[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 7, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4451-H4457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MEGAN'S LAW

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2137) to amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 
Act of 1994 to require the release of relevant information to protect 
the public from sexually violent offenders.
  The Clerk read as follows:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as ``Megan's Law''.

     SEC. 2. RELEASE OF INFORMATION AND CLARIFICATION OF PUBLIC 
                   NATURE OF INFORMATION.

       Section 170101(d) of the Violent Crime Control and Law 
     Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071(d)) is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(d) Release of Information.--
       ``(1) The information collected under a State registration 
     program may be disclosed for any purpose permitted under the 
     laws of the State.
       ``(2) The designated State law enforcement agency and any 
     local law enforcement agency authorized by the State agency 
     shall release relevant information that is necessary to 
     protect the public concerning a specific person required to 
     register under this section, except that the identity of a 
     victim of an offense that requires registration under this 
     section shall not be released.''.


[[Page H4452]]


  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida [Mr. McCollum] and the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Conyers] 
will each be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum].
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it was noted that over the weekend the press made a good 
deal of the fact that we have the latest crime statistics out and that 
the good news is that the crime rate in the Nation overall has declined 
for the fourth year in a row.
  What is misleading about those statistics that were out this weekend 
is the fact that the crime rate in this country is still entirely 
unacceptably high. If we look historically, we will see that now we 
have a crime rate that is roughly 700 violent crimes for every 100,000 
Americans. Back about 30 years ago, we had a little less than 200 
violent crimes for every 100,000 Americans. We have had over a 500-
percent increase in the rate of violent crime and the number of those 
crimes committed in this country over the past 20 or 30 years.
  Mr. Speaker, for us to be basking in the light of a couple of little 
blips on the screen downward in the spiral of the rate of increase in 
violent crime is to find ourselves, I think, kidding each other with 
respect to what we need to do to fight crime in this country. We have a 
lot more to do. That is especially true when it comes to the question 
of youth crimes and crimes against those who are most vulnerable in our 
society: Children and the elderly. Those who commit crimes particularly 
against children are what this bill before us today, H.R. 2137 is all 
about.
  Mr. Speaker, perhaps no type of crime has received more attention in 
recent years than crimes against children involving sexual acts and 
violence. Several recent tragic cases have focused public attention on 
this type of crime and resulted in public demand that government take 
stronger action against those who commit these crimes. In 1994, 
Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 
which contained a title, the ``Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children 
and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act,'' named after a child 
who has been missing for several years. That title encouraged States to 
establish a system where every person who commits a sexual or 
kidnapping crime against children, or who commits sexually violent 
crimes against any person, whether adult or child, would be required to 
register his or her address with the State upon their release from 
prison.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to briefly point out that the 1994 Act provision 
did not create an unfunded Federal mandate. States which choose to not 
implement such a system by September 1997 only will lose a part of 
their Federal crime-fighting funds. But I am pleased to say that the 
overwhelming majority of States have already implemented laws that 
create these types of offender registration systems.
  A key issue concerning these State statutes, however, is whether they 
require or merely permit law enforcement authorities to release 
information about registered offenders if the authorities deem it 
necessary to protect the public. The bill Congress passed in 1994 only 
required States to give law enforcement agencies the discretion to 
release offender registry information when they deemed it necessary to 
protect the public. It has been brought to the attention of the 
Judiciary Committee, however, that notwithstanding the clear intent of 
Congress that relevant information about these offenders be released to 
the public in these situations, some law enforcement agencies are still 
reluctant to do so.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 2137, introduced by the gentleman from 
New Jersey [Mr. Zimmer], makes an important change in the 1994 Act. It 
would amend that law to assure that States require their law 
enforcement agencies to release relevant information in all cases when 
they deem it necessary to protect the public.
  Additionally, this bill clarified the 1994 Act with respect to the 
issue of whether information collected under a State registration 
program may be disclosed for other purposes permitted under the laws of 
that State. In the 1994 act, Congress required that all information 
collected by the registration program be kept confidential. In some 
instances this requirement limited public access to what had been 
public records before the 1994 act became law. H.R. 2137 will correct 
this unintended consequence by allowing each State to determine the 
extent to which the public may gain access to the information kept by 
the State.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill takes another step forward toward protecting 
the most defenseless of our citizens--our children. It is a needed 
change. I urge my colleagues to support it.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure, but I am not quite 
clear that we do not have a constitutional problem here. This is the 
Committee on the Judiciary that is reporting this measure. I agree with 
the analysis of the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum]. The only 
problem is that he left out the part that we may be forced to revisit 
before this thing is all over with. I suppose it is somebody's job here 
to bring this to the attention of members of the committee, Members of 
the House that are not on the Committee on the Judiciary.
  There have been court cases that find that identifying a person after 
a conviction is a continuation of punishment and could raise a 
constitutional problem. It has come up in court cases before, and we 
will likely hear about it again. The Federal district court has already 
found a similar provision unconstitutional, finding that notification 
provisions do constitute a form of punishment more than a regulatory 
scheme and therefore is violative of the prohibition on the ex post 
facto clause that appears in the Constitution.
  In other words, this may be good from this point on, but I think it 
creates an open case that we may want to remember as we pass this 
measure, that it could present a problem in the courts in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, we have come together here to focus in on this matter. 
We think, though, that in the larger scheme of things, this 
notification process actually already exists in the law. While we are 
not making an unfunded mandate, we are creating a penalty for States 
that receive Federal funds if they do not comply. That is a different 
kind of animal, but at the same time it is meant to be coercive upon 
the States.
  I join in support of this measure. I hope that it will do some good.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
New Jersey [Mr. Zimmer], the author of this piece of legislation.
  Mr. ZIMMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me, and I thank the gentleman for his expeditious treatment of this 
legislation in his subcommittee.
  Mr. Speaker, on July 29, 1994, a beautiful little girl named Megan 
Kanka was lured into the home of a man who literally lived across the 
street from her. He said that he had a puppy he wanted to show her. He 
then proceeded to brutally rape and murder this little girl. It was 
later found that the man who is accused of killing little Megan Kanka 
was twice convicted of being a sexual predator. He lived with two 
housemates who were themselves convicted sexual predators, and no one 
in the neighborhood was aware of it.
  If Megan Kanka's parents had been aware of the history of the man who 
lived across the street from them, they would have been able to warn 
Megan. They believe, and I believe, that little Megan would be alive 
today. This legislation is meant to protect other young lives.
  Later that summer the 1994 crime bill came back to us from conference 
committee with an eviscerated community notification provision relating 
to sexual predators. Many of us, the gentlewoman from Washington [Ms. 
Dunn], the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Deal], and others, fought to 
make sure that we had the most stringent and the strongest possible 
community notification provisions that we could include in that 
legislation. And we had considerable success.

