SCREEN Act of 2026

Core Policy Mechanism Top 1

NCMEC Data Sharing with State and DHS for Vetting

Expands the agencies that can receive information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to include the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, specifically for screening and vetting people seeking entry into the United States.

• Population Scope Low Directly affects two federal agencies — the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — and the subset of individuals undergoing immigration screening, a narrow institutional and population footprint well under 10% of the U.S. population.
• Budgetary Magnitude Low The bill neither authorizes nor appropriates any funds, and imposes no dollar obligation on any party.
• Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new statutory authorization allowing the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to disclose information to State and DHS — a procedural expansion of an existing permissive-disclosure list that binds agency conduct rather than creating a new substantive mandate or prohibition across a regulated population.
• Degree of Discretion Granted Low The amendment permits disclosure to State and DHS but does not compel NCMEC to share, and grants those agencies no new rulemaking authority or broad operational discretion — the scope of authorized action is narrowly defined.
• Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low No new enforcement mechanism, penalty, or compliance obligation is created; agencies receive access to an existing data source without any new administrative infrastructure required.
• Temporal Commitment High The amendment is a permanent change to 18 U.S.C. § 2258A with no expiration date, persisting indefinitely until Congress acts to repeal it.