S. 38 — Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act of 2025

This section expands 18 U.S.C. § 1038, which criminalizes false or misleading information about specified federal offenses (e.g., terrorism under chapters 2, 10, 11B, 39, 40, 44, 111, or 113B; nuclear sabotage; certain aircraft crimes), to also cover such conduct using the mail or interstate or foreign commerce where reasonably expected to cause an emergency response to indicated state or federal crimes or threats to public health or safety or to any person's health or safety. Penalties remain unchanged at a fine, up to 5 years imprisonment, or both (up to 20 years if serious bodily injury results; life if death results). (Thus, the provision addresses hoax calls or "swatting" beyond prior federal-threat scope.) It makes parallel expansions to civil liability for emergency or investigative response costs and adds a definition of "emergency response" (i.e., deployment of personnel or equipment, evacuation orders or advice, or public warnings by federal, state, or local public safety agencies or designated private nonprofits).