provides proprietary services,
infrastructure, software, or hardware used to authorize, clear
and settle credit, debit, or prepaid transactions.
Union Calendar No. 447
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 1181
[Report No. 119-522]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit payment card networks and covered entities from requiring
the use of or assigning merchant category codes that distinguish a
firearms retailer from general-merchandise retailer or sporting-goods
retailer, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
February 25, 2026
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed