The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON MISSING, EXPLOITED, AND RUNAWAY CHILDREN” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1749 on Oct. 4, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON MISSING, EXPLOITED, AND RUNAWAY CHILDREN
______
HON. JIM MATHESON
of utah
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the efforts that the President has taken in organizing the White House Conference on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children. As you know, our country has been especially affected by the seemingly large number of child abductions over the summer. I am proud to say that I am an original cosponsor of Representatives Frost and Dunn's National AMBER Alert Network Act, which was passed earlier this year by the US Senate.
Mr. Speaker, over 58,000 children were reported missing in 1999 according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. While this number represents only non-family kidnappings, the anguish that parents and loved ones go through when any child becomes missing is indescribable.
Today, both the House of Representatives and the President took a leap forward in protecting our youth. The Judiciary Committee passed the Child Abduction Prevention Act, which significantly enhances the ability of our nation's law enforcement community to not only find missing children, but also prosecute their abductors. This bipartisan approach will improve the AMBER Alert programs in many states and establish a national coordinator to set up minimum standards for relaying information about abductions in a quick and efficient manner.
The bill also strengthens penalties for violence against children, including automatic first degree murder charges for child abuse and child torture murders, severe penalties for sexual abuse, kidnapping and sex tourism, and a ``two strikes you're out policy'' mandating life in prison for repeat violators.
Today the President hosted a White House Conference where he announced a new national standard for rapid-response electronic notifications. He also pre-empted Congress by creating a new coordinator at the Department of Justice tasked with improving coordination and cooperation between federal, regional, state, and local law enforcement communities.
I am very pleased the government and private organizations are realizing that they can help prevent kidnappings. On Tuesday, I was happy to hear that AOL will begin using the AMBER Alert system to notify more than 26 million subscribers in states and cities all over the country. This effort is to be applauded by Congress and the country and will hopefully encourage other businesses to begin taking a proactive approach to helping communities solve these crimes early and prevent kidnappings.
Mr. Speaker, while the role of the federal government in preventing these heinous crimes is very important, I must also say that I am proud of the efforts that communities have made. The outpouring of support for the families of those who have lost their children is exceptional. The AMBER Alert system only works when the community is involved. A number of kidnappings were foiled this year specifically because regular citizens paid attention and helped catch criminals.
____________________
