The Senate Approves Child Protection Conference Report Including AMBER Alert Legislation Sponsored by Senators Feinstein and Hutchison

The Senate Approves Child Protection Conference Report Including AMBER Alert Legislation Sponsored
by Senators Feinstein and Hutchison

April 10, 2003

Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate today unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to create a national AMBER alert network as part of a package of legislation (S.151, the Child Abduction Prevention Act) targeting child kidnappers, molesters and pornographers. The House earlier approved the same conference report and it will now go to the President for signature.

The following is a statement by Senator Feinstein:

"This legislation strikes a major blow against child predators. It will help return abducted children to their parents. And it gives prosecutors the tools they need to investigate and prosecute crimes against children. Simply put, this legislation will save lives, and prevent child crimes from happening in the first place.

AMBER Alerts

One of the most important provisions in the conference report is the legislation that Senator Hutchison and I introduced to create a nationwide AMBER Alert network. The Senate approved this legislation in the last Congress, but the House failed to act before the end of the session.

The Senate approved the legislation a second time on January 21, 2003 -- and the House of Representatives finally approved similar legislation two weeks ago as part of a larger child crimes bill.

The AMBER Alert system, more than any other single law enforcement tool, can result in an abducted child being brought home safely. We know it works, and we know that it is a program that should be nationwide.

To date, AMBER Alert systems have been implemented in 39 states and 49 local and regional jurisdictions. This is up from 16 states and 32 local and regional jurisdictions just last August. And the Alerts issued in these jurisdictions have been extremely successful.

AMBER Alerts, in fact, have resulted in the return of 53 abducted children across the country. These are 53 families who didn't have to suffer the pain of losing a loved-one. 53 families who didn't have to live through the trauma of burying a child. This is why our legislation is so important.

The first hours after a child is taken are critical. If the child is not found in those first few hours, chances increase dramatically that he or she will disappear forever. And this is the power of the AMBER Alert system. An Alert can be issued within minutes of an abduction - disseminating key information of the crime to the community at large.

Since the State of California first adopted AMBER alerts just nine months ago, 25 AMBER alerts have been issued involving 31 victims. Most importantly, each of the AMBER Alerts ended with the child being united with their families. You can't argue with results like that.

The provision included in the conference report has three key components:

First, it would authorize $20 million to the Department of Transportation and $5 million to the Department of Justice for the development of AMBER Alert systems in States where they do not exist.
Second, this bill would build upon the President's Executive Order, signed on October 2, 2002, by authorizing a national coordinator for AMBER Alerts within the Department of Justice. This is crucial to coordinating region-wide Alerts, when abductors flee across State lines.
And third, to reduce the number of false alerts, the bill would provide a framework for the Department of Justice to establish minimum standards for the regional coordination of AMBER alerts.

It will extend a network of AMBER Alerts to every corner of the nation, increasing the odds that an abducted child will return safely to his or her family. This will provide an effective and tested way to help keep America's children safe.

Hatch-Feinstein Comprehensive Child Protection Act

The conference report also includes several provisions similar to legislation that I sponsored with Senator Hatch, which would enhance national efforts to investigate, prosecute and prevent crimes against children. By passing this legislation, the Senate would send a strong message to potential offenders and hopefully prevent some of these crimes from taking place in the first place.

The conference report:

Mandates that sex offenders be supervised for a period of 5 years after they are released from prison.
Ensures that a murder of a child committed while part of a pattern of assaulting or torturing a child is considered first degree murder.
Increases the maximum and minimum penalties for anyone who sexually exploits a child. For a first conviction, maximum penalty is 30 years (increased from 20 years) and minimum sentence is 15 years (increased from 10 years).
Creates a mandatory minimum penalty for kidnaping of not less than 20 years.
Creates a crime - with a maximum penalty of 30 years -- for a U.S. citizen traveling within or outside the United States to engage in illegal sexual conduct with children.
Requires that a person convicted a second time of a Federal sex offense involving children receive a penalty of life imprisonment unless a death sentence is imposed.
Makes it a crime to "attempt" international parental kidnaping. Currently, only actual parental kidnaping is illegal.
Removes the statute of limitations for Child Abduction and Sex Crimes - prosecution related to child abduction and sex offenses would be allowed to be brought until a child is 25.
Creates a Federal crime with a two-year maximum penalty for creating a domain name with the intent to deceive a person into viewing obscene material on the internet. The maximum penalty is four years if the intent is to deceive a minor.
Creates a rebuttable presumption against bail for a person accused of raping or kidnaping a victim who was under 18.
Expands reporting requirements for Missing Children from 18 to 21 years - Current law requires a host of Federal agencies to report a case of a child under 18 who is missing to the National Crime Information Center. The age of a missing child is raised to 21.
Provides more funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: The bill increases funding for this organization by a total of $10 million in both FY2004 and FY2005

Conclusion

Over the past year, it has become increasingly clear that children in our society are vulnerable to predators. Dozens of children, including Elizabeth Smart, Samantha Runnion, and Nichole Timmons, were abducted by strangers, and many more were abused as part of a major pornography ring.

While AMBER Alerts have helped in the return of many of these youngsters, I firmly believe that our children need to be better protected and our laws need to be made stronger.

The conference report gives parents greater ability to safeguard their children, provide law enforcement agencies the tools they need to apprehend and prosecute offenders, and helps track them when they are abducted."