[[Page H4453]]

  As enacted, the 1994 crime bill provided that sexual predators will 
have to register with local authorities and that their whereabouts will 
be tracked. It gave local law enforcement authorities the option to 
disclose that information to people in the neighborhood where the 
sexual predator resides. It did not require that notification, but, 
based on experience in States like Washington, we anticipated that that 
would become the rule rather than the exception that neighbors would be 
notified of the presence of a dangerous sexual predator.
  Mr. Speaker, that legislation has resulted in the vast majority of 
States providing for some sort of registration and tracking and at 
least optional notification of the neighborhood, but only a minority of 
States actually require the disclosure of this critical information to 
those whose families might be in danger. That is why we need to go this 
extra step and change one word, ``may,'' to the word ``shall'' so that 
all 50 States will be held to a common standard of community 
notification. That is what this legislation would achieve.
  With the passage of this bill, we put the rights of children above 
the rights of convicted sexual predators. We are giving the community 
the right to know when its children are in jeopardy.
  This legislation has strong bipartisan support. It is supported by 
Janet Reno, the Attorney General, and the President of the United 
States, as well as many members of the minority side of the aisle.
  Mr. Speaker, Megan's law is Megan's legacy. It is her gift to all 
children whose lives will be saved because of the knowledge this law 
will provide. I want to commend the parents of Megan Kanka, Maureen and 
Richard Kanka, for their crusade to make something good happen out of 
an unspeakable tragedy in their life.
  If I have the time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to the 
remarks of the gentleman from Michigan about the legal status of this 
legislation. The highest court to consider the constitutionality of 
Megan's law, as it applies to previously convicted sexual predators, is 
the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey. That court in a nearly 
unanimous decision found that the rights of children, the rights of 
potential victims, supersede the rights of predators because they 
concluded, based on a very scholarly and thorough analysis of the law, 
that notification is not additional punishment. Therefore, it does not 
violate the ex post facto or double jeopardy clause of the 
Constitution. It is merely a preventive effort on the part of society 
to disseminate information that is largely of public record already.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that rationale and that reasoning will be 
upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court when this law comes before it, as it 
surely will. There is no question in my mind that the proper reading of 
the Constitution allows families to properly protect their children.

