[Senate Hearing 105-615]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 105-615
PREVENTING CHILD EXPLOITATION ON THE INTERNET
=======================================================================
HEARING
before a
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
SPECIAL HEARING
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/
senate
______
_______________________________________________________________________
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC
20402
ISBN 0-16-057482-X
49-462 CC U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1998
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman
THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina
CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont
SLADE GORTON, Washington DALE BUMPERS, Arkansas
MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
CONRAD BURNS, Montana TOM HARKIN, Iowa
RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland
JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire HARRY REID, Nevada
ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah HERB KOHL, Wisconsin
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado PATTY MURRAY, Washington
LARRY CRAIG, Idaho BYRON DORGAN, North Dakota
LAUCH FAIRCLOTH, North Carolina BARBARA BOXER, California
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
Steven J. Cortese, Staff Director
Lisa Sutherland, Deputy Staff Director
James H. English, Minority Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and
Related Agencies
JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire, Chairman
TED STEVENS, Alaska ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii
MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky DALE BUMPERS, Arkansas
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland
ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia
(ex officio)
Subcommittee Staff
Jim Morhard
Kevin Linskey
Paddy Link
Dana Quam
Scott Gudes (Minority)
Emelie East
C O N T E N T S
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Page
Statement of Hon. Louis J. Freeh, Director, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Department of Justice........................... 1
Opening remarks of Senator Gregg................................. 1
Statement of Senator Hollings.................................... 3
Statement of Senator Mikulski.................................... 3
Summary statement of Director Freeh.............................. 4
CyberTipline..................................................... 5
Innocent Images initiative....................................... 5
Child abduction and serial killer unit........................... 6
Training......................................................... 6
Public awareness................................................. 6
Innocent Images cases............................................ 7
National coordination............................................ 7
Regional State and local task forces............................. 8
DNA profiles..................................................... 8
Private industry assistance...................................... 8
Crimes Against Children Program accomplishments.................. 9
Prepared statement of Louis J. Freeh............................. 10
Implementation of 1998 FBI enhancements.......................... 10
Innocent Images.................................................. 12
Challenges for combating child exploitation...................... 13
Crimes against children.......................................... 14
Extent of Internet child pornography problem..................... 15
Traveler cases................................................... 16
DNA tracking system.............................................. 17
Federal, State, and local cooperation............................ 18
Caliber of FBI agents............................................ 19
Resources needed................................................. 20
St. Mary's College students in Guatemala......................... 21
Congressional intent............................................. 21
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESS
Statement of Ernest E. Allen, president and CEO, National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children............................. 23
Prepared statement.......................................... 29
An update on our progress in addressing child sexual exploitation
on the Internet................................................ 29
The subcommittee's mandate....................................... 31
NCMEC report................................................31
(iii) deg.
PREVENTING CHILD EXPLOITATION ON THE INTERNET
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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 1998
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and
State,
the Judiciary, and Related Agencies,
Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 9:58 a.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Judd Gregg (chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Gregg, Hollings, and Mikulski.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Federal Bureau of Investigation
STATEMENT OF HON. LOUIS J. FREEH, DIRECTOR
opening remarks of senator gregg
Senator Gregg. We will start the hearing. This is the
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State of the
Appropriations Committee.
The purpose of today's hearing is to continue a discussion
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] and the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (national center)
over the issue of the use of the Internet by people who are
attempting to take advantage of our children, either through
the promotion of child pornography, or through the actual
attempt to solicit children for sexual activity.
Approximately 1 year ago we had a hearing where the
Director was kind enough to come forward and show us some of
the initiatives which the Bureau has undertaken in the area of
trying to protect children on the Internet from predators.
We congratulate the FBI for their initiatives in this area,
specifically the Innocent Images initiative, which essentially
is a sting operation, which was initiated at the direction of
the Director, and which this committee strongly supports.
As a result of that hearing, and some of the very moving
and disturbing testimony that we heard from parents of children
who had been taken advantage of as the result of their use of
the Internet, this committee initiated a significant funding
increase and promoted a number of undertakings which have been
pursued both by the Bureau and by the national center.
This hearing is to go over the question of what additional
activity is needed and what additional funding may be needed.
You know, I think we all understand that the Internet is an
extraordinary tool, and a great opportunity for everyone in
this country, but especially for our children to learn and to
have access to information which otherwise would not be
available, or which would involve a great deal of complication
to get to.
I know in my own household my kids are constantly using it
for research on all sorts of complex issues that I do not
understand; whether it is biology or mathematics. In some
instances it is just learning about the world as it is.
In addition, it is a great communication tool. The chat
room concept gives kids the opportunity to talk to their
friends and to people who they don't know, but can meet around
the world, and hear other thoughts and ideas about what is
happening.
The Internet is a unique and special tool, and from my
standpoint it's something that we should protect and expand and
use aggressively, as a positive tool. But unfortunately there
are those who have decided to use it inappropriately, and as I
said yesterday at the announcement of the CyberTipline over at
the national center, it used to be that you tell your children
don't talk to strangers in the play yard; don't accept candy
from a stranger outside the house. If you're walking down the
street don't speak to somebody who comes up to you and asks you
to do something.
But today, unfortunately, the stranger isn't outside of the
house. The stranger can be in the house, and he or she can be
in the house through the Internet. So parents have to be
extremely sensitive to what their children are doing when they
are using the Internet, and there has to be an openness of
discussion.
The first line of defense from abuse of the Internet is,
obviously, parental involvement, parental knowledge, and the
education of children as to the threat. And in that area, I am
sure we will hear from Director Allen of the national center as
to his ideas, and specifically the fact that no child should
ever give out his or her name or address over the Internet or
he or she certainly should never agree to meet anyone as a
result of Internet contact unless the parents are told first,
and also that they are very sure of who the person is the child
is communicating with.
These are obvious things that we need to communicate more
effectively about in order to make sure that the Internet is
used effectively. Today we are going to hear from Director
Freeh as to some of the initiatives that are going forward in
the area of law enforcement relative to people who are
promoting child pornography over the Internet and also in the
area of trying to catch people who may use the Internet to try
to solicit children for sexual activity.
We look forward to an update here. This is an issue that
this committee has been aggressively involved in, and the
aggressiveness of this committee has been bipartisan. Certainly
Senator Hollings, as the ranking member and past chairman and
most knowledgeable person on this committee about its history
and its prerogatives, has been an extremely strong force for
supporting the funding initiatives in this area and making sure
that the agencies which we have jurisdiction over aggressively
pursue the question of trying to protect our children when
using the Internet.
I will yield now to the ranking member, Senator Hollings.
statement of senator hollings
Senator Hollings. Thank you very, very much, Mr. Chairman.
I once again commend you for continuing to lead us on this
important score, and I think your comments bring into mind my
main concern which I want Judge Freeh and Director Allen to
address on how they may emphasize even more prevention.
Now, I do not know how to control the Internet. Initially
the Internet was designed so that you could not control it. I
will never forget, way back in the early 1970's, when we were
saying that if a bomb landed on the Pentagon and all the
communications were knocked out, we wouldn't be able to handle
everything.
We took the various scientific research projects being
considered at the university campuses around the country, and
started interconnecting them in the Defense budget under DARPA.
Actually, the Internet is a defense entity, and that is how we
got started. We then said let the economy and the political
system develop an alternative on its own that could not be
destroyed in a single stroke.
Now, you and I with a single stroke are trying to stop
pornography on the Internet, and I do not know how to do it. I
am trying. We can hear from the witnesses, from their
experiences, on how we could make the violations more severe so
as to deter violators. But on the other hand, Judge, I want to
hear from your good experience, especially with a big family
that continues to grow, how we ought to emphasize prevention.
Thank you very much.
Senator Gregg. Thank you. Senator Mikulski has also been a
leader on all these issues that involve children; protecting
children.
statement of senator mikulski
Senator Mikulski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and my
compliments to you. Mr. Chairman, it is with a great deal of
pride that the national headquarters for the FBI's program to
fight child pornography and child predators on the Internet is
located in my own home State of Maryland.
I have had the opportunity to visit our local FBI
headquarters to see firsthand these demonstrations. They were
shocking. I could not believe that what should be a tool to
advance a child's education--should be an opportunity for
learning, to take them to vistas all around the world and even
beyond, through the NASA Internet--has now been created a
virtual playground in which the predators are very, very real.
The $10 million that we got in last year's appropriation
has worked. We have 60 agents working in Baltimore. They are
out there working to make sure we protect our children from
these predators. We know that nationwide there have been over
329 arrests, and actually already 184 convictions. We look
forward to hearing from Director Freeh about how we could
further enhance this.
We want to make sure that the Internet and the ability to
own a computer in your home, or have access to the Internet in
a public library, is a tool for learning about the world, and
it is not a tool for people to come in, have a virtual
playground, or to use chat rooms to seduce little children.
And I want to compliment you on your leadership. And,
Director Freeh, I just want you to know, the agents that I
visited in Baltimore, their sophistication with technology, and
their commitment to protecting children was so outstanding it
was inspirational, and even inspired me to want to fight extra
hard for the resources you have.
Senator Gregg. Thank you, Senator. Director Freeh, we look
forward to hearing your testimony.
summary statement of director freeh
Mr. Freeh. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Senators Hollings
and Mikulski. Thank you for your support and your comments.
We are very pleased to be here again to talk about these
very serious issues, specifically as they affect law
enforcement and our ability to protect our most precious
resource, our children.
It is significant that this is a second hearing. Last
April, as you noted, Mr. Chairman, under your leadership and
Senator Hollings' leadership, for the first time, at least in
my tenure, a committee of the Congress focused specifically on
child pornography and sexual exploitation of children from a
Federal law enforcement point of view. And that concern, that
support which has resonated not only in the appropriations of
1998, but the continuing support and inquiry by this committee
is just outstanding, not only from our point of view, but also
on behalf of the other Federal services, particularly the U.S.
Customs Service, and the State and local departments who are
benefiting from the training, and from the protocols developed
in the Innocent Images cases.
Yesterday, as you know, at the announcement of the
CyberTipline effort, which is the direct result of this
committee's support, we heard from a detective from a small
police department in New Hampshire, who, on his own initiative
and with the expertise he has developed, has generated over 60
leads.
These are not FBI leads. These are State and local cases
with respect to people committing crimes against children using
the Internet.
As these techniques and this support percolates down to the
State and local departments, we will enormously increase the
potential for this protection. It is nothing that the FBI could
do by itself or the Customs Service. As you note, Senator
Hollings, a lot of it has to do with prevention and education,
which is why we note with great interest the legislation that
you recently introduced which goes to that very point of
education and prevention in the schools. But this is the
beginning of an initiative which I think will have outstanding
results around the country, and it was initiated in this
committee, and I want to thank all the members, and you, Mr.
Chairman, in particular.
With respect to the commitment which was made by this
committee, and followed up by myself and the FBI, I believe
that we will have more significant results to report in
addition to the ones that I will review very briefly here this
morning.
cybertipline
The CyberTipline is one other example of a State and
private partnership. What is very significant about the
CyberTipline is that it is privately supported as well as
publicly funded and that the center, under the very competent
leadership and very ingenious initiatives of Ernie Allen, who
is going to testify here this morning, has been able to take
that particular idea and turn it into a practical tool and
shield for protecting our children.
innocent images initiative
With respect to the $10 million appropriation which we
received last year, that, as you noted, Senator Mikulski, added
60 positions, including 25 special agents, to enhance the
Innocent Images initiative, which is a nationwide investigative
effort headquartered in our Baltimore field office, but now
expanding.
We have an initiative established in Los Angeles, and with
State and local training, it is now going to filter down to a
level which will greatly expand its impact.
Baltimore received 40 of those 60 new positions, including
13 agents and 12 intelligence research analysts. That has given
us a threefold capability to what it was prior to those
resources. We are creating a second squad of FBI agents and
State and local task force participants to expand the scope of
our current online undercover operation and to provide 24 hour
support to Innocent Images cases from around the country, which
will give us a capacity that we have not, heretofore, enjoyed.
