[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 88 (Thursday, May 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MISSING CHILDREN'S DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Ramstad] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, today marks the twelfth annual 
commemoration of Missing Children's Day. Today we remember the 
thousands of children reported missing, pray for their safe return, and 
hope that 1995 will be a safer year for America's children.
  I believe this year will be safer for children in this country 
because of a bill that became law at the end of last year--the Jacob 
Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act. This new law 
requires those who prey on children, child abductors, molesters, who 
are convicted, to register their whereabouts with law enforcement for 
10 years after their release from prison or parole.
  The bill was named, Mr. Speaker, after a very special young boy from 
Minnesota, Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted from a small community in 
Minnesota in 1989. Jacob Wetterling was the motivating factor behind my 
introduction of the Wetterling bill in 1991. Thanks to the bipartisan 
support here in the House and the Senate and the President's signature, 
this became law.
  Jacob Wetterling is also the reason his family, Patty and Jerry 
Wetterling, started the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, which is an 
organization dedicated to preventing abductions and finding missing 
children. Jacob and the thousands of children who are missing provide 
us with thousands of reasons to keep fighting for America's kids.
  Mr. Speaker, it is alarming when you think of the statistics. The 
average child abductor commits 177 of these heinous acts before being 
apprehended the first time. The children of America and the parents of 
America need and deserve this type of protection afforded under the 
Jacob Wetterling law, and I applaud the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
and the Justice Department for getting this system, this national 
registration system of convicted child abductors up and running.
  The second element of that law, Mr. Speaker, is the community 
notification provision, a very, very important provision so that when 
these dangerous predators are released back into the community, child 
care centers, residents, police departments, and schools will know of 
their whereabouts. Because of the high level of recidivism on the part 
of these criminals it is essential that we have this type of community 
notification. After all, people in a neighborhood deserve to know when 
a convicted pedophile is released back into their community.
  I hope, Mr. Speaker, that my colleagues will join me in wearing a 
white ribbon today as I am and send this message to American missing 
children. Particularly I send this message to Jacob Wetterling. You are 
always in our thoughts and prayers, we love you and we will never, ever 
stop looking for you.


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