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.
“UNANIMOUS-CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1738” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S9229-S9230 on Sept. 23, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNANIMOUS-CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1738
Mr. REID. Madam President, again, as has happened during this long process where these bills have languished, we keep getting suggestions for changes. We make them, and it does not make any difference. And last night, again, Senator Coburn suggested a change. We certainly can go along with that. We will make the change, send it over to you, and take a look at it.
I want to take a minute to talk about another one of the 34 pieces of legislation that is so important. Its name is ``PROTECT Our Children Act,'' or the PROTECT Act. This bill seeks to increase the prosecution of individuals producing and trading in child pornography by providing funding to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The Crimes Against Children Task Force has developed the ability to identify individuals in the online distribution of child pornography but lacks the manpower needed to pursue and prosecute the offenders. This bill would give the Crimes Against Children Task Force the resources it needs.
This bill would also help promote coordination and strategic planning of Government resources to catch child predators by requiring DOJ to develop and implement a national strategy to combat child exploitation.
This bill would go a long way toward rescuing the thousands of children who are being exploited by child predators. Studies show that 30 percent of the people identified by the Crimes Against Children Task Force are actively engaged in molesting a child. Yet, right now, of the over 500,000 known cases, we are investigating 2 percent of them because law enforcement does not have the resources to do more.
This legislation was introduced in October 2007 and passed the House about a year ago, 415 to 2. The Senate companion legislation passed the Judiciary Committee. The Senate bill Republican cosponsors include Senators Stevens, Hatch, Hutchison, and Murkowski. So it is the right thing to do to pass this bill.
I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 862, S. 1738, that a substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. COBURN. Reserving the right to object, a question again for the majority leader. As confused as I was on a previous act, this does not include the language of the SAFE Act?
Mr. REID. That is right. The reason it doesn't--there are lots of reasons it doesn't, but we have a letter from the Justice Department. The Justice Department--Bush's Justice Department we all know about--
decided to take a look at that. Even the Bush Justice Department said this needs a lot more work. Keep in mind, I have described in detail what we are trying to do. The SAFE Act the Senator is talking about is a different piece of legislation, and it should not be tied into what we are trying to do with this child pornography thing. I would hope we would get this done. We will be happy to work with the Justice Department and everybody else to see if we can work something out on the SAFE Act. It is not yet ready for passage. We all agree there is a need to combat Internet pornography. But important questions about the text of Senator Coburn's proposed legislation must be answered. We have questions. I used the Justice Department as an example. It is not only us. It is the Bush Justice Department. While some version of the SAFE Act might pass, let's not fool ourselves. The SAFE Act will help develop leads, but right now only 2 percent of all cases are investigated because law enforcement does not have the resources. The SAFE Act does absolutely nothing to bolster law enforcement resources. The PROTECT Act fills the known hole that has resulted in 98 percent of existing leads on child predators to go uninvestigated.
The Judiciary Committee, the committee of jurisdiction, has not held a hearing on the SAFE Act. It has not been the subject of committee markup. I don't believe any Republican on the committee even formally asked for a markup. It is ironic that Senator Coburn, the self-
designated champion of insisting that bills be scrutinized before passage, now wants to circumvent the legislative process for a bill he never even bothered to raise in committee.
The Justice Department has serious concerns about this act. In a six-
page letter sent last year, DOJ made numerous suggestions for improving the text of the bill. Some of the suggestions were addressed in the House version of the bill but many were not. In addition, officials from the Internet service providers that would implement this new law have raised important practical questions. They are concerned about vague definitions and requirements in the bill. There is no point in rushing to pass a bill that will be ineffective or struck down by the courts as unconstitutionally vague.
Last week, I asked my staff to convene a group of Republican and Democratic staffers to try to revise the text of the bill in light of the concerns expressed by the Department of Justice and others. Senator Coburn's staff is part of that effort. I am hopeful we can reach bipartisan agreement on the SAFE Act. The staff negotiations are ongoing. We will continue to work in good faith to get this bill in shape, but we are not there yet. Meanwhile, we are there on the PROTECT Act. It is ready to go. It has been for a long time. We can pass it today and get it to the President's desk immediately.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. COBURN. Continuing my reservation of the right to object, by the same logic that the majority leader has argued on all these other bills, the SAFE Act passed the House 390 to 2. So with the wisdom of the House, under which we are basing all the other requests for unanimous consent, why is that wisdom not any good now with the SAFE Act? The fact is that it isn't. I regret that unless we can pass the PROTECT Act with the SAFE Act and unless we can actually do something--
the SAFE Act actually will do something tomorrow, the day it is signed. The PROTECT Act will not do anything until the money comes through Congress a year from now. So the fact is, if we had the SAFE Act, we will stop child pornography faster than if we don't. The question of the fourth amendment rights of child pornographers versus the rights of children being abused is not a hard thing to figure out. With that, I object until we add that to the bill.
Mr. REID. It is interesting how my friend isn't interested in the authorization of money this takes. It is obvious from what we have heard from my friend, supported by his Republican colleagues, that these important pieces of legislation have been held up and are continuing to be held up. That is unfortunate. We have not a single piece of legislation today that has been approved. That is the way it is, this arrangement. I hope the Republicans accept what they have done. They have supported this. The Republicans have supported Senator Coburn's blocking bills that have passed overwhelmingly in the House. They would pass overwhelmingly here, but Republicans are supporting his procedural blockage of these bills.
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