Ninety-five percent of the Innocent Images cases which are
initiated in Baltimore have to do with subjects who reside in
other States. So this is, indeed, a national effort which has
been headquartered very successfully in our Baltimore division.
The Baltimore agents who are assigned to Innocent Images
will also use their expertise to train State and local law
enforcement officers and prosecutors, including those trained
through the national center.
Since last April, the FBI Innocent Images staff have made
54 presentations to approximately 2,100 State and local
enforcement officers and prosecutors around the country. This
is a continuing training effort, and the protocols they receive
during that training, will enable them to go out and institute
similar operations in a coordinated way. We are very dedicated
to making sure these efforts are coordinated as best we can.
We are also improving the case management system in the
Innocent Images protocols to ensure that we can store and
retrieve quickly all the relevant data. We are placing four
agents and one intelligence research specialist in our Los
Angeles field office, where they will be dedicated to following
up on cases referred by the Baltimore office, as well as
initiating new Innocent Images and online child pornography
investigations.
With respect to forensic services, the additional Innocent
Images squad in Baltimore will generate increased workload for
our FBI laboratory. Consequently, improving our laboratory
capabilities to handle these additional cases, forensically, is
a top priority. So we are adding five special agents and one
professional examiner for those forensic examinations of
computer-related evidence from Innocent Images cases.
child abduction and serial killer unit
With respect to the child abduction and serial killer unit,
which as you know is in Quantico, which I established in 1994,
we will add two agents and one intelligence research specialist
to that unit to ensure the timely and effective response to
requests for assistance in missing children and sexual
exploitation cases, particularly those involving Internet and
online services.
That unit, I am very proud to say, has been extremely
active since it became operational in 1995. In addition to the
profiling of services, which we provide regularly to State and
local departments, we also, upon request, deploy agents,
analysts, and forensic examiners from that unit and other
sources to go out into the field, particularly when a small
police department is faced with a child abduction beyond their
resource needs.
We are also assigning, as I mentioned yesterday, one full-
time special agent to the national center to help improve our
liaison and facilitate what will be more complaints and tips,
particularly as a result of the CyberTipline.
training
With respect to training, we are conducting, based on the
1998 resources, five regional, online child pornography and
child sexual exploitation conferences. The first conference was
held recently in Atlanta, attended by 20 FBI agents and 200
State and local officers from seven Southeastern States.
We have conferences scheduled later this year in Dallas,
Los Angeles, Chicago, and Newark. That is the multiplier effect
that I believe we will have. You will see many more of these
cases and initiatives on a State and local level, which is,
indeed, very significant.
Later this year we are going to convene a national level
symposium on Internet and online child pornography cases, where
in conjunction with State and local partners and prosecutors,
we will develop what we believe to be better case strategies
and better protocols, and review the technology available to
work on these important cases.
public awareness
Increasing public awareness, as Mr. Allen noted yesterday,
is perhaps one of the most important aspects of this entire
initiative. The education and the prevention aspect is an issue
which goes, of course, to the schools and the parents, but also
has a law enforcement component.
For instance, we are following up on a suggestion which you
made last year, Mr. Chairman, and Senator Hollings, with
respect to including in our FBI tour the notion of awareness
with respect to online pornography and child exploitation.
We are in the process now of establishing on that tour,
which is seen by 500,000 people per year, videos, perhaps
interactive kiosks, and displays with respect to the whole
issue of child exploitation and vulnerability, and using that
as another forum for education.
innocent images cases
With respect to the Innocent Images cases, as Senator
Mikulski noted, we have been very, very successful in the
investigation and prosecution of those cases. We have over 684
active, pending cases at this time and 184 convictions, as the
Senator noted.
Significantly, 70 of those cases are what we call traveler
cases. These are the most serious cases where someone contacts
a child or a minor over the Internet and seeks to meet them for
illicit sexual purposes potentially leading to crimes of
violence and even death. These cases are identified in our top
priority category of travelers. These are the cases that we
react most immediately to, with all the resources at our
disposal.
In addition, what is also significant, and based in part on
the resources which are now being utilized from your 1998
appropriation, we have increased the number of search warrants
by 62 percent. The number of indictments have increased this
last year by 50 percent, arrests by 57 percent, and convictions
by 45 percent.
I would also note that in addition to the national efforts,
these cases have international aspects. Currently,
approximately 21 of these cases are being worked in part by
nine of our overseas Legat offices, which this committee has
also strongly supported in terms of establishment and
expansion.
The Internet has no boundaries. Subjects from countries,
literally around the world, can visit into someone's home for
the purposes of committing one of these crimes. So the
capability needs to be beyond our borders, since the Internet
has no borders.
There are challenges, as we mentioned last year as well as
last week with respect to pursuing these cases. The encryption
issue is an issue that we need to resolve in some rational as
well as effective way. We do have subjects using encryption to
commit crimes against children, particularly crimes on the
Internet, and that is a continuing source of concern to us that
has broad law enforcement implications beyond these cases.
national coordination
With respect to national coordination, we do seek, as I
know this committee wishes us to, the ability to coordinate as
best we can the various and now proliferating efforts not only
by Federal law enforcement authorities, but also by State and
local authorities, to avoid a situation where two undercover
operatives on the Internet, unknown to each other at the time
are working against each other, both representing law
enforcement agencies.
We want to use whatever means and liaison available as well
as the conferences which this appropriation will support to see
if we can establish some basic protocols or guidelines so we
can avoid the situation where we are basically wasting
resources. I do not think that has happened yet as far as I
know, and we are going to ensure that it does not happen in the
days to come.
regional state and local task forces
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
based on this committee's funding, is setting up eight regional
State and local task forces which will work very closely with
the FBI, as well as with the national center, with respect to
the pursuit of these cases.
dna profiles
In the area of DNA profiles, we are actively pursuing the
forensic ability to have a legal but effective DNA data base,
with respect to people convicted of sexual, predatory crimes.
The average child molester, for instance, we know from studies
and statistics, attacks approximately 70 victims throughout his
lifetime.
With respect to many of those crimes, DNA profiles and DNA
data bases become a very effective forensic tool in terms of
identification, and also prevention. If we are being asked to
check the employees at a day care center, we need to have
access to a data base which serves that very important purpose.
The FBI continues to work with the States to establish the
CODIS network. CODIS is the DNA identification network. We now
have connections with 86 different crime labs in 36 States,
including the District of Columbia, with respect to the ability
to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically.
At this time, however, there is no comparable effort to
collect and maintain DNA samples from individuals convicted
federally for sex crimes, and that is an area where I think,
both with respect to authorization and certainly appropriation,
a good judgment might be had with respect to increasing that
forensic ability.
private industry assistance
With respect to private industry assistance, again during
the past year, as we noted yesterday and as several of the
presenters noted, we have had very good dialog as well as
cooperation with some of the Internet service providers with
respect to conducting our investigations, receiving assistance
from them to obtain evidence, but also to receive from them
suggestions as well as abilities to help educate and work in
the prevention area, which, of course, is key.
We think that many things need to be done and can be done.
For instance, manufacturers of software products, particularly
those products which are used to access the Internet, could
easily, in our view, include in their products some of the
safety publications which are currently available, and which
are very effective in getting the message across, particularly
to children and teens.
We would encourage the Internet provider industry to
maintain subscriber and call information for a fixed period of
time. They now discard it very briefly, unlike the telephone
companies. Those are records which are very critical in
identifying and even tracing some of the Innocent Images-type
cases and leads. That would be a very helpful thing, and we
certainly hope that it could be done, even on a voluntary
basis.
Retaining caller ID by the Internet service providers would
be another, hopefully voluntary, measure that would help us,
and we are in discussions with providers to see if we can
receive that kind of assistance.
crimes against children program accomplishments
In general, and in conclusion with respect to our FBI
Crimes Against Children Program, we are very proud of this
program. We have worked very hard, and I want to commend the
FBI special agents and the support employees who have really
dedicated themselves to making this program work, which has
been recently established, but in our view, is very, very
effective.
Some of the measures that we have taken, which I know are
known to the committee--in February of last year we added, as
you know, a new dimension to the NCIC which allows law
enforcement agencies to flag entries for us where there is some
reasonable indication that a child is missing under suspicious
circumstances, and that that particular child might be in a
life threatening situation. We have a system established where
those NCIC flags notify the national center, and also our child
abduction and serial killer unit once they are entered. We have
established the interim National Sex Offender Registry, which
uses the NCIC III index. To date, 23 States are participating
in that, with 30,778 records, which are flagged individuals as
sexual offenders. In July 1999, when the NCIC 2000 comes on
line, this will be a permanent part of that file.
Last May, I instructed each of our officers to designate
two special agents per office, in each of our 56 offices, to
serve as Crimes Against Children coordinators within their
particular field office, and to serve as points of contact for
the State and local agencies.
One of the efforts that we have pursued, and which this
particular liaison capacity supports, is a manual which I will
make available to the committee. It is called the ``Child
Abduction Response Plan,'' which was developed by our child
abduction and serial killer unit. This particular manual is now
being distributed to approximately 17,000 police departments in
the United States. It is a how to book: what to do, what not to
do, particularly in the first few hours of a child abduction
case.
For the majority of police departments in the country which
have under a dozen or so sworn officers, this gives them not
only some protocols and guidance, but also the means to contact
us immediately where we can be of assistance.
We are working with the International Association of Chiefs
of Police to distribute that, and then follow it up with the
liaison that these units, with your additional resources, will
provide.
We have also established in the FBI Criminal Investigative
Division an office dedicated to crimes against children, not
just sexual exploitation and pornography on the Internet, but
kidnapping cases, violent crimes against children all over the
country, particularly on Indian reservations, where that rate
is extremely high, parental kidnapping cases--all of the
programs and statutes which we enforce which in any way relate
to children.
This organizes for the first time in the FBI an overall
supervision for our programs. As I noted last week, we did
include in our 1999 budget increases with respect to law
enforcement resources on Indian country, where the violent
crimes, particularly the crimes against children, are
phenomenally high.
prepared statement
Again, I want to express my gratitude to this committee for
its support. As a Director, but also as a father of six
children, I cannot think of a more important investment with
respect to law enforcement. They are our most precious
resource. You have my commitment that we will use these
resources wisely, and we will work as hard as we can to prevent
harm to all these children.
Thank you very much.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Louis J. Freeh
Good morning, Chairman Gregg, Senator Hollings, and members of the
Subcommittee. I am very pleased to appear before you today to discuss
the problems of child pornography on the Internet and the sexual
exploitation of children.
I would like to acknowledge the strong support of the Subcommittee
for the FBI and other federal, state, and local law enforcement
organizations and agencies working to protect children from computer
sex offenders. Last April, this Subcommittee convened the first
Congressional hearing during my tenure as Director that focused solely
on this important issue. As I told the Subcommittee at that time, our
children are our nation's most valuable resource. They represent the
bright future of our country and hold our hopes for a better Nation.
They are also among the most vulnerable members of society.
Your hearing last year was instrumental in raising public awareness
to the seriousness of the problem of child pornography on the Internet.
Your hearing also raised the recognition of this problem among law
enforcement officers and prosecutors. Most importantly, you followed up
your concern and commitment with action.
As a result of your efforts through the 1998 Justice Appropriations
Act, the FBI, our state and local partners, and the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, and others are taking positive actions
to make our children's safety and future more secure by reducing their
vulnerability to Sexual Predators using the Internet and commercial on-
line services. Through your recognition of this issue, funding is
available this year to improve the FBI's efforts to combat child
pornography on the Internet, to enhance training and other related
programs at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and
to establish State and local law enforcement child sexual exploitation
cyber-squads. This Subcommittee is making a significant difference in
providing law enforcement with the tools and capabilities they need to
respond to this problem. On behalf of law enforcement, I thank you.
Yesterday, I had the honor to join Senators Gregg and Hollings and
Ernie Allen, the President of the National Center, at the dedication of
the Cyber Tipline. The Cyber Tipline is one example of the type of
joint public-private sector partnerships that are mutually beneficial
to law enforcement and the public, especially to our children. I hope
that yesterday's events will bring to the public's attention the
availability of the Tipline and that its use will assist in preventing
innocent and unsuspecting children from being exploited and harmed.
implementation of 1998 fbi enhancements
I would like to start by bringing the Subcommittee up to date on
how the FBI is using the additional staffing and funding provided for
child pornography investigations that was included in the 1998 Justice
Appropriations Act. The Act provided $10 million for enhancing our
ongoing ``Innocent Images'' initiative which is a nationwide
investigation coordinated in the FBI's Baltimore, Maryland, field
office. This funding allows for 60 new positions, including 25 agents.
