Paris Hilton is urging US lawmakers to pass a bill focused on reforming youth congregate care facilities and residential treatment programs for "troubled" children before the legislative session ends this week.
The reality TV star is expected to head back to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with House members with the hope that lawmakers will bring the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act to the floor for a vote during the final week of the session.
The legislation, which Hilton has lobbied for the past three years, recently passed the US Senate. Typically, bills would need to pass the House Energy and Commerce Committee before they can be called by leaders to the floor. However, it can bypass that step, per ABC News, citing an anonymous source with knowledge of committee business.
What Is the Legislation About?
The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (SICAA) is a bipartisan, bicameral bill introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in April 2023. This legislation aims to transform the oversight and management of youth residential programs across the United States, addressing long-standing issues of transparency and accountability to safeguard the health and well-being of vulnerable youths in these facilities.
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Some of the provisions in the bill include:
- Establishing a Federal Work Group on Youth Residential Programs, which comprises representatives from various federal agencies
- Directing the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the use of restraints, seclusion, and other restrictive interventions in youth residential programs
- Require greater oversight and data transparency for institutional youth treatment programs
If passed, the bill will seek to address a critical issue affecting roughly 120,000 to 200,000 vulnerable youth who are placed in various residential programs, including boot camps, wilderness programs, and therapeutic boarding schools.
Hilton herself was sent to a boarding school when she was 17, specifically the Provo Canyon School, where she suffered from "continuous torture," bullying, and sexual abuse.
What Have Lawmakers Said?
It is unclear if House Speaker Mike Johnson would bring the legislation to the floor this week. It is also unclear whether lawmakers in the House would vote to pass the bill.
However, Hilton and her team are confident that President Joe Biden will sign the bill into law if it passes the House this week.
