[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 144 (Monday, October 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10566-H10575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CHILD PROTECTION AND SEXUAL PREDATOR PUNISHMENT ACT OF 1998

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur 
in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 3494) to amend title 18, 
United States Code, with respect to violent sex crimes against 
children, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                           Senate amendments

       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Protection 
     of Children From Sexual Predators Act of 1998''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

             TITLE I--PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM PREDATORS

Sec. 101. Use of interstate facilities to transmit identifying 
              information about a minor for criminal sexual purposes.
Sec. 102. Coercion and enticement.
Sec. 103. Increased penalties for transportation of minors or assumed 
              minors for illegal sexual activity and related crimes.
Sec. 104. Repeat offenders in transportation offense.
Sec. 105. Inclusion of offenses relating to child pornography in 
              definition of sexual activity for which any person can be 
              charged with a criminal offense.
Sec. 106. Transportation generally.

        TITLE II--PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Sec. 201. Additional jurisdictional base for prosecution of production 
              of child pornography.
Sec. 202. Increased penalties for child pornography offenses.
Sec. 203. ``Zero tolerance'' for possession of child pornography.

                   TITLE III--SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION

Sec. 301. Elimination of redundancy and ambiguities.
Sec. 302. Increased penalties for abusive sexual contact.
Sec. 303. Repeat offenders in sexual abuse cases.

    TITLE IV--PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF OBSCENE MATERIAL TO MINORS

Sec. 401. Transfer of obscene material to minors.

  TITLE V--INCREASED PENALTIES FOR OFFENSES AGAINST CHILDREN AND FOR 
                            REPEAT OFFENDERS

Sec. 501. Death or life in prison for certain offenses whose victims 
              are children.
Sec. 502. Sentencing enhancement for chapter 117 offenses.
Sec. 503. Increased penalties for use of a computer in the sexual abuse 
              or exploitation of a child.
Sec. 504. Increased penalties for knowing misrepresentation in the 
              sexual abuse or exploitation of a child.
Sec. 505. Increased penalties for pattern of activity of sexual 
              exploitation of children.
Sec. 506. Clarification of definition of distribution of pornography.
Sec. 507. Directive to the United States Sentencing Commission.

       TITLE VI--CRIMINAL, PROCEDURAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS

Sec. 601. Pretrial detention of sexual predators.
Sec. 602. Criminal forfeiture for offenses against minors.
Sec. 603. Civil forfeiture for offenses against minors.
Sec. 604. Reporting of child pornography by electronic communication 
              service providers.
Sec. 605. Civil remedy for personal injuries resulting from certain sex 
              crimes against children.
Sec. 606. Administrative subpoenas.
Sec. 607. Grants to States to offset costs associated with sexually 
              violent offender registration requirements.

            TITLE VII--MURDER AND KIDNAPPING INVESTIGATIONS

Sec. 701. Authority to investigate serial killings.
Sec. 702. Kidnapping.
Sec. 703. Morgan P. Hardiman Child Abduction and Serial Murder 
              Investigative Resources Center.

     TITLE VIII--RESTRICTED ACCESS TO INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICES

Sec. 801. Prisoner access.
Sec. 802. Recommended prohibition.
Sec. 803. Survey.

                           TITLE IX--STUDIES

Sec. 901. Study on limiting the availability of pornography on the 
              Internet.
Sec. 902. Study of hotlines.

             TITLE I--PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM PREDATORS

     SEC. 101. USE OF INTERSTATE FACILITIES TO TRANSMIT 
                   IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ABOUT A MINOR FOR 
                   CRIMINAL SEXUAL PURPOSES.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 117 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 2425. Use of interstate facilities to transmit 
       information about a minor

       ``Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of 
     interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special 
     maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, 
     knowingly initiates the transmission of the name, address, 
     telephone number, social security number, or electronic mail 
     address of another individual, knowing that such other 
     individual has not attained the age of 16 years, with the 
     intent to entice, encourage, offer, or solicit any person to 
     engage in any sexual activity for which any person can be 
     charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall 
     be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, 
     or both.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for 
     chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

``2425. Use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a 
              minor.''.

     SEC. 102. COERCION AND ENTICEMENT.