                                       National Center for Missing


                                       and Exploited Children,

                                       Arlington, VA, May 7, 1996.
     Hon. Dick Zimmer,
     Cannon House Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Zimmer: I wanted to express our sincere 
     gratitude for your strong leadership in connection with your 
     bill strengthening the federal ``Megan's Law.''
       Thanks to your efforts, Megan Kanka's legacy will be a 
     nation of safer, smarter families and children. The passage 
     of your bill will be a living tribute to the courage of 
     Megan's parents, the commonsense approach which the proposal 
     represents, and your aggressive management of this vital 
     bill.
       Unfortunately, too often it takes a tragedy to awaken the 
     nation to a problem. Megan's tragic and untimely death helped 
     millions of Americans understand several key facts:
       (1) that most of the victims of sex offenders in the United 
     States are children and youth; and
       (2) that a significant number of offenders have a high 
     propensity to reoffend.
       Therefore, we need to take simple, basic steps to alert 
     communities in the most serious, dangerous cases. We believe 
     that this measure will result in appropriate safeguards that 
     meet constitutional standards, and most importantly, will 
     make it less likely that other children will be victimized.
       There is no higher or more compelling purpose of government 
     than to protect the public safety. Your bill is a reasonable, 
     balanced approach to a serious problem, and we support it 
     enthusiastically.
       I regret that I cannot be with you in person to express my 
     thanks and support. However, a prior speaking commitment 
     makes it impossible. Nonetheless, I assure you that my 
     thoughts are with you and Mrs. Kanka on this important day.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Ernie Allen,
                                                        President.

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Schumer], the former chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Crime.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. This bill is 
part of a continuing fight against the relentless predators who target 
our children, the most vulnerable members of our society. I think what 
people have to understand is one thing that has become clear for the 
years that I have looked into this problem, and that is that sexual 
offenders are different. They are not simply like other sexual 
offenders. Even after long, long years in prison and many, many 
attempts to rehabilitate, when these folks come out of prison, the odds 
are extremely high that they will commit the same or a similar crime 
again.
  Long prison terms do not deter them. All too often, special 
rehabilitation programs do not cure them. No matter what we do, the 
minute they get back on the street, many of them resume their hunt for 
victims, beginning a restless and unrelenting prowl for children, 
innocent children to molest, abuse, and in the worst cases, to kill.
  So we need to do all we can to stop these predators. Tough 
punishment, long prison terms, that is one answer. But they are not a 
complete answer. We should be warning communities in which these 
predators live. Parents, teachers, neighbors have a right to protect 
themselves and their children from the violent acts of these proven 
offenders. That is what this bill does. It builds upon the bill we 
passed, the law we passed in the last Congress, requiring States to set 
up registration systems for sexual offenders who abuse children. It 
strengthens that law by freeing the hands of local authorities to use 
this information for any legal purpose. It clears up an ambiguity by 
requiring rather than permitting that information about these offenders 
be released when it is necessary to protect public safety.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that some of my colleagues have sincere and 
heartfelt reservations about the constitutionality of these 
registration systems. But what I would say in answer to that is that 
there is nothing in the law we passed last year or in this bill that 
requires or even suggests that an unconstitutional system be set up by 
any State. Whatever guidelines the courts may ultimately enact or 
establish regarding such notice system can and will be incorporated 
into the systems our law requires.
  The bottom line is we have to balance the rights of offenders. But I 
am absolutely convinced that in these cases, the rights of children to 
be safe and free from harm far outweighs whatever minimal inconvenience 
or embarrassment this law may impose on sexual offenders who might in 
all too many cases abuse those innocent children.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I thank the ranking 
member for yielding of time to me.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
New Jersey [Mr. Smith].
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 2137, sponsored by my good friend and colleague, the gentleman 
from New Jersey, Dick Zimmer, designed to correct a flaw in the 1994 
crime bill concerning registration of criminal sex offenders and 
notification provisions. The weakness of the 1994 omnibus crime bill 
could and should have been resolved in the original legislation, but it 
was not.
  Members may recall, for example, that on July 13, 1994, the House 
voted on a motion by the gentlewoman from Washington [Ms. Dunn] to 
instruct the conferees to insist on Senate provisions that call on 
States to track sexually violent offenders released from jail and allow 
law enforcement agencies acting in good faith and with immunity from 
liability laws to notify communities of their presence. The conferees 
turned a blind eye to that motion. This legislation is an excellent 
attempt to correct this omission from the 1994 crime bill.
  Mr. Speaker, as my friend pointed out, in late July 1994, a young 7-
year-old girl named Megan Kanka was sexually assaulted and brutally 
murdered

