Why Paris Hilton Testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday

Paris Hilton made her third appearance on Capitol Hill Wednesday to advocate for modernizing child welfare programs. Her testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee shed light on her personal experiences with youth residential treatment facilities and the urgent need for reform in the “troubled teen industry.”

Hilton’s advocacy stems from her own traumatic experiences as a teenager. At 16, she was sent to several residential treatment facilities, including the notorious Provo Canyon School in Utah, reported Forbes. During her testimony, the 43-year-old entrepreneur and former reality TV star recounted harrowing details of her time in these institutions, stating she “was ripped from her bed in the middle of the night” and subjected to two years of abuse. She revealed, “I was force-fed medications and sexually abused by the staff,” and described instances of being “violently restrained … stripped naked, thrown in solitary confinement.”

The socialite’s appearance before the committee was in support of two key legislative initiatives. First, she urged lawmakers to reauthorize Title IV-B of the Social Security Act, which provides crucial funding for child welfare issues. Additionally, Hilton advocated for the passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., in April 2023, according to the outlet.

Hilton called attention to the financial motivations behind what she describes as a “$23 billion-a-year industry” that “sees this population as dollar signs and operates without meaningful oversight.” She posed a question to lawmakers: “What is more important: Protesting business profits or protecting foster youth lives?”

The heiress’s path from socialite to child welfare advocate began with the release of her 2020 documentary, This is Paris, where she first publicly disclosed her experiences at Provo Canyon School. Since then, Hilton has been a vocal critic of the “troubled teen industry,” penning opinion pieces in The Washington Post and consistently using her platform to raise awareness about the abuses occurring in youth residential facilities.

Hilton’s testimony highlighted the deceptive practices of these institutions, noting that her parents were “completely deceived, lied to and manipulated by this for-profit industry about the inhumane treatment” she endured. She brought up the vulnerability of youth placed by the state, asking, “So, can you only imagine the experience for youth who were placed by the state and don’t have people regularly checking in on them?”

The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, which Hilton supports, has garnered bipartisan support with 103 cosponsors, including 43 Republicans. If passed, it would create a work group comprising members from across the administration to make formal recommendations, conduct risk assessments, and provide outreach to states on best practices for operating youth residential programs, Forbes reported. 

Her testimony comes at a critical time, as a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services found that many U.S. states fail to adequately track the treatment of children in residential facilities or record instances of abuse. Hilton also addressed the long-term effects of her experiences, telling lawmakers, “This inhumane treatment will affect me for the rest of my life.”