AMBER Alert Bill introduced by Senators Hutchison & Feinstein Passes the Senate by Unanimous Vote

January 21, 2003
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Washington DC - Today the United States Senate passed the National AMBER Alert Act (S. 121) by an unanimous vote of 92 to 0. The legislation had been reintroduced just one week ago by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and will now move to the House of Representatives.

"I am hopeful that this tidal wave of Senate support will carry over to House and we soon will have a national AMBER Alert law," Senator Feinstein said. "Simply put, this legislation will save kids lives."

Senator Feinstein's complete statement, delivered before the vote, is included below, and contains a detailed summary of the legislation.

"Today, the Senate will vote on a bill that will save children's lives by expanding the existing AMBER Alert program nationwide. I want to commend Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for her continued leadership on this legislation. Her work on this bill has been extraordinary.

I also want give a special thanks to Senator Hatch, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and to Senator Leahy, the Ranking Member, for putting the National Amber Alert Network Act on the fast track to the Senate Floor.

Senator Hutchison and I introduced the bill on January 9^th, 2003. Now, just a couple of weeks later, we are voting on Senate passage. I am hopeful that this tidal wave of Senate support will carry over to the House and we soon will have a national AMBER Alert law."

"So what are AMBER Alerts? AMBER Alerts are official bulletins transmitted over the airwaves to enlist the public's help in tracking down child abductors fleeing a crime scene. AMBER Alerts are such powerful tools because they can be issued within minutes of an abduction and reach a wide public audience.

Statistics show that children in the most dangerous abduction cases have precious little time until their safety is compromised. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice, 74 percent of children who were abducted, and later found murdered, are killed in the first hours after being taken. Simply put, we need more AMBER Alerts because they may be the best tool law enforcement has to save kidnaped children facing imminent danger.

The National AMBER Alert Network Act has three key components.

First, the legislation would authorize $20 million to the Department of Transportation and $5 million to the Department of Justice in FY 2004 to provide grants for the development of AMBER Alert systems, electronic message boards, and training and education programs in states that do not have AMBER Alerts.

To date, AMBER Alert systems exist in 34 states and a total of 85 local, regional and state jurisdictions. This bill would help the expansion of AMBER Alerts to new jurisdictions.

Second, the bill would build upon the President's Executive Order by authorizing a national coordinator for AMBER Alerts in the Department of Justice to expand the network of AMBER Alert systems and to coordinate the issuance of region-wide AMBER Alerts.

Third, the bill provides a framework for the Department of Justice to establish minimum standards for the regional coordination of AMBER alerts.

The Department of Justice, working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other private organizations with expertise in this area, would build upon the best standards currently in place.

The effectiveness of AMBER Alerts depends on the continued judicious use of the system so that the public does not grow to ignore the warnings."

"Furthermore, it is the specific intent of this bill not to interfere with the operation of the 85 AMBER plans that are working today. Participation in regional AMBER plans is voluntary, and any plan that wishes to go it alone may still do so. I urge members to support this bill because AMBER Alerts have a proven track record.

Nationally, since 1996, the AMBER Alert has been credited with the safe return of 43 children to their families, including one case in which an abductor reportedly released the child after hearing the alert himself.

I would like to briefly describe two of these cases: the rescues of 10 year-old Nichole Timmons from Riverside and four-year old Jessica Cortez from Los Angeles. Last Fall, Nichole Timmons and her mother Sharon attended a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information on the AMBER Alert program.

In moving testimony, Sharon described how Nichole was abducted from their Riverside home on August 20, 2002 and how an AMBER Alert brought her daughter back to her within hours of the abduction.

In Nichole's case, an Alert was issued not just in California, but in Nevada as well.

After learning about the Alert, a tribal police officer in Nevada spotted the truck of Nichole's abductor and stopped him within 24 hours of the abduction. He was found with duct tape and a metal pipe.

The AMBER Alert was the only reason that Nichole was able to return home to her mother - safe. I can't think of any testimony in support of a bill more powerful than the sight of a mother sitting next to her daughter who she thought might be gone forever.

The second case I want to mention is that of Jessica Cortez. Jessica disappeared from Echo Park in Los Angeles on August 11, 2002. But when Jessica's abductor took her to a clinic for medical care, receptionist Denise Leon recognized Jessica from the AMBER Alert and notified law enforcement. Without the publicity generated by the Alert, Jessica could have been lost to her parents forever.

Through this legislation, we will extend to every corner of the nation a network of AMBER Alerts that will protect our children. This program will increase the odds that an abducted child will return to his or her family safely.

But importantly, it will deter potential abductors from taking a child in the first place. As Marc Klaas said at a hearing on the bill last Fall, this legislation will 'save kids lives.'"

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