Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, which I am proud to lead with Senator Merkley and Representative Khanna.

Before I begin, I will start by thanking Paris Hilton for her hard work, her bravery, and her vulnerability in sharing her story about abuse at the hands of a youth residential treatment facility. This truly was a courageous act on her part.

Mr. Speaker, Paris is already making a difference, and I applaud her for using her voice to advance such a critical cause.

When Paris first met with me last Congress and shared her story about being in institutional care as a child, I will be quite honest, I was horrified. I believe the words out of my mouth were: This sounds like it is being run by the cartel.

Let me tell you, everything that I have heard since that meeting-- from policy experts, advocates, and survivors--has confirmed this terrifying truth. One child, just one child experiencing abuse, is too many.

Thousands of children are being funneled into seemingly safe institutional care facilities only to be dehumanized and abused in a crisis, one that I am so glad there is bipartisan and bicameral support to address.

There are as many as 200,000 minors in youth residential programs or facilities across the country. At their best, youth residential programs provide counseling, treatment, and care for struggling teens and children. At their worst, they subject innocent children to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, which has led to hospitalizations, prolonged trauma, and even death.

Disgustingly, far too many of these centers are operating at their worst.

The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, which I am proud to be the Republican lead of in the House of Representatives, would increase transparency and accountability for these programs so that parents and children alike have an accurate understanding of the practices, goals, and ethics of these centers.

It will also help to establish best practices for health, safety, care, and treatment so that there is a Federal standard for how institutionalized youth are treated. This will also give parents the information they need to make an informed decision about whether institutional care is the best option for their child.

Mr. Speaker, I am not trying to intervene on State rights here. Yes, they are regulated by the States, and I want to be clear to my colleagues that the States will continue to regulate them. This simply calls for more transparency, responsibility, and accountability. It gives parents the opportunity to see if these centers truly are using seclusion or physical restraints. It does not intend to interfere with the States regulating these facilities.

As you know, I am a healthcare professional, and we abide by the Hippocratic oath, do no harm. It is time institutional care facilities were held to that same standard.

There are a lot of good facilities out there, there is no question about that, but there are some bad ones. That is what we are trying to identify here. Every profession has bad actors.

I am a pharmacist, the second most well-respected profession in America. We have bad actors, just like every profession does. That is what we are trying to identify here.

It is time that institutional care facilities were held to the same standards of the Hippocratic oath, do no harm.

This bill has already passed the Senate, and I thank Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, and many others for bringing this bill before the House here today. We have the votes, and it is time to get this done.

Who would vote against this? We all want our children safe. This is simply calling for more accountability and more transparency. This is simply calling for best practices. This is an attempt to identify bad actors.

The children in these facilities can't wait another Congress for change. Sunlight is the best disinfectant there is, and we are going to light the institutional care industry up with transparency and oversight because our children deserve it.

I commend Senator Merkley and Representative Khanna for working on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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