Sen. Cruz Introduces Bipartisan TREY’S Law to Ban NDAs That Silence Child Abuse Victims
The House must act next: House consideration.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
People who committed or are accused of sexual abuse of minors and who used NDAs to keep victims silent would lose that legal protection. Existing secrecy agreements would become void retroactively, exposing past abusers to renewed public scrutiny, law enforcement investigation, and potential prosecution. This is a negative impact on this group because it removes a shield they relied on, though it serves the broader public interest.
“No person may enforce or attempt to enforce a nondisclosure clause described in section 4(a), regardless of the date on which the contract or agreement containing the nondisclosure clause was entered into.”
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Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
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Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
The Senate voted to approve this bill. If the House already passed it, it goes to the President.
Six bipartisan U.S. senators introduced the 'Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements Law' (TREY’S Law). The federal bill would void NDAs that silence child sexual abuse survivors, establishing a national baseline while allowing victims to maintain privacy if they choose.
Introduced by Senators Ted Cruz and Kirsten Gillibrand, TREY’S Law would federalize protections against NDAs in child abuse cases. The bill is named after a victim of abuse at Kanakuk Kamps whose sister testified that restrictive NDAs are often used as 'lawful hush money' to protect bad actors.
The federal TREY’S Law follows similar legislation passed in states like Texas and Missouri. It targets 'predatory' nondisclosure agreements that shield perpetrators from accountability, ensuring that survivors' voices are restored even if they signed agreements years ago.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
TREY'S Law
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