       Section 2422 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by inserting ``or attempts to do so,'' before ``shall 
     be fined''; and
       (B) by striking ``five'' and inserting ``10''; and
       (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(b) Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of 
     interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special 
     maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States 
     knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any 
     individual who has not attained the age of 18 years, to 
     engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any 
     person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to 
     do so, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 
     than 15 years, or both.''.

     SEC. 103. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR TRANSPORTATION OF MINORS OR 
                   ASSUMED MINORS FOR ILLEGAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND 
                   RELATED CRIMES.

       Section 2423 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Transportation With Intent To Engage in Criminal 
     Sexual Activity.--A person who knowingly transports an 
     individual who

[[Page H10567]]

     has not attained the age of 18 years in interstate or foreign 
     commerce, or in any commonwealth, territory or possession of 
     the United States, with intent that the individual engage in 
     prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person 
     can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, 
     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 
     years, or both.''; and
       (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``10 years'' and 
     inserting ``15 years''.

     SEC. 104. REPEAT OFFENDERS IN TRANSPORTATION OFFENSE.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 117 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 2426. Repeat offenders

       ``(a) Maximum Term of Imprisonment.--The maximum term of 
     imprisonment for a violation of this chapter after a prior 
     sex offense conviction shall be twice the term of 
     imprisonment otherwise provided by this chapter.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) the term `prior sex offense conviction' means a 
     conviction for an offense--
       ``(A) under this chapter, chapter 109A, or chapter 110; or
       ``(B) under State law for an offense consisting of conduct 
     that would have been an offense under a chapter referred to 
     in paragraph (1) if the conduct had occurred within the 
     special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United 
     States; and
       ``(2) the term `State' means a State of the United States, 
     the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or 
     possession of the United States.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for 
     chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

``2426. Repeat offenders.''.

     SEC. 105. INCLUSION OF OFFENSES RELATING TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY 
                   IN DEFINITION OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY FOR WHICH ANY 
                   PERSON CAN BE CHARGED WITH A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 117 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 2427. Inclusion of offenses relating to child 
       pornography in definition of sexual activity for which any 
       person can be charged with a criminal offense

       ``In this chapter, the term `sexual activity for which any 
     person can be charged with a criminal offense' includes the 
     production of child pornography, as defined in section 
     2256(8).''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for 
     chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

``2427. Inclusion of offenses relating to child pornography in 
              definition of sexual activity for which any person can be 
              charged with a criminal offense.''.

     SEC. 106. TRANSPORTATION GENERALLY.

       Section 2421 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``or attempts to do so,'' before ``shall 
     be fined''; and
       (2) by striking ``five years'' and inserting ``10 years''.

        TITLE II--PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

     SEC. 201. ADDITIONAL JURISDICTIONAL BASE FOR PROSECUTION OF 
                   PRODUCTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.

       (a) Use of a Child.--Section 2251(a) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by inserting ``if that visual 
     depiction was produced using materials that have been mailed, 
     shipped, or transported in interstate or foreign commerce by 
     any means, including by computer,'' before ``or if''.
       (b) Allowing Use of a Child.--Section 2251(b) of title 18, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting ``, if that 
     visual depiction was produced using materials that have been 
     mailed, shipped, or transported in interstate or foreign 
     commerce by any means, including by computer,'' before ``or 
     if''.
       (c) Increased Penalties in Section 2251(d).--Section 
     2251(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``or chapter 109A'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``, chapter 109A, or chapter 117''.

     SEC. 202. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES.

       (a) Increased Penalties in Section 2252.--Section 2252(b) 
     of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ``or 
     chapter 109A'' and inserting ``, chapter 109A, or chapter 
     117''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the possession of child 
     pornography'' and inserting ``aggravated sexual abuse, sexual 
     abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward, 
     or the production, possession, receipt, mailing, sale, 
     distribution, shipment, or transportation of child 
     pornography''.
       (b) Increased Penalties in Section 2252A.--Section 2252A(b) 
     of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ``or 
     chapter 109A'' and inserting ``, chapter 109A, or chapter 
     117''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the possession of child 
     pornography'' and inserting ``aggravated sexual abuse, sexual 
     abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward, 
     or the production, possession, receipt, mailing, sale, 
     distribution, shipment, or transportation of child 
     pornography''.

