{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://buddycarter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=15293", "Carter, Merkley, Cornyn, Tuberville, and Khanna Joined by Paris Hilton in Celebrating the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act Passing the House, Heads to President's Desk", "2024-12-18", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "House", "GA", "Earl L. \"Buddy\" Carter", "C001103", "buddycarter.house.gov", "buddycarter", "https://buddycarter.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, Representatives Earl L. \u201cBuddy\u201d Carter (GA-01), Ro Khanna (CA-17), along with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), were joined by Paris Hilton in celebrating the passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (SICAA) in the House. The legislation, which passed the Senate last week by unanimous consent, will head to the President\u2019s desk to be signed into law.\n\nParis Hilton, a survivor of institutional child abuse in the so-called \u201ctroubled teen\u201d industry who has led reform efforts for years, joined the lawmakers for a press conference this week on Capitol Hill to discuss how the legislation will ensure accountability and protect over 100,000 youth in America. This bipartisan, bicameral bill will provide greater oversight and data transparency for institutional youth treatment programs and will help identify and prevent institutional child abuse.\n\n\u201cOne child experiencing abuse is too many. Hundreds of thousands of children being funneled into seemingly safe institutional care facilities only to be dehumanized and abused is a crisis, one that I am thrilled Congress took action to address today. When this bill is signed into law, parents and children alike will have an accurate understanding of the practices, goals, and ethics of residential youth treatment centers before it\u2019s too late. This bill adds transparency and oversight to an industry with too many bad actors in it, and I want to thank Paris Hilton for her bravery that made this bill passage possible,\u201d said Rep. Earl L. \u201cBuddy\u201d Carter.\n\n\u201cChildren across the country are at risk of abuse and neglect due to a lack of transparency in institutional youth treatment programs. The industry has gone unchecked for too long. Paris Hilton and other survivors of abuse in this broken system have bravely shared their stories and inspired change. I\u2019m proud to lead this legislation with my colleagues to protect the safety and well-being of kids,\u201d said Rep. Ro Khanna.\n\n\u201cSince releasing my documentary four years ago and sharing my story about the abuse I endured in youth residential treatment facilities, the response has been overwhelming. I made a vow to do everything in my power to advocate for survivors and shine a light on the harsh reality that hundreds of thousands of children still face. After years of fighting for this bill and countless trips to the Capitol, I am so proud that the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act has officially passed Congress. I never imagined my voice could create such change, and I am committed to using my platform to protect children, amplify the voices of survivors, and ensure no child is ever harmed in the name of \u201ctreatment\u201d again. I look forward to this bill being signed by President Biden and hope to celebrate this achievement at a bill signing,\u201d said Paris Hilton.\n\n\u201cOften, a child seeking help is harmed instead\u2014this must end. This strongly bipartisan effort to bring oversight to the troubled teen industry has been years in the making, and now, our bill to shine a light on the horrifying cases at these centers is on the way to becoming law,\u201d said Senator Jeff Merkley, the lead sponsor of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act in the Senate.\n\n\u201cSome children in residential youth programs have faced unimaginable abuse and neglect, and I am proud to have introduced this legislation to help ensure institutional child abuse comes to an end. Now that both the Senate and the House have passed this critical legislation, I look forward to the President signing it into law to help protect vulnerable youth from these horrific conditions,\u201d said Senator John Cornyn.\n\n\u201cI dedicated my life to mentoring young people because they are the most precious commodity that we have. If we get everything else right, but neglect our young people, our country has no future. There\u2019s an old saying that sunlight is the best disinfectant. We need some more sunlight on these facilities so we can put a stop to the waste, and the fraud, and abuse in the system. I\u2019m proud to support the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act and stand with our kids,\u201d said Senator Tommy Tuberville.\n\nFor the full text of the legislation, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://buddycarter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=15293"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7080230172723532, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}