[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7747-H7749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ELIMINATING LIMITS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILD SEX ABUSE VICTIMS ACT OF 2022
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 3103) to amend title 18, United States Code, to eliminate the
statute of limitations for the filing of a civil claim for any person
who, while a minor, was a victim of a violation of section 1589, 1590,
1591, 2241(c), 2242, 2243, 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422,
or 2423 of such title.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3103
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 ``Eliminating Limits to
Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
Section 2255 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Statute of Limitations.--There shall be no time limit
for the filing of a complaint commencing an action under this
section.''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall--
(1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) apply to--
(A) any claim or action that, as of the date described in
paragraph (1), would not have been barred under section
2255(b) of title 18, United States Code, as it read on the
day before the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) any claim or action arising after the date of enactment
of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on S. 3103.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 3103, the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex
Abuse Victims Act of 2022 is bipartisan legislation that would ensure
that survivors of child sex abuse are not barred by a statute of
limitations when seeking civil damages in court.
Data suggests that 86 percent of child sexual abuse goes unreported.
Also common is delayed disclosure, or the tendency of survivors of
child sexual abuse to wait many years before disclosing abuse to
others.
This is because survivors of sexual abuse often take a long time to
process their trauma, and many survivors who were abused as a child may
not even recognize the abuse they suffered until much later in life.
Unfortunately, because survivors of child sexual abuse often delay
reporting, any statute of limitations may prevent survivors from
accessing justice and seeking damages in civil court.
The current Federal civil remedy statute for victims of child sexual
abuse includes a statute of limitations requiring all claims to be
filed within 10 years of the injury or not later than 10 years after
the victim turns 18 years old.
[[Page H7748]]
These statutes of limitation can serve to protect the abusers and
enable them to continue to exploit their power by allowing victims'
claims to expire.
This bill will enable survivors who are victims of Federal child sex
abuse offenses, including aggravated sexual abuse, sex trafficking,
human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual exploitation, to seek civil
damages in Federal court regardless of the amount of time that has
passed since the abuse.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross)
for joining Senator Durbin in introducing this important legislation
and recognizing that the challenges survivors face in reporting the
trauma they have experienced should not bar them from accessing justice
in the courts.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 3103 eliminates the statute of limitations for a
minor victim of a human trafficking offense or a Federal sex offense,
to file a civil action to recover damages.
Studies indicate that many of these crimes go unreported or victims
sometimes wait years to disclose their abuse to others under current
law. A victim may file a Federal civil claim up until when the victim
reaches the age of 28 or up to 10 years after the discovery of the
violation or injury.
This legislation would allow victims of human trafficking or sex
offenses to seek civil remedies regardless of when the crime took
place.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from
North Carolina (Ms. Ross), the sponsor of the bill.
Ms. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair of the Judiciary Committee
for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I am heartened that today we will vote to send this bill
to the President's desk to guarantee justice for victims of child sex
abuse.
Experts estimate that more than 85 percent of child sex abuse goes
unreported. Kids experiencing abuse face a variety of the barriers to
reporting. Often they don't know how to recognize abuse, they don't
know how to talk about their experiences, or they don't have a trusted
adult they can contact.
Even when survivors do report their abuse, their experiences often
fail to reach the people in the justice system who can stop the
predator. For all of these reasons, the process of disclosure of abuse
can take decades. The average age of reporting child sex abuse is 52
years old.
Tragically, statutes of limitations often prevent survivors who
disclose their abuse as adults from getting their day in court. But
justice systems are slowly beginning to understand how delayed
disclosure impacts access to justice.
In the past two decades, 48 States and Washington D.C., have amended
child sex abuse laws to expand or eliminate statutes of limitations.
Congress previously eliminated the Federal criminal statute of
limitations for child sex abuse and sex trafficking and slightly
lengthened the Federal civil statute of limitations.
However, this short extension of the civil statute of limitations
does not reflect current data on just how long most survivors delay
disclosure of their abuse.
