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“MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN'S CAUCUS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1042 on May 22, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN'S CAUCUS
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HON. MARTIN FROST
of texas
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 22, 1997
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the newly formed Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus of which I am a founding member. This caucus was formed in response to the rise of kidnaping and murder of young children in this country. Each year hundreds of thousands of American families are confronted with this unique tragedy--a missing child. In the last 30 days in Texas alone, four children have been abducted and brutally murdered. This caucus has been organized to increase the awareness of these tragic occurrences and to introduce legislation to combat these heinous crimes.
I became painfully aware of the problem of repeat sex offenders who target children when a tragic situation occurred in Arlington, TX, which is part of my congressional district. On January 13, 1996, little Amber Hagerman, an innocent 9-year-old girl, was abducted and murdered. Amber was bright and pretty and was riding her bike on January 13 when someone came along and took her away.
We don't know who took her, but we do know that a little girl, just a child, was brutally murdered and her body left to be found. This case occurred in my congressional district, but I am sure that events like this have happened--sadly--in every corner of our country, in our cities, and in the heartlands.
Whoever took Amber didn't know and didn't care that she was an honor student who made all A's and B's. They didn't care that she was a Brownie who had lots of friends and who loved her little brother dearly. They didn't care that her whole life was ahead of her and that her parents wanted to watch her grow into the lovely young woman she promised to be.
This tragedy has focused public attention on the need to toughen laws for sex offenders, particularly offenders who victimize young children.
In response to this tragedy, I introduced the Amber Hagerman Protection Act and portions of this bill were attached to the Omnibus Appropriations Act, which was signed into law on September 30, 1996. The Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act expands Federal court jurisdiction over repeat child sex molesters who cross State lines and creates a two-strikes law which mandates life in prison after a second offense. The act also expands the death penalty. Prior to the enactment of the Amber Hagerman Act, Federal law provided for the death penalty on the first offense when a child is killed on Federal property or is kidnaped and taken across State lines. The Amber bill adds the death penalty when the person who murders the child has cross State lines with the intent of committing a sex offense.
I was very pleased that portions of this bill were signed into law last year; however, this is just the beginning. Clearly, the safety of our neighborhoods requires that additional laws be passed by Congress to keep sex offenders off the streets and it is my hope that this new caucus will learn what we can do on a legislative level.
As a caucus, we need to look at where the Justice Department is in terms of implementing a national registry system for sex offenders. Local enforcement agencies tell me that the best help they could get from the Federal Government is a national registry system for sex offenders, and we ought to make sure that this system is up and running in the near future.
Last year, the Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996 was signed into law. This bill establishes, by law, a national registry system and will improve the minimum system the FBI is now establishing under the President's order. Prior or the passage of the Pam Lychner Act, the President directed the Justice Department to develop within 60 days a plan for a national sex offender registry. It's imperative that an interim system be operational in the near future in order to assist the local law enforcement agencies.
This coming Sunday, May 25, is National Missing Children's Day. Back in 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 National Missing Children's Day. And today, all across the country, groups will be holding candlelight vigils, memorials, and other events to increase public understanding and awareness of this national tragedy. We all need to get involved--parents, relatives, politicians, police, and other enforcement agencies--to direct attention to the problem of missing children.
It is my hope, Mr. Speaker, that someday we will not need a National Missing Children's Day or caucus in Congress to combat he growing epidemic of missing and exploited children. It is my hope that someday every child in America will feel safe. It is my hope that someday every child will feel secure while riding his or her bicycle in the neighborhood. It is my hope that someday no parent will ever have to face the tragedy that Amber Hagerman's parents had to face last year. But until that day comes, we need to work together to protect this country's greatest asset--our children.
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