The House on Wednesday passed legislation that aims to curb child abuse at residential homes for troubled youth.
The 373-33 vote on the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act was repeatedly championed by socialite and media personality Paris Hilton.
The bill would establish federal data collection and reporting standards that would act as state guidelines on how best to prevent abuse in foster homes or residential treatment facilities.
It is now headed to President Joe Biden‘s desk in what might be one of the last pieces of legislation he signs into law before leaving office next month.
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Hilton has spent the last three years lobbying for the bill and on Monday publicly pushed for House passage before the 118th Congress ends while visiting Washington, D.C.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) thanked Hilton for her advocacy as members of the House debated the legislation Tuesday evening.
“Paris, you’re already making a difference, and I applaud you for using your voice to advance such a critical cause,” Carter said on the House floor. “When Paris first met with me last Congress and shared her story about being in institutional care as a child, I’ll be quite honest, I was horrified.”
“I believe the words out of my mouth were, ‘This sounds like it’s being run by the cartel,’” Carter continued. “Let me tell you, everything that I’ve heard since that meeting from policy experts, advocates, and survivors has confirmed this terrifying truth.”
The House did not pass the legislation unanimously via a voice vote, instead holding a recorded vote on Wednesday.
“I told myself that I would never forgive myself if it didn’t pass and I did not come here. So, that’s why I got on a plane at 6 a.m. yesterday, flew down here, because I wanted everyone to know how important this is to me,” Hilton told FOX & Friends on Wednesday morning.
The House vote comes after the Senate approved the legislation with unanimous support last week. In an open letter shared on Instagram Monday, Hilton described the Senate passing the bill as “one of the best moments of my life.”
She later told CNN that she received a call from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) that the legislation would come up for a vote this week.
“I’ve never been more proud in my life! I can’t wait to be here and watch history be made,” Hilton wrote on X Tuesday afternoon.
Hilton testified in June about the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse she endured while at a boarding school for troubled youth. According to her testimony, the 16-year-old Hilton was dragged away from her home and taken to Provo Canyon School in Utah where she was abused.
“When I was 16 years old, I was ripped from my bed in the middle of the night and transported
across state lines to the first of four youth residential treatment facilities,” Hilton testified.
“I am here to be the voice for the children whose voices can’t be heard,” she added. “The treatment these kids have had to endure is criminal. These kids deserve to grow up in safe, family-centered environments. I will not stop until America’s youth is safe.”
In a video op-ed to the New York Times, Hilton detailed being forced to undergo medical examination late at night by staff members who were not doctors.
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“It was really scary,” Hilton said. “Now looking back as an adult, that was definitely sexual abuse.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment on whether Biden would sign the legislation.
“We have had some prior conversations with the White House about the bill, and we don’t have a reason to believe that they wouldn’t sign it into law,” Hilton’s spokesperson told ABC News.
Cami Mondeaux contributed to this report.