As we allocated these additional resources, we considered and balanced
the full range of requirements needed for the ``Innocent Images''
initiative, including additional investigators for Baltimore and other
key locations, analysts, laboratory examiners and services, training
and outreach, and case management automation. I believe the plan that
we are implementing allows us to have the most impact with the
additional resources the subcommittee provided us.
Baltimore.--Most of the new positions--40 total, including 13
agents and 12 Intelligence Research Analysts--are being assigned to our
Baltimore Field Office. At Baltimore, we are creating a second
``Innocent Images'' squad to expand the scope of our current on-line
undercover operation. Baltimore will also be able to provide 24-hour
support to ``Innocent Images'' cases that involve suspects located in
other FBI field offices. Currently, 95 percent of the ``Innocent
Images'' cases generated by the Baltimore Field Office involve suspects
who live in states other than Maryland.
The ``Innocent Images'' agents assigned to Baltimore will also use
their expertise to provide training programs for State and local law
enforcement and prosecutors, including those trained through the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Two special agents
from the Baltimore Division's ``Innocent Images'' staff will be
assigned as instructors to teach law enforcement officers on-line child
pornography/child sexual exploitation investigations. Since last April,
FBI ``Innocent Images'' staff have made 54 presentations to
approximately 2,100 State and local law enforcement officers and
prosecutors.
We are also improving the ``Innocent Images'' case management
system that supports on-line sessions conducted by undercover agents
and which stores case and federal grand jury subpoena information. With
the additional cases that will be generated by the increased number of
agents added to the ``Innocent Images'' squads, an updated system is
needed.
Los Angeles.--The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office plays a
significant role in support of the ``Innocent Images'' initiative,
including the conducting of on-line undercover sessions. We are placing
4 agents and 1 intelligence research specialist in the Los Angeles
Field Office where they will be dedicated to supporting the ``Innocent
Images'' initiative. These agents will allow the Los Angeles Field
Office to provide more timely follow up investigations regarding
suspects identified and referred by the Baltimore Field Office, as well
as initiate new Internet and on-line service child pornography
investigations. Investigations by the Los Angeles Field Office are
being fully coordinated with the national ``Innocent Images'' task
force in Baltimore.
Forensic services.--Child pornography investigations and
prosecutions depend upon the identification and timely analysis of
evidence from seized computers and media used to produce, store, and
transmit illegal images and pictures. Individuals involved in the
distribution and exchange of on-line child pornography and the
recruitment of children for illicit sexual purposes are among the most
sophisticated computer users the FBI is encountering. The additional
cases that will be generated by the new squad being established in
Baltimore will also increase the forensic workload of the FBI
Laboratory. Consequently, improving FBI Laboratory capabilities to
respond to the growing number of these cases is a high priority.
We are adding 6 positions, including 5 agents, to the FBI
Laboratory to increase the number of examiners performing forensic
examinations of computer-related evidence from ``Innocent Images''
cases. These agents will also travel to other field offices to assist
in the execution of search warrants generated from cases developed by
the ``Innocent Images'' squads.
Pocatello Information Technology Center.--We are also adding 2
intelligence research specialists to the FBI Information Technology
Center (ITC) located in Pocatello, Idaho. The Pocatello ITC provides a
variety of overall case support services for ``Innocent Images''
investigations, including searches of commercial databases to locate
and trace suspects and fugitives. During a court authorized wire
interception in an on-line child pornography investigation, the very
first of its kind, analysts at the Pocatello ITC directly assisted our
investigators in the administration of this electronic surveillance.
Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit.--The FBI's Child Abduction
and Serial Killer Unit provides critical behavioral profiling to FBI
field offices, other federal agencies, and State and local law
enforcement agencies working missing children cases and serial crimes,
including cases involving Sexual Predators. Beginning in September
1997, the FBI began distribution of a ``Child Abduction Response Plan''
to over 17,000 federal, State, and local agencies to provide
suggestions and guidance, based upon our experience, on dealing with
these types of tragic incidents. This plan was prepared by the Child
Abduction and Serial Killer Unit.
We are adding 2 additional agents and 1 Intelligence Research
Specialist to ensure this Unit continues to provide timely and
effective response to requests from law enforcement for assistance in
missing children and child exploitation cases, especially those in
which Sexual Predators use the Internet or on-line services to entice
children to meet for illicit sexual purposes.
Liaison with the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children.--The FBI is in the process of assigning a Special Agent full-
time to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to
improve our liaison with the Center and to facilitate the timely
referral of child sexual exploitation and missing children complaints
and tips to FBI field offices.
Training.--Just one and one half weeks ago, the FBI conducted the
first of five regional On-line Child Pornography/Child Sexual
Exploitation conferences in Atlanta, Georgia. Attending that conference
were 30 FBI agents and 200 State and local law enforcement officers and
officials from 7 Southeastern states: Georgia, Florida, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Other regional
conferences will be held this year in Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles,
California; Chicago, Illinois; and Newark, New Jersey. These
conferences are possible due to the additional funding provided in
1998.
Later this year, we are planning to convene a national-level
symposium on Internet and on-line child pornography and child
exploitation for all FBI field offices. Through this symposium, we hope
to bring together FBI Special Agents who work on-line child
pornography/child sexual exploitation investigations, prosecutors,
Internet and on-line service providers, and others to exchange ideas
and to build bridges between the various groups that will have a
positive impact on reducing the vulnerability of children to these
types of crimes.
Training law enforcement, prosecutors, and others is an important
element of our effort to combat child pornography and child sexual
exploitation on the Internet. We will continue our training efforts in
1999.
Increasing Public Awareness.--One of the most effective ways to
prevent children from becoming victims of on-line Sexual Predators is
to educate them and their parents to follow safe Internet and on-line
practices. Too often, unsuspecting children believe they are talking to
a peer with similar interests and hobbies when, in fact, they are being
recruited by a Sexual Predator who is exploiting the anonymity allowed
by the Internet to hide his true intentions.
Thanks to your suggestion, Mr. Chairman, and that of Senator
Hollings, we are incorporating child Awareness of On-line Child
exploitation into the FBI Headquarters tour. Annually, more than
500,000 people take the FBI tour with the majority being school age
children.
Among the ideas we are considering are short videos highlighting
the issues of child abduction and child safety on the Internet that
could be shown on televisions installed in the general waiting areas
for tours. We are also considering locating two or three kiosks
containing interactive computers along the tour route that would offer
two different information programs, one for adults and one for
children, relating to child safety on the Internet. Finally, we are
considering a Crimes Against Children display that would be constructed
and located outside the Firearms Range waiting area. The National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children is working with us in
developing these ideas and content.
innocent images
The FBI initiated its ``Innocent Images'' investigation in 1995 as
an outgrowth of the investigation into the disappearance of ten year
old George Stanley Burdynski, Jr., in Prince George's County, Maryland.
Investigation into the activities of two suspects determined that
adults were routinely using computers to transmit images of minors
showing frontal nudity or sexually explicit conduct, and to lure minors
into illicit sexual activities.
``Innocent Images'' focuses on individuals who indicate a
willingness to travel for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity
with a child; individuals who produce and/or distribute child
pornography through the Internet and on-line services; and, individuals
who post illegal images onto the Internet and on-line services. The FBI
has investigated more than 70 cases involving pedophiles traveling
interstate to meet minors for the purposes of engaging in illicit
sexual relationships.
FBI Agents and other federal, State, and local investigators
participating on the ``Innocent Images'' task force go on-line in an
undercover capacity, posing as either young children or as sexual
predators, to identify those individuals who are victimizing children.
The coordinated effort has generated significant results: since 1995,
the ``Innocent Images'' investigation has generated 328 search
warrants, 62 consent searches, 162 indictments, 69 informations, 161
arrests, and 184 convictions.
I am particularly pleased to report that since March of 1997, the
number of search warrants executed increased 62 percent; the number of
indictments obtained increased 50 percent; the number of arrests
increased 57 percent; and the number of convictions increased 45
percent.
As I mentioned earlier, we have started on-line ``Innocent Images''
investigations in our Los Angeles field office. We are also considering
the need for on-line ``Innocent Images'' efforts in other field offices
based upon workload and the identification of specialized user
populations involved in on-line child pornography and related sexual
offenses. All of these efforts will be coordinated with and through our
Baltimore Field Office.
The ``Innocent Images'' initiative has expanded its investigative
scope to include investigations involving news groups, Internet Relay
Chat (IRC) and fileservers (also known as fserves).
challenges for combating child exploitation
I would like to comment briefly on several challenges that face not
only the FBI, but all of law enforcement, as we move ahead in our
efforts to combat Internet and on-line child pornography and sexual
exploitation.
Encryption.--When I testified last week before the Subcommittee on
the FBI's 1999 budget request, I outlined for the Subcommittee a number
of challenges facing the FBI as it moves toward the 21st century. One
of these challenges is the growing use of encryption by criminals to
conceal their illegal activities. The ``Innocent Images'' initiative
has uncovered sexual Predators who use encryption in their
communication with each other and in the storage of their child
pornography computer files. This encryption is extremely difficult, and
often impossible, to defeat.
It is essential that law enforcement agencies at all levels of
government maintain the ability, through court order, to access
encrypted communications and data relating to illegal activity.
National Coordination.--The FBI has designated its Baltimore Field
Office as the national coordinator for its ``Innocent Images''
initiative. Investigations of ``Innocent Images'' referrals conducted
by other FBI Field Offices are coordinated through Baltimore.
Numerous other federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies
are initiating on-line undercover child exploitation investigations,
some as part of task forces and others on an individual agency basis.
As more law enforcement agencies begin to use this investigative
technique, the likelihood that one agency will begin investigating
another agency's undercover operation will increase. This is an obvious
waste of very finite resources. On-line child exploitation
investigations often cross jurisdictional lines and, in some instances,
even national boundaries. Investigations that begin in one area may
branch off to involve locations throughout the country and have links
to other ongoing investigations. These types of cases must be
coordinated among the various law enforcement agencies having
jurisdiction. I believe the FBI is in a position to provide valuable
and effective leadership to spearhead this national effort.
The 1998 Justice Appropriations Act provides $2.4 million to the
Office of Justice Programs for grants to establish State and local law
enforcement cyber-squads. This subcommittee also instructed that these
cyber-squads follow the investigative protocols developed by the
Department of Justice in the ``Innocent Images'' investigation. The
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Child
Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Criminal Division, the FBI,
and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are working
closely together to develop a plan for the formation of eight regional
State and local task forces using these funds.
I would like to see our ``Innocent Images'' initiative serve as a
national clearinghouse, with links to a network of regional task forces
staffed by federal, State, and local investigators. Such a
clearinghouse and network would enhance support for, and coordination
of, on-line child exploitation investigations and facilitate the
sharing of intelligence information gathered through undercover
sessions and cases.
DNA Profiles.--Sexual Predators have predictable behavior traits.
Clinical research studies have found that the average child molester
will have more than 70 victims throughout his lifetime. DNA profiles
are one law enforcement tool that can be effective in quickly
identifying suspects.
The FBI continues to work with States to establish the Combined DNA
Information System (CODIS) that will allow State and local crime
laboratories to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically,
thereby linking serial violent crimes and to identify suspects by
matching DNA evidence to offender profiles. CODIS is operational in 86
crime laboratories in 36 States and the District of Columbia.
Currently, 48 of 50 States and all territories and possessions have
enacted laws allowing the collection of DNA samples from convicted sex
offenders and others convicted of violent crimes. We are working with
the two states that do not have laws and expect those States to enact
appropriate laws this year. At this time, there is no comparable effort
to collect and maintain DNA samples from individuals convicted
federally for sex crimes and other violent offenses. As a result of the
``Innocent Images'' initiative and other cases, more and more
individuals are being convicted in Federal Court for sex offenses
involving minors.
