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.
“THE MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S6325 on Sept. 10, 2013.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE ACT
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of the Missing Children's Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2013.
This bill will reauthorize the efforts of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This legislation will ensure that NCMEC will continue to be able to receive reports of missing children for law enforcement, provide DNA analysis to locate missing children, partner with the FBI and Department of Justice to combat child sex trafficking, fight child pornography. NCMEC also should be allowed to continue to perform its role as the congressionally-authorized national clearinghouse to assist missing and exploited children, working with agents from the FBI, Secret Service, Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Postal Inspection Service, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Services.
There is a greater need than ever before for transparency and accountability when taxpayer moneys are granted to private, nonprofit, and other governmental agencies. I am pleased that the bill contains the accountability measures that I demand for all grants that are awarded by the Department of Justice. These include two audits of NCMEC use of these funds over the life of the reauthorization, penalties for misuse of funds, prohibition on receipt of funds by an organization that holds offshore accounts to avoid taxes, limitations on conference expenditures, and prohibition of the use of taxpayer funds to lobby for grant funding. These provisions will ensure that taxpayers can have confidence that their money will be used properly and for public purposes.
NCMEC performs important services to combat terrible crimes against vulnerable victims. With the inclusion of transparency and accountability safeguards, I look forward to the enactment of this legislation in advance of the expiration of the current authorization.
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