Lawmakers Seek Bankruptcy Law Changes for Child Sex Abuse Cases

Childhood victims of sex abuse would be given more tools to navigate the complexity of bankruptcies under a bipartisan proposal from House lawmakers.

Legislation introduced Thursday by Reps. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), if enacted, could make it harder for organizations like the Boy Scouts of America or the Catholic dioceses to use bankruptcy to corral hundreds of child sexual abuse claims or reduce payments to victims.

Measures seeking to amend bankruptcy law, like many others, often struggle to gain traction in a split Congress. At least four bills in the House of Representatives and two in the ...