[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN'S CAUCUS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARTIN FROST

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 1997

  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the newly formed Missing 
and Exploited Children's Caucus of which I am a founding member. This 
caucus was formed in response to the rise of kidnaping and murder of 
young children in this country. Each year hundreds of thousands of 
American families are confronted with this unique tragedy--a missing 
child. In the last 30 days in Texas alone, four children have been 
abducted and brutally murdered. This caucus has been organized to 
increase the awareness of these tragic occurrences and to introduce 
legislation to combat these heinous crimes.
  I became painfully aware of the problem of repeat sex offenders who 
target children when a tragic situation occurred in Arlington, TX, 
which is part of my congressional district. On January 13, 1996, little 
Amber Hagerman, an innocent 9-year-old girl, was abducted and murdered. 
Amber was bright and pretty and was riding her bike on January 13 when 
someone came along and took her away.
  We don't know who took her, but we do know that a little girl, just a 
child, was brutally murdered and her body left to be found. This case 
occurred in my congressional district, but I am sure that events like 
this have happened--sadly--in every corner of our country, in our 
cities, and in the heartlands.
  Whoever took Amber didn't know and didn't care that she was an honor 
student who made all A's and B's. They didn't care that she was a 
Brownie who had lots of friends and who loved her little brother 
dearly. They didn't care that her whole life was ahead of her and that 
her parents wanted to watch her grow into the lovely young woman she 
promised to be.
  This tragedy has focused public attention on the need to toughen laws 
for sex offenders, particularly offenders who victimize young children.
  In response to this tragedy, I introduced the Amber Hagerman 
Protection Act and portions of this bill were attached to the Omnibus 
Appropriations Act, which was signed into law on September 30, 1996. 
The Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act expands Federal court 
jurisdiction over repeat child sex molesters who cross State lines and 
creates a two-strikes law which mandates life in prison after a second 
offense. The act also expands the death penalty. Prior to the enactment 
of the Amber Hagerman Act, Federal law provided for the death penalty 
on the first offense when a child is killed on Federal property or is 
kidnaped and taken across State lines. The Amber bill adds the death 
penalty when the person who murders the child has cross State lines 
with the intent of committing a sex offense.

  I was very pleased that portions of this bill were signed into law 
last year; however, this is just the beginning. Clearly, the safety of 
our neighborhoods requires that additional laws be passed by Congress 
to keep sex offenders off the streets and it is my hope that this new 
caucus will learn what we can do on a legislative level.
  As a caucus, we need to look at where the Justice Department is in 
terms of implementing a national registry system for sex offenders. 
Local enforcement agencies tell me that the best help they could get 
from the Federal Government is a national registry system for sex 
offenders, and we ought to make sure that this system is up and running 
in the near future.
  Last year, the Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and 
Identification Act of 1996 was signed into law. This bill establishes, 
by law, a national registry system and will improve the minimum system 
the FBI is now establishing under the President's order. Prior or the 
passage of the Pam Lychner Act, the President directed the Justice 
Department to develop within 60 days a plan for a national sex offender 
registry. It's imperative that an interim system be operational in the 
near future in order to assist the local law enforcement agencies.
  This coming Sunday, May 25, is National Missing Children's Day. Back 
in 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 National Missing 
Children's Day. And today, all across the country, groups will be 
holding candlelight vigils, memorials, and other events to increase 
public understanding and awareness of this national tragedy. We all 
need to get involved--parents, relatives, politicians, police, and 
other enforcement agencies--to direct attention to the problem of 
missing children.
  It is my hope, Mr. Speaker, that someday we will not need a National 
Missing Children's Day or caucus in Congress to combat he growing 
epidemic of missing and exploited children. It is my hope that someday 
every child in America will feel safe. It is my hope that someday every 
child will feel secure while riding his or her bicycle in the 
neighborhood. It is my hope that someday no parent will ever have to 
face the tragedy that Amber Hagerman's parents had to face last year. 
But until that day comes, we need to work together to protect this 
country's greatest asset--our children.

                          ____________________