Steps need to be taken to close the gap between State and federal
DNA profiling efforts so that a true nationwide database of DNA
profiles for all convicted sex offenders is available.
Sex Offender Registry.--The permanent national sex offender
registry is scheduled to be implemented In July 1999 when the National
Crime Information Center (NCIC) 2000 system becomes operational. This
file will have the capability to retain an offender's current and
previous registered addresses, dates of registration and conviction(s),
photograph and fingerprints. Currently, an interim National Sex
Offender Registry is operational which utilizes the FBI's Interstate
Identification Index and the National Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System. The initiative became operational in
February 1997. As of February 12, 1998, 23 States are participating in
the Registry with 30,778 records flagged as sex offenders.
Industry actions and assistance.--Over the past year, we have seen
positive steps by the software and Internet Service Provider industries
to reduce the availability of pornography to minors. Some Internet
Service Providers are exploring different methods for protecting our
children; to include blocking access to chat rooms and Internet news
groups--the places where Sexual Predators target and recruit minors.
Some site providers are using proof of age and similar shielding
systems to keep underage children from accessing sites containing
adult-oriented materials.
Yet, more can and should be done to keep sexual predators from
being able to reach our children through the Internet and commercial
services. I urge the manufacturers of software products, those used for
connecting to the Internet and also used in modems and computers, to
include with their products a copy of the Internet safety publications
prepared by either the FBI, the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children, the Department of Education or a pamphlet of their
own design. This simple action would help raise the awareness of
parents and provide children with safety tips and practices to use
while enjoying the Internet.
Another problem we encounter is access to subscriber information.
When we identify an individual's screen name--not their subscriber
name--through an on-line session, we must secure a Federal Grand Jury
subpoena and then go to the Internet Service Provider to obtain
subscriber and account information for that particular screen name.
Oftentimes, Sexual Predators and others use multiple screen names or
change screen names on a daily basis. Some Internet Service Providers
retain screen name identifiers for such short periods of time--in some
instances less than two days--that when law enforcement presents a
subpoena, the Internet Service Provider is not able to retrieve from
its archives the requested subscriber and account information.
The telephone industry is required by Federal Communications
Commission regulation to maintain subscriber and call information for a
fixed period of time. It would be beneficial for law enforcement if
Internet Service Providers adopt a similar approach for retaining
subscriber information and records for screen names and associated
Internet Working Protocol numbers, or ``IP addresses.'' Such
information, when provided to law enforcement upon service of a
subpoena, is critical to the timely identification of persons sending
child pornography or trying to recruit a child for illicit sexual
purposes.
Where possible, it would be beneficial for Internet service
providers to capture and retain Caller ID data on persons accessing ISP
lines. The capturing of Caller ID data will greatly assist law
enforcement in child pornography/child sexual exploitation
investigations.
crimes against children
Our efforts to combat child pornography on the Internet and
commercial service providers is one element of the FBI's comprehensive
Crimes Against Children Initiative. The FBI's overall goal for its
Crimes Against Children initiative is to provide a quick and effective
response to all reported incidents. Through a timely response, we
believe the FBI can, in conjunction with its law enforcement partners,
increase the number of incidents in which the victimization of children
is stopped and increase the likelihood that abducted or missing
children are safely recovered.
In each of our field offices, we are reaching out to our State and
local law enforcement partners to encourage them to notify the FBI
within that critical first hour of a reported child abduction or
missing child. Once notified, our goal is to rapidly deploy those
resources necessary to support or conduct an investigation.
I directed that two things be done to help ensure a timely
notification is made in these cases. On February 2, 1997, the FBI added
a new dimension to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) that
allows law enforcement agencies to ``flag'' entries when there is a
reasonable indication that a child is missing under suspicious
circumstances or that the child is believed to be in a life-threatening
situation. NCIC then notifies the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children and the FBI's Child Abduction and Serial Killer
Unit. Special thanks go to Senator McConnell for his pioneering work
that led to this new program.
Shortly after last year's hearing, in May 1997, I instructed each
Special Agent in Charge to designate two FBI Agents to serve as Crimes
Against Children Coordinators within their field office territories and
to serve as field office points of contact for notifications.
No single law enforcement agency is equipped to handle the broad
spectrum of issues that accompanies crimes against children. Working
together, we can leverage our individual capabilities and expertise
into an effective and comprehensive resource team. I have instructed
each FBI field office to begin establishing multi-agency, multi-
disciplinary resource teams consisting of federal, State and local law
enforcement, prosecutors, victim/witness specialists, and health and
social service professionals. These resource teams will facilitate
interagency sharing of intelligence and information and enable
effective investigation and prosecution of cases that transcend
jurisdictional and geographical boundaries.
The FBI's 1999 budget includes a request for 81 positions,
including 30 agents and 31 victim/witness coordinators, and $8,009,000
to improve the delivery of law enforcement services to Indian Country.
Between 1994 and 1997, 83 percent of the crimes on Indian reservations
cases opened by the FBI involved either crimes of violence (47 percent)
or the sexual or physical abuse of a minor child (36 percent). I urge
your support for these additional resources that will allow us to
investigate crimes against children living in Indian Country.
conclusion
Mr. Chairman, I would like to again express my gratitude for the
Subcommittee's strong support and confidence in the FBI. Both you and
Senator Hollings can take pride in the leadership exerted by the
Subcommittee in the area of protecting our children from sexual
offenders and pedophiles. I believe your approach of balancing targeted
increases in FBI investigative resources and capabilities in select
areas with an emphasis on training for State and local law enforcement
encourages partnerships and cooperation that are the keys to an
effective response to the problem of Internet and on-line child
pornography and child exploitation by sexual offenders and pedophiles.
This concludes my prepared remarks. I would like to respond to any
questions that you may have.
Extent of Internet child pornography problem
Senator Gregg. Thank you, Director, for that comprehensive
explanation of your efforts which are also extensive and well
thought out.
I guess I would like to get a little perspective on how big
the problem is. I would be interested, if you know, or maybe--I
notice Agent Hooper is here from your Baltimore office, who
gave us the presentation--she might know.
When you go online in one of these sting operations under
Innocent Images, how long does it take before you get a
potential contact, either an illicit request or a communication
involving child pornography? How extensive is the problem as
you see it?
Mr. Freeh. I am going to let Agent Hooper speak in a
moment, because she is the expert here. But within minutes,
literally, of an agent pretending to be a 13- or 14-year-old
girl going into a designated chat room, the screen literally
lights up with respect to questions and solicitations, and many
of those are pursued in terms of our criminal cases.
But if I could ask the real expert to come up.
Senator Gregg. For the record, this is Supervisory Special
Agent Hooper. Agent Linda Hooper is the supervisor of the
Innocent and Images squad in the Baltimore division.
Ms. Hooper. Generally, when the undercover agent goes
online, the contact is almost instantaneous. And it is from
numerous individuals. Some of the online services only allow 23
individuals in a particular chat room at one time, and we have
been engaged by 22 of the 23 individuals--us being the 23d--all
at once.
Senator Gregg. So it's a pretty extensive problem.
Ms. Hooper. Yes.
Senator Gregg. And it is something that parents should be
very worried about.
Ms. Hooper. Yes, sir.
Senator Gregg. Of course, the first line of defense is the
parent educating the child as to the proper response. What
would be your feeling about what the proper response is? What
should a parent tell a child not to do, or to do when they
enter a chat room and somebody starts asking for information.
Ms. Hooper. Well, I think one of the most important things
is parental supervision when your child is online, and not to
allow particularly young children to go online unsupervised.
And they need to set up certain rules. One of the most
obvious things would be to ensure that the computer is in a
high traffic area and not in the child's room where they can
close the door and engage in these conversations independently.
If you put the computer someplace where the parents always have
view of the computer, they are less likely to get involved in
these types of situations.
And then the things that were mentioned earlier, not to
give out any personal information, not to meet people that they
have met online without their parents' approval, and
supervision, generally as well.
Traveler cases
Senator Gregg. You say there are 70 of these traveler
cases. Can you explain what a traveler case is?
Mr. Freeh. Yes, sir; a traveler case would be a case where
in the course of contacts to our undercover agent we are
receiving offers or solicitations to travel and meet the sender
or the solicitor.
We have had a number of cases where we have made arrests at
the location where the subject asked our undercover agent to
go--a hotel or restaurant. Sometimes there is discussion about
sending bus tickets or plane tickets, using a credit card, for
instance, to travel. The traveling notion is the idea of the
physical contact notion, which may involve traveling by the
subject or the victim.
Senator Gregg. As I understand it, the way this usually
works is somebody, some pedophile, or someone who has a sexual
purpose in contacting the children, is online, in the chat
room, talking with the children, and builds up over a period of
time the confidence that that person is somebody other than who
he is.
In other words, he is presenting himself as a 13-year-old
boy, or something, talking to a 13-year-old girl. And it turns
out he is a 27 year old or 40 year old. And then as a result of
those discussions he tries to convince the child, the only
child, to come to a meeting with him, right?
Mr. Freeh. Yes.
Senator Gregg. Which ends with the potential for kidnapping
or sexual abuse.
Mr. Freeh. Yes; those are the most dangerous cases,
obviously. Just to add to Agent Hooper's parameters, any
contact, of course, on the Internet is a unknown contact. You
do not know in this medium to whom you are talking.
You think you are talking to a 50-year-old grandmother or a
60-year-old professor. You do not know with who you are
speaking, because anybody can be anybody on the Internet. So
any indication or solicitation to travel and meet, or exchange
phone numbers, or what school you go to, are very dangerous
things of which parents need to be very aware.
Senator Gregg. The purpose of the Innocent Images effort is
to create the atmosphere out there, if I understand it, where
when that adult who has predatory desires or purposes gets
online and starts talking to a 13-year-old child, he doesn't
know whether that 13-year-old child might actually be a FBI
agent.
Mr. Freeh. Exactly that. That is part of the prevention. A
lot of people speed on the highway, but many people do not
speed, or at least they do not speed as much as they would
ordinarily, because they know that maybe there is a trooper or
sheriff sitting around the corner. We want to create those
inhibitions on the Internet with respect to protecting
children.
DNA tracking system
Senator Gregg. I want to ask one technical question, and
then I will yield, and then maybe come back for some more
questions.
On this DNA issue, I notice that California has 60,000
people that they had identified as sexual predators or sex
offenders of children; 60,000. That's just a staggering number,
and I am sure it is just because California is so big. I am not
saying the number in California is disproportionate. It's just
a huge number.
We obviously have fingerprints of these people. Do we have
DNA on every one of those folks?
Mr. Freeh. We do not have it on the Federal level. On the
State level, I believe California is one of the States which
does require, I think, from convicted individuals in a certain
number of categories, DNA samples.
Senator Gregg. What should we do at the Federal level to
try to give you more authority to be able to track these people
through DNA?
Mr. Freeh. In the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996, I believe
section 811, we were given the authority to implement a Federal
convicted offender program, which would be based on collecting
and storing DNA data from federally convicted offenders.
We have not implemented that yet. The Department of Justice
thinks that the authorization is not expansive enough to
address a lot of legal concerns. We are now, with the
Department of Justice, working on some legislation which we
think would correct that.
Once that authorization would be granted, obviously some
appropriations would be also requested. We did request them in
our 1999 request to OMB to implement that. I think it would be
a very important and significant step forward, because you
would capture in the Federal DNA offenders base, convicted
offenders base, a whole universe of people who may slip through
the State system.
Senator Gregg. If you could provide us with the language
the Justice Department feels is necessary I think it could
probably find its way into the appropriations bill.
Do you think we should go the route that we have done with
the IAFIS program for DNA? Should we have a national capacity
that goes beyond just Federal prisoners? Do you have the
capacity to take all the California information and put that
into a databank?
Mr. Freeh. The CODIS system, as it has been designed and as
it has been implemented now, with about 38 States
participating, does give us the capacity to exchange and
compare and identify. It almost is--I mean it is very similar
to an IAFIS system. What is lacking now is the Federal
component, and we will follow up on your suggestion to prepare
some language.