All survivors deserve access to justice no matter how long it takes
them to talk about the trauma they have suffered.
Today, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 13 boys experience sex abuse before
their 18th birthday. I have heard about far too many cases of child sex
abuse in my home State of North Carolina.
A case currently before the North Carolina Supreme Court involves the
wrestling team at a Gaston County high school where teenage athletes
were sexually abused by their coach.
While the coach was convicted and sentenced to decades in prison, the
athletes were initially unable to sue in civil court because of the
statute of limitations.
This case is currently before the North Carolina Supreme Court
because a three-judge panel ruled that the State law opening a window
for adult survivors of sexual abuse was unconstitutional.
We cannot provide effective remedies to survivors while the Federal
civil statute of limitations remains in place.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representative Swalwell,
Representative Salazar, and Representative Reschenthaler for leading
this effort with me in the House, as well as Senator Durbin and Senator
Blackburn for leading this bill in the Senate.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, S. 3103 is bipartisan legislation that would ensure that
survivors of child sex abuse are not barred by a statute of limitations
when seeking justice in the courts.
This bill recognizes that many victims of child sexual abuse delay
reporting the trauma they have experienced. Therefore, it will enable
survivors who are victims of more than a dozen Federal sex abuse
offenses to seek civil damages in Federal court regardless of the time
that has passed since the abuse.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3103, the
``Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act of
2022,'' bipartisan legislation that would eliminate the statute of
limitations for victims of federal child sexual abuse offenses to file
civil claims against their abusers in federal court.
This legislation would allow survivors of more than a dozen federal
child sex abuse offenses to have their day in court no matter the time
it takes them to disclose their abuse.
Oftentimes victims of offenses, such as aggravated sexual abuse, sex
trafficking, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child
pornography require years of treatment to process and disclose their
victimization.
This is particularly true for young victims of these despicable
crimes, who continue to process trauma inflicted upon them well into
adulthood--only to be barred by statutes of limitations that prevent
them from holding their abusers accountable when they are able to name
them.
We have come to understand the effects of fear, depression, and shame
that result from the trauma of sexual abuse, and the power dynamics
between child victims and adult abusers, that explain why victims may
not immediately report abuse--or delay disclosure for decades.
Although we extended the statute of limitations in 2018 for federal
civil child sex abuse claims for damages until the victim reaches age
28 or until 10 years after discovery of the offense, that extension
does not reflect current findings on the delayed disclosure of child
sex abuse.
A study by the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
(IDVSA) at The University of Texas found that, in my home state of
Texas, there are almost 79,000 minors and youth victims of sex
trafficking, while data from CHILD USA suggests that almost 90 percent
of child sexual abuse goes unreported.
Countless examples of delayed disclosure--by adults victimized as
children--fill the headlines of newspapers, televised news reports, and
social media posts from every corner of the country.
One study of more than 1,000 survivors found that the average age of
survivors at the time of disclosure was roughly 52 years old.
Historically, statutes of limitations have silenced victims and
favored their abusers--allowing them to escape accountability.
However, since 2002, 49 states and 2 territories have amended their
laws to extend, eliminate, or revive civil statutes of limitations for
child sexual abuse.
Congress must take note of the available research, data, and trends
before us, making certain that federal law does not deny survivors the
ability to have their day in court or force victims into court before
they are psychologically ready to do so, causing further victimization
and trauma.
Instead, we are duty bound to ensure survivors of child sexual abuse,
exploitation, and trafficking can seek justice against their abusers
regardless of the timing and, through successful litigation, have the
means to access life-sustaining treatment and other services necessary
to make them whole.
Justice should never be denied to any person in this country,
especially victims who have been robbed of their innocence and
childhoods.
S. 3103 is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that will provide a pathway
to justice and healing for many victims and survivors while holding
abusers accountable for the harms they
[[Page H7749]]
cause. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support
it.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 3103.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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