[[Page H4454]]

by a twice-convicted sex offender who lived across the street from the 
Kanka's home in Hamilton Township, which is in my district. The entire 
community, Mr. Speaker, was absolutely stunned and horrified.
  Despite the fact that they were overcome with indescribable grief and 
pain, Megan's heroic parents, Maureen and Richard, mounted a full court 
press to enact State and Federal legislation to track criminal sex 
offenders and to inform and notify communities of their whereabouts.
  In New Jersey, State Senator Pete Inverso and Assemblyman Paul 
Kramer, with the full backing of Governor Christie Whitman, quickly 
moved on legislation that became known as Megan's law. Other States 
followed suit. Still many States lag in enacting laws to inform 
communities as to the proximity of sex offenders. I still find it 
tragic beyond words, Mr. Speaker, that no one knew that Megan Kanka's 
killer lived across the street. No one knew that the murderer was a 
two-time convicted sex offender who was released from prison in 1988 
after spending 6 years of a 10-year sentence. No one knew that he lived 
with two other men who had previous records of sex crimes against 
children. No one knew that unspeakable danger and perversion was in the 
neighborhood and no one knew that 1 day that perversion would lure an 
innocent child to her death.

                              {time}  1545

  Megan's courageous parents had an absolute right to know of this 
danger, and they have been working ever since to protect other parents 
from going through that terrible agony that they have suffered. All 
parents, Mr. Speaker, have a clear and compelling need to know if their 
neighbors prey on kids. This legislation advances that cause.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, before yielding to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Colorado, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  Just so we get the history of Megan's Law down in the record here, 
the State of New Jersey, as a result of the horrible crime that has 
been repeated and recharacterized on the floor, passed a law that 
required notification, and so did a lot of other States, and so we are 
not federally mandating that all of the States, including the ones that 
have it, now observe Megan's Law.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Colorado [Mrs. Schroeder], a ranking member of the committee.
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Conyers] for yielding this time to me.
  I just rise to say this is a very important bill. If there is 
anything any society or community should do, it is protect its 
children.
  When we go back as far as we know in history, that has been one of 
the main goals of people coming together to live in any kind of a 
community, to protect the young and to protect their children, and, as 
we have gotten to be a more sophisticated society, it has been more and 
more difficult to carry this out.
  I was very proud in 1993 to have carried the National Child 
Protection Act. That was the beginning of this, and this is the bill 
that Megan's Law is built upon because what it says is the FBI should 
maintain a national network and that States should report convictions 
of child abuse and child molestation to the national network maintained 
by the FBI. If we do not have this national network, people could flee 
their record by crossing State lines, even if a State tried to be very 
vigilant. So we are in an area where States could not do this by 
themselves.
  I also want to remind people how thankful we all are that Oprah 
Winfrey helped us with this act. She worked very hard on children's 
safety, too, and I think we probably would not have gotten it as far as 
we got it and over the finish line if it had not happened because 
people probably would have yelled ``mandates'' or all sorts of things. 
And actually this is a mandate; it mandates States do report. Mr. 
Speaker, that probably does cost some money, and there is not any money 
here to solve that.
  But what we really said is that is so important, and that is so much 
the base of our society, and that if every State is not reporting, then 
this record that the FBI is keeping is not worthwhile, and if citizens 
are relying on that record to be kept, then they should be able to have 
access to it as parents or anything else.
  As my colleagues know, the focus of the 1993 law was to deal with 
child day care, to deal with any kind of area where an adult was 
applying for a job where they should have supervision over a child 
where nobody was really monitoring them constantly because we had seen 
many, many, many areas where people who had been convicted of child 
molestation left one State, went to another State, and got a job right 
back in the same area so that they had this tremendous potential to 
molest children again. We cannot allow that.
  So I am pleased that Megan's Law is building upon what we began. This 
goes further. It says not just the employment area, but also parents, 
should have access if someone moves in their neighborhood, so that the 
neighborhood can watch. And that is what it is about: watching, 
watching people or things that might harm the children, and watching 
the children to make sure they cannot get in harm's way themselves.
  So I thank this body for bringing this forward, and I hope everybody 
votes for this with a resounding ``yes.''
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds to express my 
gratitude to the gentlewoman from Colorado for reminding the House of 
the antecedents that have led up to this important measure.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Cunningham], chairman of the Early Childhood Youth and 
Family Subcommittee, who is one of the creators of some of this law.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this 
time to me, and I would like to add to my friend that gave the history 
that, yes, there was the Megan problem in New Jersey, and, yes, several 
States have passed it, but only after the gentlewoman from Washington 
[Ms. Dunn] and the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Deal] got together, put 
a bill together. It was voted on in the House, and when the Democrats 
were in the majority, it was kicked out of the conference. Republicans 
and Democrats combined in the coalition, went back to Speaker Foley. He 
put the bill back into the conference, and it was passed here on this 
House floor.
  But I ask that Megan's law, that the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Zimmer] is putting forth, will make the Dunn-Deal a done deal, that it 
does strengthen the legislation passed on this House floor.
  Can my colleagues imagine Larry Quay, the individual that, in public 
outrage, most all Americans fought because he was going to be released 
after he said he was going to do it again? Would my colleagues want 
that individual to move in next door to their family without knowing 
about it, that perhaps a sexual predator's life should be just a little 
more toxic than someone else in the American citizenry, that an 
individual that preys on children, that maybe their rights should be 
secondary to children's and families'?
  So I would like to thank the chairman of the committee and the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Zimmer] for making this a done deal. 
Both Senator Dole and the President support this legislation.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee], a distinguished member of the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman from Michigan very 
much for yielding this time to me, and I want to congratulate and 
applaud the ranking member, Mr. Conyers, both for his concerns that he 
has articulated, but as well for his cooperation with the chairman as 
we have brought forth this bill in the name of, tragically, Megan 
Kanka, who was raped and strangled and murdered by a twice-convicted 
pedophile who lived across the street from her. Some would say this is 
long overdue.
  Just a few weeks from now, on June 1, there will be an effort to put 
children first and have this Nation recognize, by an effort at the U.S. 
Capital, bring all of Americans who believe in children here to 
indicate that we stand for children.