Federal, State, and local cooperation
Senator Gregg. Senator Hollings.
Senator Hollings. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Judge Freeh, the presentation you make is outstanding. I
would only add one comment with respect to the coordination.
Continue to try to emphasize working with the local agencies.
I have been in law enforcement now for many years. I have
traveled, worked with the sheriffs, I worked with the FBI
agents, all around my State. There is always a jealousy or a
parochial kind of impetus between the agencies. But they all
sort of work separately and apart, to make sure they have their
own case.
And the local sheriffs will say time and again that they
see the FBI agents. They are good, and everything else, but
there is very little working together.
So as you say in your statement here, that you emphasize
cooperation, and I continue to emphasize it. Because otherwise
I do not see how we are going to get enough money. Every one of
these initiatives that you have are valid and realistic. I
would want to financially support them all.
I have to go to another meeting here later today where they
will say cut spending, cut spending, cut spending. And then we
will go down on the floor and we will make four or five other
State offenses Federal crimes. This with the Justice Department
budget in 10 years going from $4 billion to $21 billion.
And we at the Senate level have had to add the $10 million
onto this $32 million effort. And then the outstanding agent
comes and says I have to stand in line for an undercover
operation to get into a chat room. If I sign on as a
pornographer, there are 22 ahead of me. I am No. 23.
I don't know--they're talking about math and science. I
think the emphasis has got to be on education, with drugs, with
sex, with tobacco, with racism, and with pornography. Maybe we
ought to get Secretary Riley up here with these hearings, and
let's get some money for a general course of orientation in
schools today.
The Federal Government is just not providing enough money
for drug prevention. I have watched it over the years. It gets
worse and worse and worse. Now, we have learned not to smoke.
When I came to these hearings years ago, there were ashtrays
all over this place. And now no one is smoking, because
everyone understands it is injurious to your health.
And unless we can get that kind of feel that has developed
with respect to drugs to develop with child pornography and
these other things, then we will find we can't build enough
jails.
So we are going to end up about 20 or 30 years from now
with those in jail and those out of jail in our society. It is
really discouraging in the light of the outstanding job that
you do.
But let me listen to Director Allen later on, after the
questions, and see what he can suggest.
Thank you.
Senator Gregg. Senator Mikulski.
Senator Mikulski. Thank you very much.
Caliber of FBI agents
Senator Gregg and Senator Hollings, you have been really
leaders in this issue, and last year, thanks to the chairman
and the ranking member, bringing in $10 million in the budget
to establish the national headquarters in Baltimore.
And I say that not because it is in my hometown. Really I
think it was bold, it was innovative, and it heartened the law
enforcement people who wanted to come to grips with this. And I
think now the new CyberTipline program that was announced is
another tool that families, parents, grandparents, teachers,
and so on could use.
I want to talk about resources that you need, Director
Freeh. I know that Innocent Images was a result of a 10-year-
old boy in Prince Georges County who was seduced through the
Internet and ultimately was murdered.
Your action, the FBI's action, working with local
enforcement, identified the despicable criminals, and this then
led, I think, to the establishment of this.
When I came to the Baltimore headquarters to see the
demonstration with Agent Hooper and her team, there were two
things that impressed me. One was the availability of
pornography. It is not amusing. It is not entertaining. This is
not something that is kind of a fun little picture to pass
around in a junior high locker room. This was vile, and it was
violent, and it promoted violence.
The other thing that so shocked me was how easy if you went
online and you said you were a child, or a teenager, how
quick--and this was a 10 o'clock in the morning--the quick hits
to come in.
And also the way someone can masquerade for a child. So you
could have a convicted, violent criminal online masquerading as
a 9 year old working on a Scout badge, asking what seems to be
questions but lead to this seduction.
Now, let me then get--I mean, it was really shocking. But
what was also impressive was the agents. This is not J. Edgar
Hoover's FBI, where people went down the streets and we tracked
bank robbers and we looked for Communists and all the areas
where the FBI established an incredible reputation for
competency.
But what was required of these agents was incredible
sophistication in the use of technology. They had to have a
great background. They had to have great training, and they had
to deal with, really, an intense burnout, because of the
repugnant, the exposure to these repugnant and vile things.
Could you tell me what you need in the way of resources,
not only for the unit, but how to recruit and retain agents of
this high quality? We have a technology worker shortage.
Software engineers can make $65,000 and stay at home and get an
espresso machine and 5 weeks of paid vacation if they will sign
up.
And here we are asking agents to come and do this. Could
you talk about, one, what we can do to bring in the agents?
What you need to bring in people as qualified as Agent Hooper,
her team, and the others that you want to do? This is a very
sophisticated work force that you are trying to recruit.
Mr. Freeh. Senator, first of all, thank you very much for
your comments. The credit is deserved by Agent Hooper and her
colleagues.
We have been, as an institution, extremely fortunate in our
ability to attract and retain not just solid, outstanding
agents, but agents who actually volunteer for these types of
assignments. We have had, over the last 3 years, I think it is
up to 89,000 applicants for our special agent positions. We
hired 1,100 last year. In fact, I was at an FBI graduation in
Quantico yesterday morning.
Senator Mikulski. Excuse me. How many applicants did you
say you had?
Mr. Freeh. Over 80,000 there have been in the last 4 years.
Senator Mikulski. 80,000 men and women want to be FBI
agents?
Mr. Freeh. Yes; and we have hired about 3,000 of those
since I have been Director. It has been extremely good for us.
It has been very good for the country.
The agents who we turn away in terms of applicants are
extremely qualified. Many of them have science and technology
backgrounds. In fact, we started recruiting actively about 3
years ago for agents with backgrounds in engineering, software
engineers.
All of our new agents who graduate from Quantico, in
addition to their firearm and credentials, are given a laptop
computer. This is the FBI of the information age. You saw a
very good example of one dedicated program. But in many of the
other areas that's replicated, in so far as we have been
extremely fortunate in not only getting those people, but
keeping them onboard.
Resources needed
Senator Mikulski. Well, what do you need in the way of your
budget, because we are the Appropriations Committee. And we
will have many competing resources, under Commerce, State, and
Justice, that will be challenges to both the chairman and the
ranking member and those of us who are members. But what does
the FBI need to fulfill this responsibility in this particular
unit?
Mr. Freeh. In this particular area, as it is in most areas,
it is a combination of resources, people as well as the
technology. The DNA national data base would be extremely
helpful.
The Attorney General and I did request of OMB for the 1999
budget more agents, not only for the Innocent Images program,
but to establish nationwide activity in our offices. We asked
for some counselors, victim/witness specialists, which is a
very important component of these cases--not just making the
case, but dealing with the witnesses who in many cases need
much help.
We have asked for additions to our child abduction and
serial killer unit in Quantico. We realize that the decisions
at OMB are certainly guided by distributing a very small pot to
many different agencies. We are going to renew that request
next year, because we believe that those are dollars which are
translated into cases.
Senator Mikulski. Well, last year we gave you $10 million.
Do you need more? Or the same?
Senator Gregg. He said they were asking for more from OMB.
Senator Mikulski. I know. But OMB isn't here. The FBI is
here. And we want the FBI on the net.
Mr. Freeh. That amount of money would significantly enhance
the Innocent Images program, the child abduction program, and
even spill over into the technology area.
St. Mary's College students in Guatemala
Senator Mikulski. Well, thank you. Mr. Chairman, before I
conclude, I would like to thank Director Freeh for something.
You talked about how your agents volunteer for special
assignments.
We had a terrible thing happen to some of our college
students from St. Mary's College in Guatemala. They were
robbed, and they were sexually assaulted. And because the FBI
is working with the State Department on this issue, I want to
thank you for the special FBI unit that you sent to interview
the victims of the violence perpetrated against them. The
families conveyed to me their gratitude to the FBI and said
that the FBI sensitivity in dealing with these young ladies was
something that also encouraged them to move forward with other
counseling, and so on.
I want you to know your FBI agents were really fit for
duty, and the way that they then went about helping interview
the victims, so that we could then work with the Guatemalan
authorities, was so outstanding. It was tough law enforcement,
but done in a very high quality way, and I want to express my
gratitude.
Mr. Freeh. Thank you, Senator. I will convey that to the
agents. Thank you very much.
Senator Gregg. I would second the Senator's thoughts there.
Obviously that was a horrendous situation, and the FBI's
professionalism is extraordinary in many areas, but clearly
displayed there.
Congressional intent
I would say this: that one of the major concerns that I
have as chairman of this subcommittee is the fact that OMB has
held up the congressional intent, that the FBI would have the
authority to go outside of title V, hire at a higher rate the
technicians necessary to compete in a world with cybercrime.
We all recognize that folks who are computer literate can,
as the Senator from Maryland said, get a tremendous job sitting
at home with their Starbucks coffee and still make a lot of
money. The FBI has to be able to compete because, also
unfortunately, some of the criminals that they are fighting are
technically sophisticated.
Why OMB has stood in the way of what was clear
congressional intent to give you the flexibility to hire people
at higher grades of salary is beyond me, because it is clearly
undermining our law enforcement capacity. This committee will
try to do something to straighten that out.
We congratulate you again for this initiative. Thank you
for continuing it. I think, as you sense, there is a lot of
sympathy here for what you are doing, a lot of support more
than sympathy for what you are doing. Tell us what you need and
we will try to get it for you.
Mr. Freeh. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, members
of the panel.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESS
STATEMENT OF ERNEST E. ALLEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO,
NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED
CHILDREN
Senator Gregg. We will now hear from Director Allen, head
of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,
which has with the help of the FBI and the private sector
evolved into the premier agency in this country for addressing
issues of child exploitation, obviously kidnapping, but also
protecting children who are using the Internet. It is
addressing the issues of the use of the Internet by child
pornographers and people who wish to take advantage of the
Internet and the children who use the Internet.
It was a great pleasure for me yesterday to join with the
Director, the ranking member, and representatives of the
private community--especially the online provider groups,
represented by Mr. Case of America Online--as you announced
your CyberTipline. It is a wonderful initiative which I know is
going to be a tremendous resource for parents in this country
as they try to deal with the need to have some place to turn
when they run into one of these situations, which is obviously
far too common on the Internet, of sexual exploitation of
children either through exchange of pornography or through
solicitation.
We thank you for coming to give us your thoughts on how we
can best address this issue, on the parental side, the public
side, and the private side.
Mr. Allen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have provided written
testimony, and with your permission, I would like to just
briefly summarize.
Senator Gregg. Certainly.
Mr. Allen. First, let me thank you and Senator Hollings for
your wonderful leadership and support on this issue. The
hearing 1 year ago was more than a discussion about an issue.
It truly launched a pattern of action, a campaign that we
really think is going to make a difference.
What I wanted to do today is just briefly report to you on
what has happened since then. And if I could first, I would
like to report to you in a more general way, because you two
Senators have led this committee for a long time, and for 14
years have been the source of public support for the work of
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I
wanted to thank you for that, and to report to you that your
support is making a difference for America's children and
families.
In 1997, we had a record year. We had the largest number of
calls for service in our history. We had the largest number of
cases received. And on the positive side, we also had our
highest recovery rate ever.
Pre-1990, our recovery rate was about 60 percent. Last
year, it was 95 percent. And I think the message there is that
the public-private partnership and the system we have built is
working. There is a network that is getting information quickly
to America's 17,000 police departments. There is a better
system for responding, and children are being brought home as
never before.
Director Freeh mentioned earlier, and I really want to
commend him for his leadership on behalf of children, but we
truly believe that one of the reasons for the heightened
success rate in 1997 was his initiative last February to create
the check off on the NCIC report form.
The U.S. Department of Justice just released survey
research that found that in cases in which children are
abducted and murdered, in 74 percent of those cases the child
is dead within the first 3 hours. So time is the enemy in these
cases. The more quickly we can get information and we can
disseminate information, and we can activate the resources that
are now available, the greater the likelihood for the recovery
of the child.
We at the center, as the result of Director Freeh's effort,
received 642 of those child abduction flags, the instant
notification, through NCIC. And I truly believe that that is
one of the reasons why the recovery rate has climbed so high so
quickly. So thank you for the leadership of this committee and
all that you have done for the center and for America's
children.
