[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 69 (Tuesday, June 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S5568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today as an original cosponsor of 
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Authorization 
Act of 1998. I applaud the Senator from Utah's fine efforts in support 
of this important legislation.
  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has an 
extraordinary record of success. The Center boasts a recovery rate that 
has grown from 62% to 91% over the past 14 years. This particular 
legislation directs the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention (OJDDP) at the Department of Justice to issue annual grants 
to the NCMEC in the amount of $10 million for fiscal years 1999-2003. 
The $10 million is an authorization and is subject to appropriations 
procedures.
  The bill will allow the Center to bypass the competitive selection 
process it must go through to obtain grant money from the OJDDP on an 
annual basis. Moreover, by providing an authorization, the bill will 
also allow for increased Committee oversight of the Center's 
activities.
  This bill will better enable the Center to pursue national efforts to 
locate and recover missing children. It will also aid the NCMEC, in 
conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, in raising public 
awareness about ways to prevent child abduction, molestation, and 
sexual exploitation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me, Senator Hatch, Senator DeWine, and a 
number of our colleagues in supporting this worthwhile bill.

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