[[Page H4455]]

  Texas in particular, and my community, applauds this bill and hopes 
that our colleagues will pass it because we recently had to face a 
situation where a repeated child molester, who acknowledged his 
capability for molesting again, was about to be released into the 
community. This bus driver from San Antonio went public and said there 
is nothing that can be done about his inclination to molest and abuse 
and possibly murder children. And here we were in Texas with a 
quandary, of course, of determining what to do with such an individual. 
But just think if he had not gone public, the possibility of this 
individual going back into any one of our communities and to be able to 
prey on children again.
  This bill is an important bill because it adds to the may, the shall, 
the must, to require that these individuals with this inclination, this 
proven ability and acts of previous child molestation and other 
sexually violent offenders, that we will know as members of the family, 
as parents, as school officials, as community groups, as neighbors, all 
of us as children who are innocent and need to be represented.
  In this particular bill, for example, it will protect children like 
Monique Miller of Houston, TX, who was brutally murdered and sexually 
abused by a repeat offender.
  The interesting thing about this particular law, and I would share 
this with my colleagues: There is a growing recognition in this country 
that most sex offense victims are children and that reporting of these 
offenses are still low. The FBI law enforcement bulletin reported that 
only 1 to 10 percent of children or child molestation cases are ever 
reported to the police. According to the Children's Trust Fund of 
Texas, in 1995, 50,746 children, ages birth through 17, were victims of 
child abuse and neglect. The 7,926 were victims of sexual abuse in our 
particular community. According to the department of public safety in 
1995, in Texas there were 361 homicides for children, ages birth 
through 16.
  So I am here to applaud the author of this legislation and to as well 
applaud our desire to approach this in a bipartisan manner. This is an 
important step, Mr. Speaker, to stop the victimization of our children. 
It is an important step for the Committee on the Judiciary to recognize 
as we balance the judicial and constitutional rights of all Americans, 
responsibility of this committee, that we also recognize the high 
importance, the high moral ground, we take when we protect our 
children, the most innocent victims of all. I want to see a stop now 
and forever to the victimization of our children and certainly the 
senseless violence that has seen children even being kidnapped from 
their bedrooms and violently and sexually abused. This law goes a long 
way toward fighting this problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Megan's law, a bill named in 
honor of 7-year-old Megan Kanka who was raped, strangled, and murdered 
by a twice convicted pedophile who lived across the street from her.
  I am a cosponsor of this legislation which would amend the 1994 crime 
bill to require local law enforcement to release relevant information 
to the public about child molesters and other sexually violent 
offenders when they are discharged from prison. This bill would 
guarantee the appropriate dissemination of information so that parents, 
school officials, and community groups can responsibly use the 
information in order to protect their children.
  We recently honored Victims Rights Week to pay tribute to all of the 
young women and children in this country whose lives have been cut 
short by hideous acts of violence. In particular, this bill would 
protect children like Monique Miller of Houston, TX who was brutally 
murdered and sexually abused by a repeat offender.
  There is growing recognition in this country that most sex offense 
victims are children and that reporting of these offenses is still low. 
The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin reported that, only 1 to 10 percent of 
child molestation cases are ever reported to police. And a National 
Victim Center survey estimated that 16 percent of rape victims are less 
than 18 years of age, 29 percent are less than 11. A recent U.S. 
Department of Justice study of 11 jurisdictions and the District of 
Columbia reported that 10,000 women under the age of 18 were raped in 
1992 in these jurisdictions. At least 3,800 were children under the age 
of 12. According to the Children's Trust Fund of Texas, in 1995, 50,746 
children ages birth through 17 were victims of child abuse and neglect. 
Some 7,926 were victims of sexual abuse, sexual abuse.
  According to the Bureau of Justice statistics and the FBI, children 
under the age of 18 accounted for 11 percent of all murder victims in 
the United States in 1994. Between 1976 and 1994 an estimated 37,000 
children were murdered. And half of all murders in 1994 were committed 
with a handgun; about 7 in 10 victims aged 15 to 17 were killed with a 
handgun. According to the Department of Public Safety, in 1995 in Texas 
there were 361 homicides for children ages birth through 16.
  Clearly, we must do more to protect our children from violence. This 
requires more than jailing sex offenders and violent criminals after 
they commit crimes, although swift and effective punishment is 
important. This requires strong prevention and education which will 
keep our children from becoming victims of violent crime.
  Megan's law is an important step in preventing the victimization of 
our children and putting an end to senseless violence in our 
communities. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Frelinghuysen].
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida 
for allowing me to rise today in support of H.R. 2137 and to commend my 
colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Zimmer], for his 
leadership on Megan's Law.
  It is a sad note that it took the tragedy of Megan Kanka's abduction 
and murder to make America aware of the need for this legislation. 
However, the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Zimmer's, Megan's law is a 
major victory for victim's rights and for the rights of the public at 
large against convicted sexual predators in our community. It is about 
time that our Federal laws gave victims and their families priorities 
over the rights of convicted criminals.
  As parents we constantly worry about the well-being of our children 
because we know of their innocence and vulnerability. Megan's Law goes 
a long way in helping parents and communities to protect our children 
from danger.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to support this bill and to commend 
the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Zimmer] for his active work in its 
passage.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman 
from California [Ms. Lofgren], a former law professor that 
distinguishes the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud, as a member of the Committee on 
the Judiciary, that we have reported the Megan's Law bill to the House, 
and I urge every Member to support this legislation.
  California has recently moved into the sexual predator notification 
business, and although it is not an easy task to undertake, we have 
found that it is workable and has not created the vigilante environment 
that some who have qualms about this bill worry about.
  I have heard some Members whom I respect a great deal advance the 
view that those who have been convicted of preying upon a child and 
have served a prison sentence and then been released have paid their 
debt to society and that this is further punishment. I disagree with 
that point of view.
  Convictions are not secret in America. We can go down to the 
courthouse and find out who has been convicted. What Megan's Law does 
is to make that information available to those who need to know it 
most: parents, neighbors, and potential employers. I think that Megan's 
Law is about balancing the rights of privacy of a convicted pedophile 
against the safety of the public, and, most importantly, of children.