I also wanted to update you on what we now know since last
year's hearing on quantifying the problem of the seduction of
children, the luring or enticement of children on the Internet.
We at the center have been involved in 60 cases, of the so-
called traveler cases, in which kids have been seduced online
and then persuaded to leave, by an adult, usually for sexual
purposes.
Of those cases, 85 percent of those kids have been 15 years
of age or older; 75 percent have been girls. So I think one of
the things that we now know, more than we did at this time last
year, is that the most vulnerable demographic for Internet
exploitation and seduction are teenage kids.
In addition, just in the last 2 years, and I think this is
a tribute to the commitment of this committee and to Federal
law enforcement, there have now been 400 convictions in Federal
court for Internet-related child sexual exploitation offenses.
That includes both the FBI's Innocent Images effort and the
U.S. Customs Service child pornography effort.
One of the other things that I have tried to do--and the
point was made earlier that this is a problem that is appearing
in all kinds of places and in all kinds of communities, and
that there seems to be more of every day--is that we looked
just at cases within the last month from the States represented
on this particular committee.
And to give you an idea, every member of this committee had
significant child sexual exploitation, Internet-related cases,
since January 1, 1998. Senator Hollings, that included a case
last month in Midway, SC, in which an individual was arrested
on child pornography charges over the Internet.
Senator Gregg, it included a case last month in which a 27-
year-old man was arrested for targeting a child from Keene, NH.
So this is a problem. We have said about this issue
generally that the only way not to find it in any community is
simply not to look for it, and because of your leadership
America has begun to look. We can anticipate many more cases,
many more charges, and that the appearance is that the problem
will be growing.
Also encouraging is the development of additional
specialization and task forces at the State and local level, as
we discussed last year. Particularly noteworthy, I think, is
New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco's Operation Ripcord,
which is a multiagency effort spearheaded by the New York State
Police that has resulted in the identification of 1,500 people
transmitting child pornography, more than 100 search warrants,
and so far dozens of prosecutions.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been a leader
in its central Florida child exploitation task force, which is
targeting this effort. And State and local law enforcement, as
was evidenced yesterday by Detective McLaughlin from Keene, NH.
More and more are playing a role in this.
In many cases it is an individual officer who is computer
literate, has computer expertise, and in some cases is doing it
on his own time. So your initiative to help build expertise at
the State and local level we think is very, very timely and
important.
Your committee's mandate last year was really threefold.
The first was to enhance Federal resources, and we supported
enthusiastically and still support increasing resources for the
FBI's Innocent Images task force. They are the lead, they are
the point agency in this effort for all the progress we have
made.
They are still attacking a national problem with relatively
slim numbers, and building that asset, that resource, we think
is very important.
Second, your mandate was to enhance State and local law
enforcement's capability. And I mentioned to this committee
last year that I had heard someone say that when the automobile
was first developed, law enforcement opposed it, and the
concept was only the crooks will have the cars and we will be
chasing them on foot and on horseback.
Well, I submit that that is the case here as well. In many
situations American law enforcement still doesn't even have
PC's and modems; has no idea what people are doing. And in the
area of child pornography, when the Supreme Court of the United
States said that child pornography is not protected speech, and
there was aggressive enforcement effort in the mid-80's, the
effect of that was to run it out of adult bookstores.
The work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has
minimized the use of the mails. But where child pornographers
have reached is areas where they have relative anonymity and
apparent sanctuary--places where they can trade and transmit
images and information with little risk. One of our primary
challenges is to help law enforcement catch up with the
technology.
Finally, as Senator Hollings has talked about on many
occasions, we believe that there is far greater need for public
education, awareness building, and giving families the tools to
deal with this problem.
So, quickly to report to you on what we have done since
that hearing, and since your appropriation, there are really
several points that I want to touch on quickly. One, Senator
Gregg, we were honored by your presence and your announcement
at the CyberTipline launch yesterday, and Senator Hollings
honored that you were represented there as well.
The CyberTipline is up and running. And since its
announcement, we have already received 150 leads. Those are
leads just as a result of free media, and as the online
industry helps us make that address better known to the public,
we think that there is a real opportunity for parents whose
kids encounter suspicious situations or situations of concern
on the Internet, to get us those leads and information and to
respond to them in an effective way.
All of the leads that we are receiving are going to five
primary sources: to the FBI's Innocent Images task force; to
the FBI's crimes against children unit; to the U.S. Customs
Service child pornography unit; to the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service; and to the Morgan Hardiman task force, which is headed
by the FBI and based at Quantico. Also those agencies have all
been linked to the CyberTipline and they have been provided
technology so that they have the ability to access and search
the entire data base of leads and information at any given
time.
Once a lead is received, our hotline operators will be
prioritizing those leads, and the primary criteria for priority
will be the risk to the child. So if the lead suggests that a
child is in immediate danger, we will respond very much in a
911 situation.
And that is, we will target that information, we will
trigger responses, we will make sure that every possible
resource is used to protect that child. If the child may be in
immediate danger, there will be a priority response, though not
quite that 911 response. If the child from the information does
not appear to be in immediate danger, the tip will be received,
cataloged and assessed and provided to the appropriate agency.
Also it is interesting that from the 150 leads we have
received so far, and I do not suggest that that is enough for
this necessarily to be representative, in at least one-half of
those cases, the lead information is sufficient to enable us to
pinpoint the locality in which the child victim may be located,
may be victimized.
So that in at least one-half of the cases so far it does
appear appropriate for us to provide that lead to a State or
local agency, in addition to the Federal agencies that will
routinely receive them.
The second issue that I want to mention that was part of
your mandate is the creation of these pilot cyberpolice units,
that Director Freeh talked about. The Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, our partner in this
initiative, has prepared a draft RFP, has circulated it, and it
will be going out shortly. And the Justice Department will be
receiving and reviewing proposals to create those special units
at the State and local level.
It is our expectation that we will learn a great deal from
those units. Clearly this is an issue where FBI leadership is
very important, but this is also a crime in which there are two
pieces to the puzzle. While the use of the Internet and the
transmission of data and images and information is key, as I
said last year at this hearing, in every one of these cases
there is a local victim.
At this hearing last year, you heard from a mom whose child
had been sexually molested in her hometown while the
perpetrator photographed the sex acts, then he sold those
images over the Internet.
So our belief in each one of these cases is--we really need
to pay close attention to the local essence, the local nature
of this problem, and make sure that State and local governments
have the tools and expertise to work in partnership and in
coordination with Federal law enforcement to follow through on
these investigations.
By June of this year, the center will hold in partnership
with the FBI and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention its first cyberpolice training course. I think all
of you know that it was this committee that was responsible for
our Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center program, which
was launched by Director Freeh and members of this committee
last April.
In the first year we have already trained, at policy level
training seminars, we have already trained police chiefs and
sheriffs from all 50 States and Guam. And using that model, we
are going to be conducting specialized training for law
enforcement, State and local law enforcement, on cyberpolice
techniques, on this problem and issues and technology related
to it.
There will be two courses. There will be one that is an
investigator's course, and, second, there will be a course for
mid-level managers.
The nominations for participants in those courses will come
from the graduates of our Jimmy Ryce Training Center, who are
police chiefs and sheriffs from across the Nation, as well as
from the FBI and other Federal law enforcement.
So again, this is a partnership effort. You heard the
Director mention his commitment to provide a liaison agent at
the centers so that we strengthen our working relationship. He
has also committed training agents to work with us and assess
and work on that process.
In December, at the Families Online Summit, we began the
CyberTipline, telephone only, until we were ready to go online.
And just to give you an idea, in those 2\1/2\ months, we have
already received 263 leads over the telephone.
Now, those leads break down as follows: 206 of them were
for Internet-related child sexual exploitation. But we received
other leads as a result of this initiative addressing child
sexual exploitation in other ways. And we think the same thing
will happen with the CyberTipline.
We think that people will not just send us leads about
child pornography or child enticement on the Internet, they
will send us leads about child victimization generally. But we
have already, in addition, received 28 leads on general non-
Internet-related sexual exploitation, 4 child pornography
leads, 4 child prostitution leads, 18 leads about pedophile
activity, and 3 leads about child sex tourism. So in many ways
we think what you have done is going to have impact even beyond
its focal point.
We have, as we announced yesterday, because of the data
showing that teenagers are at greatest risk, we have created a
new public education piece written for us by a Los Angeles
Times columnist, called ``Teen Safety on the Information
Highway.''
We did an original piece called ``Child Safety on the
Information Highway,'' and we have distributed almost 3 million
of those to parents and kids. It is our goal, and this is
specifically written so it is more relevant, more readable,
perhaps a little less preachy, so it will be more likely to be
used by teenaged kids. Our hope is to put this into schools and
into the hands of families and teenagers across the country.
Three other developments that we are excited about that we
think are the precursors of other partnerships on this issue to
come is that as a result of your initiative we are hearing from
private companies asking how we can help. For example,
Surfwatch, which was the pioneering company developing access
controls for the Internet to help parents keep kids out of the
more high-risk areas, has now linked with us so that when their
customers complain about content that they encounter, Surfwatch
is going to send that lead information directly to us through
the CyberTipline.
Similarly, America Online [AOL] has started a program
called Kid Patrol, which is a partnership with the center using
what is called Push technology, which will allow us actually to
take content--images and information--directly into the homes
of AOL's 10 million subscribers, as well as to use them to
generate content leads and information for us.
And the chairman of America Online committed yesterday that
AOL, once we are absolutely confident that we can handle the
volume that we have created with the CyberTipline, that AOL
will help promote it, will let their users and subscribers know
that this is a resource that is available, so that if you
encounter content that is troubling on AOL or anywhere you will
be able to link directly to the CyberTipline and bring us those
leads and information.
And then Lycos, which is a search engine company, one of
the top 10 most heavily trafficked sites on the Internet, has
made a similar commitment, that it will promote this site, has
developed links to the center, and they will funnel content to
us which will be placed in the hands of Federal law
enforcement.
So I think in many ways we did not anticipate all of the
positive repercussions of what you launched, of what came from
your hearing last spring. But I think the most exciting thing
about it is that it truly is a public/private partnership.
prepared statement
The technology to support this operation is entirely
private sector provided, so what we can report to you is that
the dollars that you committed to this effort we think are
being multiplied. And the effects, we think, will be far
greater.
Mr. Chairman and Senator Hollings, we are honored by your
confidence. We think that what you began will have enormous
impact in the lives of families and children across the
country, and I look forward to being able to report to you 1
year from now or sooner about the specific impacts, specific
cases that are made, specific children whose lives are being
touched as a result of this effort.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Ernest E. Allen
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, as President of the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, I am honored to
report to you on our progress since your hearing almost one year ago.
We are moving swiftly and aggressively to implement your mandate in
attacking the problem of child pornography and child sexual
exploitation on the Internet.
However, I did want to take just a brief moment to thank you in a
broader way for your long-standing leadership and support for the work
of the private, nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children (NCMEC). Since 1984, per your mandate and with your support,
NCMEC has been proud to serve as America's national resource center and
clearinghouse for missing and exploited children. Working in
partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice/Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), we are working with law
enforcement to find missing children as never before, and are making
great strides in the prevention of child victimization. We have just
completed a record-setting year:
Recovery rate.--NCMEC'S missing child recovery rate pre-1990 was 62
percent. Since 1990, it has grown to 90.3 percent, with a 95 percent
recovery rate in 1997, our all-time record.
Calls for service.--In 1988, we received 52,000 hotline calls. In
1997, we set a record, handling 129,100 calls. Since 1984, we have
handled 1,168,570 calls, and currently average 700 per day.
The worldwide web.--With so much attention to the negative aspects
of cyberspace, I am pleased to report on its use for good. On January
31, 1997, we launched our new website, www.missingkids.com. The
response has been overwhelming. On February 1, 1997, we received 3,000
``hits.'' Today, we receive 1.5 million ``hits'' every day, and are
linked with hundreds of other sites using Java applets to provide real-
time images of breaking cases of missing children.
