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Have any congressional committees held hearings on proposals to change the federal age of consent and when did they occur?
Executive summary
Congressional committees have held at least some hearings touching on federal laws that set or affect minimum ages for sexual consent—most directly in bills that reinforce an 18‑year federal baseline for certain offenses or restrict U.S. funding to organizations that challenge local minimums (see S.2062) [1]. Available sources do not list a comprehensive roll call of every congressional committee hearing specifically titled “change the federal age of consent,” but they show recent related activity in Congress and many state legislatures considering changes to ages of consent or related protections [1] [2] [3].
1. What “federal age of consent” means in practice
There is no single federal age of consent that displaces state law in all circumstances; instead, federal statutes create 18 as a floor for certain federal offenses (for example, production/possession of sexual images of persons under 18) while other federal definitions, case law, and statutes interact with state ages that more commonly range from 16–18 [4] [5] [6]. This patchwork means “changing the federal age of consent” can mean different things depending on the statute and context—criminal definitions, child‑pornography laws, or funding restrictions for international organizations [4] [6] [1].
2. Congressional action and committee attention: what the sources show
The Senate considered legislation in the 118th Congress (S.2062) that would bar U.S. contributions to international organizations that advocate sexual activity below a country’s domestic minimum age of consent; that bill was debated and its text is on Congress.gov, indicating Senate committee and floor activity around age‑of‑consent policy at an international funding level [1]. The 119th Congress also shows bills touching adjacent topics—H.R.5140 addresses the age at which minors may be tried as adults in D.C., not sexual consent per se, demonstrating congressional bills can intersect with age‑of‑consent policy [2]. Available sources do not provide a catalog of specific committee hearing dates explicitly titled “change the federal age of consent.”
3. Recent federal‑level hearings explicitly on lowering or raising consent ages — limited evidence
Search results do not supply a clear list of congressional committee hearings solely dedicated to proposals that directly change a single, nationwide federal “age of consent.” They do, however, show congressional text and legislative activity that relate to consent and age thresholds (S.2062) [1] and other legislative efforts in Congress that affect related age‑based criminal rules (H.R.5140) [2]. If your question seeks specific committee names and hearing dates for a bill that would alter a general federal age of consent across all contexts, available sources do not mention a single hearing that fits that precise description.
4. Where congressional hearings have been clearer: related federal policy and statutory floors
Congress has focused on statutory floors and targeted federal domains: federal child‑pornography and related statutes generally treat under‑18 as the protected category for images and certain communications [6] [7], and S.2062 shows the Senate debating whether U.S. funding should be withheld from international groups that challenge domestic minimum ages [1]. Committees that consider criminal code, appropriations, and foreign‑assistance language (Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Appropriations) are the likeliest places for these hearings, though the provided search results do not list explicit committee hearing transcripts or dates outside the legislative texts cited [1] [6].
5. State‑level activity that prompts congressional attention
Multiple state legislatures continue to debate raising or lowering ages that affect consent and related statutes—examples include Oklahoma raising its state age of consent from 16 to 18 in 2025 (state senate action) and other states altering marriage or solicitation statutes that intersect with consent questions [3] [8] [9]. State changes often trigger federal interest or model‑legislation conversations in Congress, but the sources show more state hearings and bills than a clear pattern of congressional committee hearings solely on a nationwide age‑of‑consent change [3] [8] [9].
6. Competing perspectives and the political frame
Advocates for raising ages emphasize protecting children and closing loopholes exploited by traffickers or predators; legislators sponsoring state bills made that argument explicitly in Oklahoma [8]. Others focus on limited federal jurisdiction and preserving state primacy, or on avoiding criminalizing close‑in‑age teen relationships—these tensions appear in state debates and in how federal bills are drafted [1] [3]. The sources show bipartisan activity on related issues (for example, child‑marriage bans and trafficking provisions) but do not present a single congressional consensus or a single committee track changing a universal federal age [1] [10].
7. Bottom line and where to look next
If you need exact committee names and hearing dates for a narrow federal proposal to change a universal federal age of consent, available sources do not list a definitive congressional committee hearing with that title; they do show related Senate and House bills (S.2062; H.R.5140) and state legislative activity that intersect with age‑of‑consent policy [1] [2] [3]. To get precise hearing records, check Congress.gov for each bill’s legislative history and committee pages (e.g., Senate Judiciary, Foreign Relations) where notices, witness lists, and hearing transcripts would be posted [1].