[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H9202-H9203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON S. 2073, JUVENILE CRIME CONTROL AND 
                        DELINQUENCY ACT OF 1998

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, in accordance with rule XX and by 
direction of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, with the 
concurrence of the Committee on the Judiciary, I move to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 2073) to authorize appropriations 
for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, with House 
amendments thereto, insist on the House amendments, and request a 
conference with the Senate thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Goodling) is recognized for one hour.
  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my motion. The bill addresses the 
problem of juvenile crime in this country. We all know that juvenile 
crime is not going to go away on its own.
  For two Congresses we have attempted to address the problem of 
juvenile crime through legislation supporting accountability and 
prevention programs. Yet we have not produced a final bill. While the 
states have their own initiatives to combat juvenile crime, they rely 
on the resources we have provided them through laws such as the 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which expired in 1996. 
Today's action is merely an effort to get to conference with the 
Senate. H.R. 3 passed the House by a vote of 286 to 123. H.R. 1818 
passed the House by a vote of 413 to 14.
  We need to address juvenile crime through a two-pronged approach. 
First, we must send a message to our youth that we will not tolerate 
their involvement in criminal activity. We can do this through the 
imposition of appropriate punishment for each crime they commit.
  Second, we need to work with the youth at risk of committing juvenile 
acts and those who have already been in touch with the juvenile justice 
system to prevent their involvement in criminal activities.
  I realize that some of the body have problems with certain of the 
provisions of the bill, that it is not perfect legislation. However 
this motion to go to conference is the way to address these concerns. I 
believe the conferees will have a much better chance to produce an 
approach to address the problems of juvenile crime with which we can 
all agree. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Riggs).
  Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I 
will be brief, since I know we promised the minority we would not have 
any extended debate on this particular issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I wanted to rise to say that I am particularly pleased 
in the waning days of this Congress, the 105th Congress, in our 
country's history, we are going to be able to go to conference with the 
Senate on hopefully a comprehensive approach to combating juvenile 
crime.
  As the chairman mentioned, there are two measures that have passed 
the House, both with strong bipartisan support; H.R. 3, the Committee 
on the Judiciary bill, and H.R. 1818, the bill that

[[Page H9203]]

originated in and was reported out of our Committee on Education and 
the Workforce. The two bills combined represent very tough anti-crime 
legislation and legislation that is focused on delinquency prevention.
  I think all of us can agree, as I said on the floor when we debated 
this matter, that the best way to address the problem of increasing or 
rising juvenile crime in this country is to identify those young people 
who are at risk of engaging in delinquent behavior, who are at risk of 
committing crimes, and through appropriate intervention by interceding 
in their lives early on to provide them and their families, their 
parents and their guardians, with help and with the resources to divert 
them out of the juvenile justice system. That is what the comprehensive 
or combined approach of the two bills attempts to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I do hope that we will be able to come back to the House 
with a comprehensive measure that is balanced, that is bipartisan and 
that is tough on punishment but smart on prevention. Obviously, I am 
very much in support of the motion to go to conference.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time, and look 
forward to being able to get into those deliberations with our 
colleagues in the other body.
  Ms. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak in support of this 
motion, and to remind my colleagues that not only will this bill 
reauthorize the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, it 
will also strengthen the process already in place where communities 
will be notified when a violent sexual predator is released.
  Action on sexual predators was prompted years ago in my home state of 
Washington by the grisly crimes of repeat sexual offender Earl Shriner. 
Shriner had a 24-year history of violent sexual assaults on young 
people and confirmed all the studies of high rates of recidivism. He 
was repeatedly jailed and released--committing the same crimes for 
which he was first incarcerated over and over again.
  After a series of other crimes committed by repeat sexual offenders 
like Earl Shriner, the Washington State legislature met in a 1990 
special session and passed the Sexually Violent Predators Act.
  The Senior Senator from Washington then brought our state model back 
to D.C. to implement on the federal level. I worked in the House to 
include the model in the 1994 Crime bill. The sad incident in New 
Jersey with Megan Kanka was unfortunately an additional factor, and the 
impetus for including sexually violent predator language in the 1994 
Crime bill. With the Senior Senator's help, Mr. Zimmer and I were able 
to convince conferees on the 1994 crime bill to include community 
notification, registration, and tracking of sexually violent predators 
in the bill.
  Since the 1994 crime law, and the subsequent enactment of Megan's 
Law, almost all states have developed tracking programs that require 
convicted sexual predators to register with local law enforcement 
agencies upon release and allow officials to notify local communities 
of their presence.
  Empowering families, women, and children with the knowledge that a 
potential threat is present in their community enables them to take the 
necessary precautions to ensure that there are not second, third or 
fourth victims. Communities must know when a sexual predator has moved 
in next door or down the street. Now, Mr. Speaker, it is time that we 
take this good law one step further before we are shocked once again to 
hear of a needless death or crime committed by a violent sexual 
offender.
  Included in this bill is an amendment I offered with my colleagues, 
Mr. Pappas, Mr. Deal, and Mr. Cunningham. This amendment requires each 
state to create a method by which it will notify parents when a 
juvenile sex offender is enrolled in their child's elementary or 
secondary school.
  This is a simple refinement of the work we have done in the past, in 
order for the law to accomplish what Congress intended: ensuring the 
safety and well-being of our children as they attend school.
  Some of our colleagues may wonder why notification under Megan's Law 
is not enough. Oftentimes our schools include students from a variety 
of nearby communities. Community notification, therefore, will not 
reach some of the parents of these children. Without this knowledge, 
parents would not be able to take the necessary precautions to protect 
their children from being victims of a possible reoffense. Parents 
deserve the peace of mind of knowing that their children will be safe 
from sexual predators as they attend school.
  Mr. Speaker, this provision complements Megan's Law and empowers 
parents whose children attend schools outside their communities, as 
well as those whose children go to neighborhood schools.
  We simply cannot let what happened to Megan Kanka happen again. Not 
in any community and, especially, not on a playground during recess.
  I urge my colleagues to show their support for children and families 
and vote to send this bill to conference.
  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the motion.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling).
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed until 5 p.m.

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