[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 95 (Tuesday, July 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H4872-H4873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING SENSE OF THE HOUSE THAT NATION'S CHILDREN ARE ITS MOST
VALUABLE ASSET AND THEIR PROTECTION SHOULD BE HIGHEST PRIORITY
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 154) expressing the sense of the House that the
Nation's children are its most valuable assets and that their
protection should be the Nation's highest priority.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 154
Whereas the Nation's most valuable and vulnerable asset is
its children;
Whereas their protection should be one of our highest
priorities;
Whereas over 1,000,000 children are reported missing, and
over 100,000 attempted nonfamily abductions take place every
year;
Whereas over 750,000 children under the age of 18 disappear
for some length of time every year;
Whereas law enforcement officials constantly encounter
crimes against children;
Whereas sex offenders are nine times more likely to repeat
their crimes than any other class of criminal;
Whereas nearly two-thirds of State prisoners serving time
for rape and sexual assault victimized children; and
Whereas while many missing children are returned to their
homes, many others are exposed to danger and exploitation:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) all Members of Congress should take appropriate action
to ensure the safety and protection of children in their
jurisdictions;
(2) State governments should have in effect laws which
register offenders convicted of sexual crimes against
children and laws which require law enforcement to notify
communities of the presence of these offenders;
(3) States should have in effect laws which severely punish
individuals convicted of offenses against children,
especially crimes involving abduction, sexual assault,
exploitation, and stalking;
(4) law enforcement agencies should take the necessary
steps to safeguard children against the dangers of abduction
and exploitation; and
(5) State and local law enforcement agencies should work in
close cooperation with Federal law enforcement to ensure a
rapid and efficient response to reports of child abductions,
especially in cases where a child's life may be in danger.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida [Mr. McCollum] and the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr.
Delahunt] each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum).
General Leave
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
on the legislation under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
House Resolution 154, introduced by the gentleman from Georgia [Mr.
Collins] expresses the sense of the House regarding the safety and
protection of our Nation's children. On May 25 we observed National
Missing Children's Day, a day established by President Reagan in 1983
to raise public awareness about the need for increased child
protection. This resolution, prepared in connection with National
Missing Children's Day, is a declaration by this Congress that child
abduction is a very serious matter and that we intend to work with
State and local law enforcement to ensure that effective and
appropriate measures are in place to prevent crimes against children.
Justice Department statistics indicate that over 1 million children
are reported missing each year. Over 100,000 abductions of children are
attempted by nonfamily members annually. This resolution includes these
and other statistics in its findings, in addition to providing that
States should have in place laws which severely punish individuals
convicted of offenses against children. The resolution declares that
law enforcement agencies should take steps necessary to safeguard
children against the dangers of abduction and exploitation and should
work in close cooperation with Federal law enforcement to ensure a
rapid and efficient response to reports of child abductions, especially
in cases where a life may be in danger. Losing a child is a nightmare
which becomes a reality for too many Americans. I would like to commend
the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Collins] for his efforts and I urge my
colleagues to supported this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution declares that protection of children
should be our highest national priority. I certainly do not intend to
take issue with that sentiment as the father of two wonderful
daughters. I frankly cannot imagine any Member of this House taking
issue with it.
However, I do recognize that it is important from time to time for
the Congress to reaffirm even such self-evident truths. I commend the
author of the bill, the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Collins] for doing
so.
How the States choose to protect our children is, of course, another
matter.
This resolution does not actually require the States to do anything.
For that reason, it was reported favorably by our committee without
dissent. But it does urge States to take various steps which the
authors of the bill favor, including the adoption of laws that require
the registration of convicted sex offenders, and severely punish those
who commit offenses against children. Most of the States already do
those things. But again I recognize that it is sometimes useful for the
Congress to encourage the States to do what they are already doing.
Given so much harmonious agreement, it seems out of place to strike a
discordant note, but there is something that does trouble me about this
resolution. What troubles me is the implicit assumption that the people
responsible for local law enforcement have more to learn from the
Congress than we have to learn from them. I know from my own experience
in law enforcement that this is simply not the case. If communities
around the country choose to adopt these kinds of measures, it will not
be because Congress thinks they should. It will be because they have
determined that these measures are the best way to protect their
children for whom they are responsible. If they do not do so, it will
not be because they care less about their children than we do; it will
be because they have chosen other means which they think would be more
effective within their communities.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, once we have affirmed our concern for the well-
being of America's children, I hope we will remember the many other
things that threaten them. Things like malnutrition, lack of education,
inadequate health care.
Unlike local law enforcement, these are things that we can do
something about.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
author of this bill, the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Collins].
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts and the
gentleman from Florida for both their recognition of how important it
is at times for us to remind ourselves and to remind our State and
local officials and also our law enforcement officials of the
importance of our children and to remind them, too, that we are all
concerned and very interested in their protection.
As the father of four and the grandfather of six and, by the way, Mr.
Speaker, I put my request in to my four children hopefully to get a
baker's
[[Page H4873]]
dozen of those grandchildren, I recognize the importance of love and
protecting our children, our most valuable asset.
Therefore, I rise today to offer a resolution referencing the
importance of our Nation's children. Amidst all the talk of balanced
budgets, taxes and entitlements and their importance, too, to our
children, we often overlook the need to protect what truly is the most
priceless resource in this country, and that is our children. But like
any other valuable, our children's safety is often threatened. Losing a
child is a nightmare which has become a reality for far too many
Americans. In fact, a recent study conducted by the Princeton Survey
Research Associates indicated that the number one fear of 54 percent of
the parents who responded is that their child might be kidnapped. And
while most missing children are returned to their homes safely, many
are exposed to the evils of exploitation.
The gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum] referred to several
statistics released recently by the Justice Department. A couple of
those statistics are that more than 300,000 children are abducted by
family members each year and that nearly two-thirds of our State
prisoners serving time for rape and sexual assault victimized children
and that sex offenders are nine times more likely to repeat their
crimes than any other criminal.
Mr. Speaker, our law enforcement agencies are constantly faced with
the difficult task of stopping crimes against children, and Congress
has done a commendable job in recent months with the passage of two
acts, one the Megan's law which gives citizens the power to educate
themselves with sex offender registration information and, two, the
Sexual Offender Tracking Identification Act, which aids law enforcement
officials in tracking down threats to our children.
Both these measures are a good start but there is much work to be
done yet. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to offer House
Resolution 154, which expresses the sense of Congress that the Nation's
children are its most valuable resource and that their protection
should be our Nation's highest priority.
House Resolution 154, as reported earlier, also urges local and State
governments to take appropriate action to ensure the safety and
protection of children within their jurisdictions and to severely
punish offenders of such crimes. I would like to recognize the diligent
efforts of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the
subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum], the
ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Hyde] and the
other members in the leader's office for their help with this measure.
I urge my colleagues to join me in passage of this resolution.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
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 agree to the resolution, House Resolution 154.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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