No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5560 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5560
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to incentivize
States to eliminate civil and criminal statutes of limitations and
revive time-barred civil claims for child abuse cases, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 23, 2025
Mr. Subramanyam (for himself and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to incentivize
States to eliminate civil and criminal statutes of limitations and
revive time-barred civil claims for child abuse cases, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Statutes of Limitation for Child
Sexual Abuse Reform Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Child sexual abuse is a pernicious crime perpetrated
through threats of violence, intimidation, manipulation, and
abuse of power.
(2) Child sexual abuse is a public health epidemic that
affects an estimated 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 20 boys in the
United States.
(3) The prevalence of child sex trafficking is difficult to
estimate, but the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children (NCMEC) reports receiving more than 19,000 reports of
child sex trafficking in 2022.
(4) Historically, nearly 90 percent of child victims never
go to the authorities and the vast majority of claims have
expired before the victims were capable of getting to court.
(5) Due to the subversive nature of this crime, the average
age of disclosure of child sexual abuse does not occur until a
victim is over 52 years old.
(6) Because many State statutes of limitations applicable
to laws involving child sexual abuse fail to give victims
adequate time to come forward and report their abuse, numerous
victims are unable to seek fair and just remediation against
their abusers.
(7) Due to the especially heinous nature of child sexual
abuse, it is imperative that perpetrators of this crime are
punished, prevented from reoffending, and victims have the
opportunity to see their abusers brought to justice.
SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF STATE STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS FOR CHILD ABUSE
CASES.
(a) Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.--Section 107(e)(1) of
the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(e)(1)) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) elimination of State civil and criminal
statutes of limitations laws for child sexual abuse,
exploitation, and sex trafficking, and adoption of laws
reviving previously time-barred civil claims for child
sexual abuse, exploitation, and sex trafficking.''.
(b) Special Rule.--Section 111(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106g(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(3) Child sexual abuse and exploitation.--For purposes of
section 107(e)(1)(D), the term `child sexual abuse and
exploitation' shall include an act or a failure to act on the
part of a parent, caretaker, or any other person.''.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR ELIMINATING CERTAIN STATUTES OF LIMITATION.
(a) Authorization.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services may
make grants to States that are eligible to receive an award under
section 107 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C.
5106c) to achieve one or more of the following reforms:
(1) The elimination of all State civil statutes of
limitations for claims of, related to, or arising from, child
sexual abuse, exploitation, and sex trafficking, against
perpetrators, other individuals, and public and private
entities.
(2) The elimination of all State criminal statutes of
limitations for all felony and misdemeanor sex crimes against
children, including sexual abuse, exploitation, and
trafficking, and for inchoate offenses related to such sex
crimes, including attempt, conspiracy, solicitation, and aiding
and abetting.
(3) The revival of previously time-barred civil claims for
child sexual abuse, exploitation, and sex trafficking against
perpetrators, other individuals, and public and private
entities, which, at a minimum, permits previously time-barred
claims a 2-year period or until a victim reaches age 55,
whichever is longer.
(b) Allocation.--Of the funds made available to carry out this
section--
(1) 25 percent shall be for States that achieve one of the
reforms described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection
(a);
(2) 35 percent shall be for States that achieve two of such
reforms; and
(3) 40 percent shall be for States that achieve three of
such reforms.
An award under this section shall be in addition to any funds for which
the State is otherwise eligible to receive under section 107 of the
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c).
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2033.
SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
Section 1404A of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C.
20103), by striking ``section 109'' and insert ``section 107''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
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