                              {time}  1600

  When I think about the damage that abuse of children does, not only 
to that individual child but to our entire fabric of society, I am even 
more enthused about Megan's Law. I am aware that 25 percent of those 
who victimize children as adults were victimized and abused as children 
themselves. That does not mean that every child who has been victimized 
will grow to be a victimizing adult, but there is an obvious cycle here 
that needs to be interrupted.
  As the parent of two children, I know that if there is danger in my 
neighborhood, I want to be aware of it. I want to take every step that 
I possibly can to make sure that my 14-year-old daughter and my 11-
year-old son are

[[Page H4456]]

safe. And I know that as a parent, I am like every other parent in this 
country: I want to do the right thing so they have a good future. This 
legislation gives parents the tools that they need to take those steps.
  Mr. Speaker, as I have said, unfortunately, the the recidivism rate 
for pedophelia is very high. Looking at studies of pedophiles going 
back to the late 1970's and early 1980's, it is pretty clear that as a 
society we have failed to come up with anything that works for these 
people. I thus urge the adoption of Megan's law.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Georgia [Mr. Deal], one of the original authors of the underlying 
legislation.
  Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding 
time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, there is one abiding fear that all parents share. That 
is the fear that something tragic will happen to their child. We pass 
laws to make sure that their childhood toys are safe and that they will 
not be swallowed and choked on. We pass laws to be sure that there are 
child restraints properly installed in the vehicles on which they ride. 
All of us hold our breath when they finally get to the age where they 
can begin to drive vehicles themselves.
  Mr. Speaker, this law today addresses an area of concern that haunts 
society. That is the possibility that their child will be victimized by 
someone who has previously done the same. If one of the purposes of 
government is to collectively protect ourselves better than we can do 
individually, then this law and its merits are very clear. I am pleased 
to rise in support of it. I commend the author, and I urge all of the 
Members of this body to vote for this very commonsense piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of our time to the 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Watt], a distinguished lawyer, to 
close the arguments and discussion for our side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Foley). The gentleman from North 
Carolina [Mr. Watt] is recognized for 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, this is a tremendously 
difficult issue. I started to stay in my office and punt, and not come 
over here and talk about it at all. It is difficult because the 
statistics do indicate that there is a higher rate of recidivism for 
those people who have committed one offense in this area, and a greater 
likelihood that some of them will commit another offense.
  However, I thought it would be a dereliction of my duty as a Member 
of this body not to point out two very troubling aspects about this 
bill. First of all, our Constitution says to us that a criminal 
defendant is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty.
  The underlying assumption of this bill is that once you have 
committed one crime of this kind, you are presumed guilty for the rest 
of your life. That, Mr. Speaker, is contrary, whether we like it or 
not, it is contrary to the constitutional mandates that govern our 
Nation. We should not be presuming people guilty unless they have 
committed a crime. Once they have paid their debt to society, they 
should be allowed to go on with their lives.
  The second concern I have about this issue is that my colleagues in 
this body have over and over talked to us about how important States 
rights are. Yet, in this area, somehow or another we cannot seem to 
justify allowing States to make their own decisions about whether they 
want a Megan's law or do not want a Megan's law. All of a sudden, the 
Big Brother Government must direct the States to do something that is 
not even necessarily a Federal issue. So those two things lead me to 
encourage my colleagues to stand up for our Constitution and stand up 
for States rights and oppose this bill.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Upton].
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, there is no greater crime, I do not believe, 
than a child that has been molested, perhaps killed, or not killed but 
