[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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