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Respect for Child Survivors Act

Public Law 117-354 · S. 4926 · 117th Congress · began in the Senate

Signed by Joe Biden (D) on Jan 5, 2023 · Crime and Law Enforcement

Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Cosponsors (3): Sen. Amy Klobuchar,

Passage votesYeaNay

  • HouseRecorded vote: 385 yea, 28 nay385–28
  • SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Respect for Child Survivors Act

This act requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to use a multidisciplinary team with investigations of child abuse and related crimes. The act also reauthorizes grants for children's advocacy centers (CACs). CACs use a multidisciplinary response to coordinate the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases.

(Sec. 2) This section requires the FBI to use a multidisciplinary team with any investigation of child sexual exploitation or abuse, the production of child sexual abuse material, or child trafficking. The FBI must also use a trained child adolescent forensic interviewer in these investigations. These requirements do not apply if a multidisciplinary team or an interviewer is unavailable or is otherwise inconsistent with applicable federal law.

In implementing these requirements, the FBI must use and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams based at CACs.

(Sec. 3) This section modifies and reauthorizes through FY2028 grants for regional and local CACs, as well as for technical assistance and training. Grants for CACs are administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Department of Justice.

It adds a finding stating that a key to a child victim healing from abuse is access to supportive and healthy families and communities.

The section modifies grant provisions for regional CACs, including by

• directing the OJJDP to maintain (in addition to establish) regional CACs;

• adding, as a new program objective, the provision of technical assistance, training, coordination, and organizational capacity support for state chapters; and

• requiring the OJJDP to consider, as an additional selection criteria, proposals for regional CACs that best result in supporting state chapters.

The section also modifies grant provisions for local CACs, including by adding as new grant purposes (1) the establishment and maintenance of a network of care for child abuse victims, and (2) the development and dissemination of practice standards for care and best practices in program evaluation.

Finally, the section modifies the criteria that the OJJDP may use to evaluate local CAC programs.

Who voted for it

Every House member of the 117th Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 385 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.

385 yea28 nay17 present or did not vote

ProEstablishmentAnti
Economic left–right
More liberalMore conservative

Democrats who voted yea(215)

Republicans who voted yea(170)

Data notes

The House’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 981 in Voteview), matched to the vote the record cites and checked against its totals. Positions are each member’s DW-NOMINATE score for that Congress, as on the Ideology page; left to right is more liberal to more conservative. Paired and announced yea votes count as yea. Lists follow the compass, most liberal first. A name links to a profile only for members of the current Congress. A law passed by voice vote or unanimous consent has no member list, and neither does a vote Voteview has not yet recorded.

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Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Related bills

3 bills the Library of Congress relates to this one.

  • H.R. 7419Related bill

    Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2022

  • H.R. 9043Identical bill

    Respect for Child Survivors Act

  • S. 3975Related bill

    Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2022

Data notes

Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 18 actions.

  1. Jan 5, 2023Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 117-354.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Dec 28, 2022FloorFloor · Presented to President.
  4. Dec 21, 2022FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  5. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 385 - 28 (Roll no. 534).House roll call 534
  6. FloorFloor · Considered as unfinished business.
  7. FloorFloor · At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  8. FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 4926.
  9. FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
  10. FloorFloor · Mr. Nadler moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  11. Dec 14, 2022FloorFloor · Held at the desk.
  12. FloorFloor · Received in the House.
  13. FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  14. Dec 13, 2022FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  15. FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
  16. CommitteeCommittee · Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
  17. Sep 22, 2022CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  18. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes

Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.

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Amendments

1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.

  • S.Amdt. 6519SenateSen. John CornynR-TX· offered Dec 13, 2022Agreed to

    In the nature of a substitute.

    Dec 13, 2022: Amendment SA 6519 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.

    Agreed to
Data notes

Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.

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Official record

The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.