sexually molested by somebody else. I had a woman in my district talk 
to me in tears about her 9-year-old that was raped. Thank goodness he 
was convicted. He is now serving in Jackson Prison. But he is going to 
get out. The experts say that he is going to do it again and again and 
again.
  However, when he gets out, I want a law like Megan's law, so whether 
he goes to St. Joe or Kalamazoo or South Bend, anyplace else, the 
victim, the family, the police, the community are going to be able to 
watch him forever. He is going to have a tattoo on his head that is 
going to be there forever.
  Mr. Speaker, last year I had two little boys, sons of migrant workers 
from Texas, in my district who were stolen allegedly by a sexual 
molester, because he has not been convicted yet I use the word 
allegedly, out from Iowa, picked them up in the twin cities in 
Michigan; and thank goodness, because it was a nationwide case and CNN 
and ABC News and ``Good Morning America'' had his picture, they found 
him in New Orleans. I do not want that to happen again to that family.
  Something like this that, thank goodness, a number of States have 
passed on their own, ought to be a national law. That is why I rise in 
support, to make sure that we will take whatever step we can, so no 
family will ever have it happen to them as it has happened to people in 
my district.
  Mr. Speaker, I would urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to vote for a very strong bipartisan bill so we can try and end 
this terrible human tragedy that, unfortunately, strikes far too many 
Americans.
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to close the debate on this side by 
commenting again about how thankful I am that the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Zimmer] saw fit to produce this piece of legislation. 
Contrary to what some have said about it earlier, this is not a mandate 
on the States. This is a provision typically that we try to do in the 
underlying legislation that is already law to encourage the States to 
do these things that we think they need to do as a group to fight such 
types of crimes as we have in the case of those who commit violence 
against children, especially sexual crimes, by holding the carrot out 
of money that they may receive of Federal largesse that they otherwise 
would not receive.
  I think this is a very good corrective measure. It will require, 
rather than simply permit, local jurisdictions in cases where there is, 
indeed, a necessity to do so, to notify those in the community that 
somebody who has been a convicted sexual predator is being released. I 
again thank the gentleman from New Jersey, who authored this 
legislation. I have been pleased to produce it out of the Subcommittee 
on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, as the author of the Jacob Wetterling 
Crimes Against Children Act, which became law in 1994, I am grateful we 
are voting today to pass a bill to make it even stronger.
  The Wetterling Act was named after Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted 
by a stranger at gunpoint in St. Joseph, MN, in 1989. Jacob's parents, 
Patty and Jerry, worked tirelessly to help me pass the Wetterling Act.
  The Wetterling Act provides for the registration of convicted child 
sex offenders and violent sexual predators. This national tracking 
requirement was needed because of the propensity of these offenders to 
repeat their heinous crimes again and again after their release from 
prison. Some States--like my home State of Minnesota--already provided 
for sex offender registration, but many offenders simply moved to 
another State and avoided detection.
  The children of America and their families needed the Wetterling Act 
to protect them from those who prey on children. Every major law 
enforcement organization asked for it as a resource for investigating 
child abduction and molestation cases.
  Under the Wetterling bill, law enforcement was allowed to notify the 
community when the dangerous offenders required to register under the 
Wetterling Act were released and living in the area. The bill we are 
considering today, Megan's Law, will require community notification.
  I strongly support this strengthening of the Wetterling Act, to make 
our communities a safer place for our kids to grow up.
  Ms. DUNN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, quite frankly H.R. 2137 must be 
enacted immediately. We must not delay one day longer. My struggle to 
strengthen the laws to protect victims and communities from sexually 
violent predators started in the 103d Congress when Senator Gorton and 
I began work on including Washington State's sexual predator law into 
the 1994 crime bill. The tragic and highly publicized 1994 rape and 
murder of 7-year-Megan Kanka in New Jersey, the victim of a