To demonstrate its application in a real-world sense, in November a
police officer in Puerto Rico searched our website, identified a
possible match, and then worked with our Case Manager to identify and
recover a child abducted as an infant from her home in San Diego seven
years ago.
International.--NCMEC is now playing a key role in international
child abduction cases as the State Department's representative on in-
coming cases under the Hague Convention. We have successfully resolved
the cases of 343 children, are using the worldwide web to build a
network to distribute images worldwide in partnership with INTERPOL.
Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center.--Thanks to the support
of this committee, in April 1997 we opened our new training center.
Each month NCMEC brings in chiefs and sheriffs for a policy seminar on
missing and exploited child investigations. In 1997, we trained 256
chiefs and sheriffs from fifty states and Guam, as well as the
INTERPOL/U.S. state representatives.
NCIC ``CA'' Flag.--I am particularly proud of our partnership with
the FBI. In February 1997 the FBI Director created a new NCIC child
abduction (``CA'') flag to provide NCMEC and the FBI's child abduction
unit immediate notification in the most serious cases. Time is the
enemy. The Justice Department found that in 74 percent of child
abduction/homicides, the child is dead in the first three hours. Today,
44 states are up on the new system. In 1997 NCMEC received instant
``CA'' notifications in 642 cases. We believe that receiving this
information rapidly is a key reason that NCMEC had its highest recovery
rate in history.
None of this would have been possible without the remarkable
leadership, commitment and support of this subcommittee, and the
creation of a true public-private partnership for America's children.
We are deeply grateful, and are proud of the work we are doing
together.
an update on our progress in addressing child sexual exploitation on
the internet
A year ago, when I appeared before your committee, I indicated that
there was growing evidence of the criminal misuse of cyberspace to
target and victimize children. Today, we have a little more
information. The risks to children, particularly teenagers, in
cyberspace include: Use by predatory adults to entice children to leave
home for purposes of child sexual exploitation; and exposure to child
pornography and other unlawful sexual content on the Internet.
In the past two years, NCMEC has been involved in approximately 60
``traveler'' cases in which a child has left home or been targeted by
an adult via the Internet to leave home. NCMEC worked these cases as
missing children. In 83 percent of the cases, the victim has been 15
years of age or older. In 75 percent of the cases, the victim has been
female.
To date, we are also aware of at least 400 adults who have been
convicted of Internet-related child sexual exploitation offenses in
federal courts. Through February 18, 1998, the FBI's Innocent Images
Task Force has produced 184 convictions. And, since April, 1996 Customs
Service investigations have produced 240 convictions.
These cases are now being reported and investigated almost
everywhere. It is a problem in virtually every community. For example,
in the past few months, there have been major cases reported in every
state represented on your committee:
--In February, a 27 year old man was arrested as he awaited a 14 year
old Keene, New Hampshire boy he had enticed via the Internet;
--In February, an assistant fire chief in Midway, South Carolina was
arrested on child pornography charges over the Internet;
--In January, an Eagle River, Alaska man pleaded guilty to child
pornography charges using the Internet;
--In March, a New Mexico doctor flew to Spokane, Washington to have
sex with an 8-year-old girl, and was charged with child
pornography and sexual abuse;
--In January, a Lexington, Kentucky attorney was sentenced to a year
in prison in connection with Internet child pornography;
--In February, in Corpus Christi, Texas a chemical engineer who had
arranged a sexual rendezvous with a 13 year old girl he met
over the Internet was arrested;
--In February, a Broomfield, Colorado man was sentenced to two years
for receiving child pornography through a chat room;
--In September, a Pope County, Arkansas man was sentenced to two
years in prison for child pornography he obtained through the
Internet;
--In February, a teacher was arrested at the Bergen Mall in Paramus,
New Jersey in connection with a planned sexual encounter with a
13 year old girl; and
--In January, a Maryland hydrologist was convicted for the
distribution of child pornography over the Internet.
It is clear that this is not an isolated problem, it is widespread
and growing. An encouraging development is the growing number of
specialized units at the state and local level targeting these
offenses. Particularly noteworthy are New York Attorney General Dennis
Vacco's Operation Rip Cord, an ongoing blitz being waged by the
Attorney General and the New York State Police against child
pornography in cyberspace. Through this multi-agency initiative, New
York State Police investigators have had contact with more than 1,500
individuals who have transmitted child pornography, and executed more
than 100 search warrants, resulting in dozens of prosecutions.
Another important example is the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement's Central Florida Child Exploitation Task Force, an
eighteen agency task force of city, county, state and federal agencies.
There are some excellent local units as well, including the pioneering
cyberpolice unit at the San Jose, California Police Department.
Enhancing law enforcement awareness and expertise is particularly
important due to the dramatic expansion of the number of kids online.
According to a report from FIND/SVP's Emerging Technologies Research
Group and Grunwald Associates, by the year 2002, more than 45 million
children will be online.
NCMEC has attempted to address the risks to kids in cyberspace
through a simple strategy
To Prevent Child Victimization in Cyberspace Through Aggressive
Prevention/Education and Outreach Programs Directed Toward Parents and
Children.--Many parents have a false sense of security regarding the
risks to their children in cyberspace. Their children are at home,
often in their own rooms, doing something positive and useful for their
future. Many parents have little knowledge about computers and what
their children are doing online, and feel that there is little risk.
Similarly, many children view cyberspace as a variation on their
computer or video games. As a result they may not view encounters with
real people online with a sense of caution or skepticism.
NCMEC is seeking to reach into millions of homes and classrooms
with positive, common-sense rules for safety on the information
highway. NCMEC's message for parents focuses upon strong parental
involvement in their children's lives, increasing parental knowledge
and awareness about computers and the Internet, and the importance of
parent-child communication.
Similarly, NCMEC is reaching out to children with basic rules for
safety on the information highway, including cautions not to give out
personal information online, and not to meet someone they encounter
online. A cornerstone of this effort will be a campaign to provide
mouse pads with safety tips, particularly in classrooms. Our announced
national goal is to wire every school in America for the Internet by
the Year 2000. It is NCMEC's goal to ensure that every school has a
mouse pad with Internet safety tips for every PC connected to the
Internet.
To Advocate Help for Parents Through the Development of Technology
Tools and Access Controls.--NCMEC supports efforts to provide help for
parents through blocking software and access control tools like
SurfWatch, Net Nanny, and similar products, enabling parents to limit
areas of the Internet to which their children have access. While such
tools should not be viewed as substitutes for basic parenting, nor do
they prevent adult predators from going to where the children are on
the Internet to seek their victims, nonetheless they are useful tools
for parents to provide an extra layer of protection for their children.
To Promote a National Campaign of Aggressive Enforcement.--NCMEC
feels that the most important element of its Cyberspace Strategy is
aggressive enforcement by federal, state and local law enforcement,
directed against those who misuse the Internet for criminal purposes.
The distribution of child pornography is not protected speech. Whether
it is sold in adult bookstores, sent through the mails, or distributed
via cyberspace, it is a crime. Similarly, enticing, luring or seducing
children online is unlawful.
The best way to protect the positive, unfettered uses of the
Internet is to ensure that it not be allowed to become a sanctuary for
pedophiles, child pornographers and others who prey upon children.
Oftentimes, criminals misuse new technology before law enforcement
acquires the tools and expertise to counter such uses. NCMEC is
committed to help law enforcement catch up.
the subcommittee's mandate
Following last year's hearing, your committee took action and
focused on three key elements:
Enhancing Federal Law Enforcement Resources.--Despite the
extraordinary work of the FBI's Innocent Images Task Force and the
Customs Service's International Child Pornography Investigation and
Coordination Center, both efforts were relatively new and required
greater investment in resources and personnel. Thus, we were delighted
by the bold action taken by this committee in the fiscal year 1998
budget and your commitment to dramatically strengthen Innocent Images.
We support it enthusiastically, and are confident it will pay dividends
far beyond the dollars you have committed.
Enhancing State and Local Law Enforcement.--Similarly, we expressed
support for an effort to strengthen state and local law enforcement
expertise and resources. Diane Doe, a victim mother who testified at
your hearing testified to an all-too-often circumstance, a case in
which a child is victimized locally, with the Internet becoming the
distribution vehicle for the photos of the act(s). We made the point
that the actual victimization of these children is a local offense, the
investigative responsibility of state and local law enforcement. We
urged you to seek ways to enhance the expertise and capabilities of
state and local law enforcement in addressing these crimes.
You have done that. The Justice Department's Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention is about to initiate a competitive
process which will ultimately fund eight pilot CyberPolice Units in
state and local law enforcement agencies. These demonstration sites
will offer an important case study as we seek to define and expand the
role of state and local law enforcement in attacking this problem.
Similarly, you directed that NCMEC spearhead an effort to train
state and local law enforcement on this issue. We are collaborating
with the FBI and OJJDP and moving ahead swiftly.
Aggressive Public Education and Awareness Initiative.--As with
every other kind of criminal activity, public education is vital, both
to help protect prospective victims and to reach out to the public with
key information to identify perpetrators. The cornerstone of that
initiative is our new ``CyberTipline.''
ncmec report
Your bold new campaign against child sexual exploitation in
cyberspace is aggressive and comprehensive. I wanted to update you on
what NCMEC has done and is doing since the passage of the appropriation
and your directive to move forward:
CyberTipline.--Yesterday, the leaders of this committee, the
Director of the FBI, and key private sector leaders joined with NCMEC
to launch the new CyberTipline, www.missingkids.com/cybertip. The
tipline was created for parents to report incidents of suspicious or
illegal Internet activity, including the distribution of child
pornography online or situations involving the online enticement of
children for sexual exploitation. Seven days per week, 24 hours per
day, NCMEC will be fully staffed to handle leads, and then distribute
those leads to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
One of the exciting elements of this initiative is that the online
industry is a strong partner. Leading companies including America
Online, Microsoft, CompuServe, AT&T, NetCom, the Interactive Services
Association, the Commercial Internet eXchange Association, and others
are providing financial support and have committed to promote the
CyberTipline through their subscribers and supporters.
Effective Monday, March 9 at 1 p.m., the FBI's Innocent Images Task
Force, the Crimes Against Children Unit at FBI Headquarters, the U.S.
Customs Service ICPICC Unit, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and
the Morgan Hardiman Task Force at Quantico will have immediate access
to all data received on the CyberTipline via the web. Thus, these
primary federal law enforcement agencies will be able to receive,
access and review all leads received immediately. FBI and Customs have
already received training on the system and its use.
The process in place is as follows:
(1) A child becomes suspicious of an attempted enticement or is
concerned about content he or she believes to be child pornography, and
tells his/her parents about the incident.
(2) After learning of the attempted enticement, the parents and the
child link to the CyberTipline and fill out an online report form for
child sexual exploitation.
(3) The CyberTipline provides online users an avenue for reporting
Internet-related child sexual exploitation. The CyberTipline form
ensures that law enforcement will receive all pertinent information to
conduct a thorough investigation.
(4) The CyberTipline reporting form will capture information on the
reporting person, Internet-related information, the child victim, the
suspect and provide a text field for other information.
(5) The completed report is immediately sent to NCMEC's Web Server
and stored with hundreds of other ``leads.''
(6) NCMEC Operators retrieve each lead and prioritize it based on
degree of danger. One of three priority categories will be assigned:
--Child is in IMMEDIATE DANGER;
--Child may be in immediate danger;
--Child is NOT in immediate danger.
If more information is needed, the Operator will contact the
reporting person. Each report is forwarded to an NCMEC Exploited Child
Unit Information Analyst.
(7) The ECU Analyst reviews the report carefully and assesses the
information provided. This may include visiting the site of the
incident or conducting searches on the subject in question--adding
value to the lead.
(8) In a case of immediate child endangerment, the ECU Staff or
Operator will immediately contact via phone any federal, state or local
law enforcement agency that needs to be notified of the potential harm
to the child, and documenting that contact on the Tipline report. ECU
staff will never assume that although the data is available on the
database, that any of the above agencies have viewed the data.
As part of this initiative, NCMEC has increased its hotline
staffing from 14 to 26, and will have core staff on-site 24-hours per
day. While the greater volume will probably occur during normal hours,
we believe the overnight hours will be critical for keeping up and
doing follow up online.
