II Calendar No. 544 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1829 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 19, 2007 Mr. Leahy (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Shelby, and Mr. Schumer) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary December 13, 2007 Reported by Mr. Leahy, with an amendment Omit the part struck through A BILL To reauthorize programs under the Missing Children’s Assistance Act.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protect our Children First Act of 2007.

2.

Amendment to findings

Section 402 of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771) is amended to read as follows:

402.

Findings

Congress finds that— (1)each year thousands of children are abducted or removed from the control of a parent having legal custody without such parent's consent, under circumstances which immediately place the child in grave danger; (2)many missing children are at great risk of both physical harm and sexual exploitation; (3)in many cases, parents and local law enforcement officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to mount expanded search efforts; (4)abducted children are frequently moved from one locality to another, requiring the cooperation and coordination of local, State, and Federal law enforcement efforts; (5)growing numbers of children are the victims of child sexual exploitation, increasingly involving the use of new technology to access the Internet; (6)children may be displaced from their parents or legal guardians as a result of national disasters such as hurricanes and floods; (7)sex offenders pose a threat to children; and (8)the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children— (A)serves as the national resource center and clearinghouse; (B)works in partnership with the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Secret Service, and many other agencies in the effort to find missing children and prevent child victimization; and (C)operates a national and increasingly worldwide network, linking the Center online with each of the missing children clearinghouses operated by the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as with Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France, and others, which enable the Center to transmit images and information regarding missing and exploited children to law enforcement across the United States and around the world instantly.

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3.

Amendments to duties and functions of the Administrator

(a)

In general

Section 404(b) of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)) is amended— (1)striking paragraph (3); and (2)redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3). (b)Annual grant to the national center for missing and exploited children.—Section 404(b)(1) of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows: (1)

In general

The Administrator shall annually make a grant to the Center, which shall be used to— (A)(i)operate a national 24-hour toll-free telephone line by which individuals may report information regarding the location of any missing child, and request information pertaining to procedures necessary to reunite such child with such child's legal custodian; and (ii)coordinate the operation of such telephone line with the operation of the national communications system referred to in part C of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714–11); (B)operate the official national resource center and information clearinghouse for missing and exploited children; (C)provide to State and local governments, public and private nonprofit agencies, and individuals, information regarding— (i)free or low-cost legal, restaurant, lodging, and transportation services that are available for the benefit of missing and exploited children and their families; and (ii)the existence and nature of programs being carried out by Federal agencies to assist missing and exploited children and their families; (D)coordinate public and private programs that locate, recover, or reunite missing children with their families; (E)disseminate, on a national basis, information relating to innovative and model programs, services, and legislation that benefit missing and exploited children; (F)in cooperation with the Department of Justice and the Department of State and local law enforcement, develop and present an annual report on the actual number of children nationwide who are reported missing each year, the number of children who are victims of nonfamily abductions, the number of children who are the victims of parental kidnappings, and the number of children who are recovered each year; (G)provide technical assistance and training to law enforcement agencies, State and local governments, elements of the criminal justice system, public and private nonprofit agencies, and individuals in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of cases involving missing and exploited children; (H)provide assistance to families and law enforcement agencies in locating and recovering missing and exploited children, both nationally and internationally; (I)provide analytical support and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies through searching public records databases in locating and recovering missing and exploited children and helping to locate and identify abductors; (J)provide direct on-site technical assistance and consultation to law enforcement agencies in child abduction and exploitation cases; (K)provide forensic technical assistance and consultation to law enforcement and other agencies in the identification of unidentified deceased children through facial reconstruction of skeletal remains and similar techniques; (L)track the incidence of attempted child abductions in order to identify links and patterns, and provide such information to law enforcement agencies; (M)facilitate the deployment of the National Emergency Child Locator Center to assist in reuniting missing children with their families during periods of national disasters; (N)operate a cyber tipline to provide online users and electronic service providers an effective means of reporting Internet-related child sexual exploitation in the areas of— (i)possession, manufacture and distribution of child pornography; (ii)online enticement of children for sexual acts; (iii)child prostitution; (iv)sex tourism involving children; (v)extrafamilial child sexual molestation; and (vi)unsolicited obscene material sent to a child; and subsequently to transmit such reports, including relevant images and information, to the appropriate international, Federal, State or local law enforcement agency for investigation;(O)work with law enforcement, electronic service providers, electronic payment service providers, and others on methods to reduce the distribution on the Internet of images and videos of sexually exploited children; (P)operate the Child Victim Identification Program in order to assist the efforts of law enforcement agencies in identifying victims of child pornography and other sexual crimes; (Q)develop and disseminate programs and information for the general public to educate families and children regarding the prevention of child abduction and sexual exploitation; and (R)develop and disseminate programs and information to local communities, schools, public officials, nonprofit organizations, and youth-serving organizations to help parents and children use the Internet safely. .

4.

Authorization of appropriations

(a)

Annual grant to the national center for missing and exploited children

Section 404(b)(2) of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(2)) is amended by striking $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2008 and inserting $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2013. (b)

In general

Section 408(a) of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5777(a)) is amended by striking 2004 through 2008 and inserting 2008 through 2013..

5.

Authority of Inspectors General

Title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5779 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

3703.

Authority of Inspectors General

(a)

In general

An Inspector General appointed under section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) may authorize staff to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children— (1)by conducting reviews of inactive case files to develop recommendations for further investigations; and (2)by engaging in similar activities. (b)

Limitations

(1)

Priority

An Inspector General may not permit staff to engage in activities described in subsection (a) if such activities will interfere with the duties of the Inspector General under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). (2)

Funding

No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section.

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December 13, 2007 Reported with an amendment