[[Page H4457]]

released sexual predator, unfortunately became the impetus for 
including sexual predator language in the 1994 crime bill. With Senator 
Gorton's help, Mr. Zimmer and I were able to convince conferees to the 
crime bill to include community notification and registration of 
sexually violent predators.
  Since the 1994 crime law enactment, many States have developed 
tracking programs that require convicted sexual predators to register 
with the local law enforcement agencies upon release and allow 
officials to notify local communities of their presence. Now, Mr. 
Speaker, it is time that we take this good law one step farther before 
we are shocked once again to hear of a needless death or crime 
committed by a violent sexual offender. Currently, communities may or 
may not be aware of a predator in their midst. That is wrong. We must 
alert the citizens when repeat sexually violent predators are in the 
area. H.R. 2137 will accomplish that by changing community notification 
from an option to a requirement.
  Wouldn't you and your family like to know when a potential predator 
has moved in next door so that adequate steps could be taken to protect 
your family? American women and families deserve no less. Every time we 
hear of a crime committed by a sexual predator we feel fear and terror 
in the possibility that our own personal safety--or that of a loved 
one--is at risk. Our daily routine is monopolized by tension and 
anxiety: walking to our cars, sending our children off to school, or 
locking up the house at night. Of course, women feel the brunt of this 
anxiety because women are the targets of most repeat sexual predators. 
Nobody should have to live in fear. Congress can and must help target 
the crimes that cause us the worst fear. We can and must pass a law 
that will require notifying a community when a sexually violent 
predator has moved into the neighborhood. And we must pass it now.
  Empowering families, women, and children with the knowledge that a 
potential threat is looming in their community enables them to take the 
necessary precautions to ensure that there are not second, third, or 
fourth victims. Communities must be forewarned when a sexual predator 
has moved in next door. That is why I support swift passage of H.R. 
2137, a bill that will require law enforcement to notify communities of 
a sexual predator's presence. I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member is pleased to be a cosponsor 
of H.R. 2137, Megan's Law and would urge his colleagues to support this 
bill.
  This measure builds on an earlier law, also supported by this Member, 
that requires convicted sex offenders and kidnapers of children to 
register their addresses with law enforcement authorities for 10 years 
after their release from prison. Since such a high percentage of child 
abusers are repeat offenders, this registration requirement has been 
very helpful to police in solving crimes involving child abuse. 
However, the Jacob Wetterling law only permits States to release this 
information. Megan's law requires States to release this information to 
local law enforcement officials when a known criminal sex offender is 
released from prison and settles within their jurisdiction. States may 
also determine whether a criminal's personal information can be 
available to the general public.
  Mr. Speaker, it is this Member's hope that this legislation will 
quickly become law in order to provide better information to police, 
neighborhoods, and communities regarding the existence of convicted sex 
offenders which in turn should prevent crimes and protect citizens.
  Ms. MOLINARI. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend Mr. Zimmer, Mr. 
McCollum, chairman of the Crime Subcommittee and Mr. Hyde, the 
distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee for introducing 
Megan's law. And on behalf of the children who will not be assaulted or 
killed and for the parents, who will not suffer their loss I would like 
to thank you for your hard work. This bill costs nothing, yet takes a 
step toward protecting something so valuable to every parent--the 
safety of their children.
  Critics of this bill have argued that the bill unduly punishes 
offenders after they have paid their debt to society. What about the 
void and pain of the parents whose son or daughter became their victim? 
When are they finished paying? For those who oppose the bill, I ask you 
to envision the loss of your child. I ask you to feel the loss of your 
child to a ruthless criminal, who saw her as nothing more than an easy 
victim. I ask you to stand in the place of Maureen Kanka, the mother of 
7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was kidnaped and murdered by a man who had 
twice been convicted of attacking children. The fact that he was 
released and allowed to roam the streets in and around young children, 
is nothing less than placing a wolf among lambs.
  The danger of recidivism in sex crimes has been demonstrated, time 
and time again, unfortunately at the expense of another child. By 
requiring the registration of sex offenders, Congress is taking 
affirmative steps to alert, police and parents to dangers in their 
community, and above all preventing the assault, abduction, and murder 
of another youngster.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum] that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2137, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. ZIMMER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 5 of 
rule I and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this 
motion will be postponed.

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