In December at the Families Online Summit, NCMEC initiated its
CyberTipline using its telephone hotline only. Since that announcement,
in less than three months NCMEC has already received 263 leads, up
nearly 350 percent over our normal volume. Those leads break down as
follows:
Child Sexual Exploitation (General Extra-Family).................. 28
Internet-Related (Child Sexual Exploitation)...................... 206
Child Pornography (General)....................................... 4
Child Prostitution................................................ 4
Pedophiles........................................................ 18
Sex Tourism....................................................... 3
With the advent of the CyberTipline, citizens will be able to
choose whether to provide their information via the telephone hotline
or online. We have built the system so that it is seamless. The same
information will be captured regardless of which method is used, and
the data will be accessible by law enforcement through a single
database, again regardless of source.
With our data indicating that teenagers are at greatest risk
online, we have released our new ``Teen Safety on the Information
Highway'' publication, and are seeking to disseminate it to schools,
families and teens themselves. Written by Los Angeles Times syndicated
computer columnist Larry Magid, the publication was produced in
cooperation with the Interactive Services Association and the Master
Teacher.
On February 10, 1998 NCMEC joined with SurfWatch, maker of the
first Internet filtering product, in a partnership to provide leads to
NCMEC and its CyberTipline. SurfWatch is creating an online capability
on its website for its users and customers to report child pornography
or child exploitation directly to NCMEC and its CyberTipline. We are
hopeful that other companies will follow this example, helping NCMEC
promote the CyberTipline and provide the most direct linkage for users,
so that when they encounter inappropriate or questionable material,
they can easily and immediately link with NCMEC's CyberTipline and
provide their information.
America Online began a program with NCMEC called ``Kid Patrol,''
through which NCMEC can take images and breaking information directly
to AOL users. It is our vision that this effort will become a kind of
two-way communication vehicle using cyberspace.
Similarly, Lycos, the search engine, has joined with NCMEC to
leverage the Internet for child safety, taking images and information
to Lycos' users, and making it easier for users to get to NCMEC.
On February 18, 1998, we hosted a full day meeting at NCMEC to
examine issues relating to child sexual enticement on the Internet.
Participants included representatives of the FBI, Justice Department,
American Bar Association, Customs Service, Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, Assistant U.S. Attorneys from New Mexico
and Illinois, American Prosecutors Research Institute, National Law
Center on Children and Families, Harborview Medical Center, Enough is
Enough, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department, University of Arizona,
America OnLine, and others.
Participants examined and discussed the offenders, the ways in
which children are enticed online, the barriers to identifying this
criminal behavior, prosecutorial implications, the successful uses of
federal and state laws to date, sentencing issues, NCMEC's handling of
an enticement-related ``cybertip,'' law enforcement response, and
related issues. It is our commitment to continue this kind of dialogue,
and reach out to a broad cross-section of leaders to ensure that we
maximize this important new resource.
We are encouraged by the fast start, and by the enthusiasm being
demonstrated by our federal law enforcement partners and by the private
sector. However, we have only just begun.
Senator Gregg. Thank you. And thank you and your
organization, because if you were not there, this would not
work. We can provide the money but that's really only a minor
part of the equation. The major part of the equation is having
somebody like yourself and your organization that is committed
to this issue and has the expertise and the ability and the
desire to go out and make it work. We are just a small player.
You are the big player.
What else should we do?
Mr. Allen. Well, I think certainly it is important that we
do more in the area of prevention education. Our premise
yesterday was that the public is the best source of this
information, and our premise from the beginning is that one of
the reasons why kids are at risk in cyberspace is that parents,
by and large, do not really know what their children are doing.
Kids tend to be far more computer literate, far more computer
sensitive. There tends to be a false sense of security on the
part of a lot of parents. My kid's at home. He is in his room.
He is doing something positive that is good for his future. You
can almost hear the audible sigh of relief.
And, second, on the part of the kid, many times there is
that same kind of other worldly aspect, that it is a glorified
computer game or a glorified video game. What we are trying to
do, and I think it is well understood, but I want to add it
every chance I have, we are aggressive advocates for the
Internet and strong advocates for families and kids to use the
Internet.
But we think we need to do a better job of communicating to
families and kids across the country that there are some risks,
just as there are risks in the shopping mall and the playground
and everywhere else in society, there are some risks. And the
best way to address those risks is to sensitize and to make
people more aware.
Our whole strategy in this from the beginning, and in many
ways it parallels this committee's campaign, is threefold:
First is to reach into every home and touch every family in
America, and to make sure that families and kids have the tools
and the information they need to stay safe.
Second, as a part of that whole initiative, this country
has made a commitment to wire every classroom for the Internet
by the year 2000. We think it is just as important as an
element of that that every classroom in America have child
safety on the information highway information, and that
teachers are talking to their kids about the risk--not in a
negative, scary, fearful way. Not in way that sends the
message, you should not go online. But simple, commonsense
stuff that says the sorts of things that Director Freeh and
Agent Hooper said to this committee earlier. I think that whole
area of public education and awareness needs to be done, and it
needs to be done more.
The second part of our strategy was to support and
encourage the development of technology tools--access controls,
like SurfWatch and others, to help give parents some tools to
limit access of kids to areas of obvious greater risk.
Then the third element of that initiative is aggressive
enforcement. For all the progress that we have made, and you
will hear from no greater fan of the FBI and no greater
supporter of what Director Freeh has done, to really make a
priority in terms of crimes against kids, we as a Nation have
just begun.
Innocent Images is only 2 years old and has already made
184 arrests resulting in convictions. I think enforcement is a
key element of this, and our view is that there is plenty of
unlawful activity on the Internet. For example, child
pornography is illegal whether it is in an adult bookstore, or
sent through the mails, or in a school playground, or on the
Internet.
I believe firmly that it is in the best interests of the
online industry, and the best interests of everybody to be more
aggressive and more effective in terms of enforcing,
identifying, and targeting those offenders who are misusing the
Internet for illegal purposes. And I think, frankly, there are
more resources that probably could be spent and need to be
spent on that.
Senator Gregg. Thank you. Senator Hollings.
Senator Hollings. You just stated child pornography was
illegal even on the Internet, and what was the recent decision?
What was the recent Supreme Court decision?
Mr. Allen. Well, there was a Supreme Court decision on the
Communications Decency Act.
Senator Hollings. Yes.
Mr. Allen. I think that issue spoke more to the definitions
that were created in that bill in terms of indecent
communications or indecent speech. Certainly illegal
pornography, child or otherwise, if it meets the test of
obscenity under existing caselaw, it is illegal wherever.
Senator Hollings. What about the sentencing. Is that
sufficient in your opinion?
Mr. Allen. We are always in favor of sentencing
enhancements where the victim is a child. Now, I think,
frankly, Congress and many of the State legislatures have done
important work in that area. I am not sure that the issue today
is as much one of sentencing as it is making cases. As was
pointed out by Director Freeh, the offenders who perform these
acts do it over and over again, and in too many cases, they do
not get caught. When they are caught, they are not sentenced to
meaningful time.
Senator Hollings. Meaningful time. That is my question. Is
it meaningful time?
Mr. Allen. I think in most cases it is not. But my point is
I am not sure that that is a failing of statute or a failing of
execution. For example, I think the Internet cases in some ways
make it easier.
Child molestation, child sexual exploitation generally, in
many situations you will have a perpetrator and a young child,
where it is one's word against the other. Prosecutors who do
not want to retraumatize or revictimize the child by putting
him through a long, drawn-out process, so that you have
offenders pleading, in many cases, to offenses that do not
convey the essence of what they did and getting no time for it.
I think we have a training need there, and I also think
that we probably should look at sentencing. It is sort of truth
in sentencing to enhance the penalties that these offenders get
when they are convicted.
Senator Hollings. On the training, I did not catch it in
your prepared statement, but regarding State and local law
enforcement. I was glad to hear that you are training the State
and local law enforcement. Can you describe that again?
Mr. Allen. Yes, sir; we have, as a result of the initiative
that you and Senator Gregg launched last year, we will be doing
what we are calling cyberpolice training at the center, and we
will also be taking part of that out to the States. So we will
be bringing designated officers into the center, both
investigators and mid-level managers, and running a special
program to help give them the kind of expertise and knowledge
that they need. That should start in June.
Senator Hollings. You have the money to do that?
Mr. Allen. Yes, sir; you gave us money in last year's
appropriation.
Senator Hollings. Is that enough? What is ongoing now, this
minute? Do you have any schools, classes, officers attending,
graduates? Where are we?
Mr. Allen. What we are doing right now is doing a police
chief and sheriff's program which we started last April. As a
result of your appropriation last December, we are now building
a program to start this spring for cyberpolice training.
Could we use more resources for that? Yes, sir. It would
enable us to reach more departments, more communities, touch
more officers. I promised this committee last year that we were
not looking for money. This was not about money. What we wanted
to do was look for the most effective way to deliver services,
and we would try to leverage that.
But we can certainly do more.
Senator Hollings. I think you have already saved us
millions with your outreach, involvement of private industry
and everything else. In helping to get the word out, you have
saved the Government millions and millions.
But when I hear the testimony that a child can be dead
within 3 hours or something like that, and all kinds of
entities, States, local agencies, have yet to receive the
training, that worries me. When will all of these agencies in
South Carolina get that training, according to your schedule?
Mr. Allen. As soon as we can do it, Senator.
Senator Hollings. Yes; but that does not tell me anything.
Does that mean within 1 year? Or 10 years?
Mr. Allen. Yes, sir; and I can't promise you that every----
Senator Hollings. I am not pressuring you. I am trying to
get the reality of it. I want to be able to show that we have
enough money in here so we can get every State and every
community, knowledge of what you are doing.
Then you will find as you indicated before, that as soon as
you put information on the CyberTipline, immediately it
exploded with all kinds of information. People are ready,
waiting, and able to participate, and want to.
But when will we actually have the local police chief or
sheriff with knowledge in how to bring about the enforcement
and an awareness of these tools here for enforcement?
Mr. Allen. I cannot give you an answer in terms of when
every agency in South Carolina will be touched. I can tell you
that we have had a number of chiefs and sheriffs who
participated in this training already from South Carolina,
including Sheriff Wells from Union County and Chief Greenberg
from Charleston.
So we are trying to reach as many as we can, and, frankly,
we could do more, and we could do it faster, but what we are
trying to do is target. Touch every State. Sort of prioritize,
work with the FBI and with key agencies to identify sort of
lead--and part of our approach, frankly, Senator, has been to
try to train the trainers, so that we do not physically have
to----
Senator Hollings. That is what I am getting at. I mean, you
can't just throw money at it and hope to get the proper
training and everything else. We at the committee level are
trying to find out what is realistic. You asked for an
increase?
Mr. Allen. No, sir, we didn't. But what I can do----
Senator Hollings. You are the first person that has
appeared before this committee that has never asked for an
increase. We have to get you studied. [Laughter.]
Let me ask again, what about trying to get the word out on
public television? Have you approached the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting? Maybe we on the committee ought to do it,
because they ought to make a program on your endeavor, and that
in itself would be educational.
I know we are putting a lot of taxpayer money into PBS, but
there ought to be a good, formative program, about the national
center, its endeavor, how we are doing, what the FBI is doing,
and everything else like that--not what Senator Gregg and I are
doing--but literally what you folks are doing to get the word
out. Put it on.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Gregg. I think that is a good idea.
I would also hope--I mean, I do not think my family is too
unique--but if you want to really communicate with my kids you
do it through MTV, or VH-1.
Mr. Allen. Exactly.
Senator Gregg. So to the extent that we could get them
involved, too, as well as the different service providers, I
think that would be good. I am sure you are thinking of all
those other options.
conclusion of hearing
Well, again, we congratulate you on what you are doing. You
are doing really a wonderful job, and the committee feels that
every dollar we send to you has been extremely well used. There
has been a tremendous return to the taxpayers, and that is
nice.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Allen. Thank you, sir.
Senator Gregg. This hearing is recessed.
[Whereupon, at 11:28 a.m., Tuesday, March 10, the hearing
was concluded, and the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene
subject to the call of the Chair.]
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