     SEC. 203. ``ZERO TOLERANCE'' FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD 
                   PORNOGRAPHY.

       (a) Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors.--
     Section 2252 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ``3 or more'' each 
     place that term appears and inserting ``1 or more''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Affirmative Defense.--It shall be an affirmative 
     defense to a charge of violating paragraph (4) of subsection 
     (a) that the defendant--
       ``(1) possessed less than 3 matters containing any visual 
     depiction proscribed by that paragraph; and
       ``(2) promptly and in good faith, and without retaining or 
     allowing any person, other than a law enforcement agency, to 
     access any visual depiction or copy thereof--
       ``(A) took reasonable steps to destroy each such visual 
     depiction; or
       ``(B) reported the matter to a law enforcement agency and 
     afforded that agency access to each such visual depiction.''.
       (b) Material Constituting or Containing Child 
     Pornography.--Section 2252A of title 18, United States Code, 
     is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ``3 or more images'' 
     each place that term appears and inserting ``an image''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Affirmative Defense.--It shall be an affirmative 
     defense to a charge of violating subsection (a)(5) that the 
     defendant--
       ``(1) possessed less than 3 images of child pornography; 
     and
       ``(2) promptly and in good faith, and without retaining or 
     allowing any person, other than a law enforcement agency, to 
     access any image or copy thereof--
       ``(A) took reasonable steps to destroy each such image; or
       ``(B) reported the matter to a law enforcement agency and 
     afforded that agency access to each such image.''.

                   TITLE III--SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION

     SEC. 301. ELIMINATION OF REDUNDANCY AND AMBIGUITIES.

       (a) Making Consistent Language on Age Differential.--
     Section 2241(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``younger than that person'' and inserting 
     ``younger than the person so engaging''.
       (b) Redundancy.--Section 2243(a) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking ``crosses a State line with 
     intent to engage in a sexual act with a person who has not 
     attained the age of 12 years, or''.
       (c) State Defined.--Section 2246 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) the term `State' means a State of the United States, 
     the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, possession, 
     or territory of the United States.''.

     SEC. 302. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR ABUSIVE SEXUAL CONTACT.

       Section 2244 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Offenses Involving Young Children.--If the sexual 
     contact that violates this section is with an individual who 
     has not attained the age of 12 years, the maximum term of 
     imprisonment that may be imposed for the offense shall be 
     twice that otherwise provided in this section.''.

     SEC. 303. REPEAT OFFENDERS IN SEXUAL ABUSE CASES.

       Section 2247 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 2247. Repeat offenders

       ``(a) Maximum Term of Imprisonment.--The maximum term of 
     imprisonment for a violation of this chapter after a prior 
     sex offense conviction shall be twice the term otherwise 
     provided by this chapter.
       ``(b) Prior Sex Offense Conviction Defined.--In this 
     section, the term `prior sex offense conviction' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 2426(b).''.

    TITLE IV--PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF OBSCENE MATERIAL TO MINORS

     SEC. 401. TRANSFER OF OBSCENE MATERIAL TO MINORS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 71 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 1470. Transfer of obscene material to minors

       ``Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of 
     interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly transfers obscene 
     matter to another individual who has not attained the age of 
     16 years, knowing that such other individual has not attained 
     the age of 16 years, or attempts to do so, shall be fined 
     under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or 
     both.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for 
     chapter 71 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

``1470. Transfer of obscene material to minors.''.

  TITLE V--INCREASED PENALTIES FOR OFFENSES AGAINST CHILDREN AND FOR 
                            REPEAT OFFENDERS

     SEC. 501. DEATH OR LIFE IN PRISON FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES WHOSE 
                   VICTIMS ARE CHILDREN.

       Section 3559 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Death or Imprisonment for Crimes Against Children.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2) and 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who is 
     convicted of a Federal offense that is a serious violent 
     felony (as defined in subsection (c)) or a violation of 
     section 2422, 2423, or 2251 shall, unless the sentence of 
     death is imposed, be sentenced to imprisonment for life, if--

[[Page H10568]]

       ``(A) the victim of the offense has not attained the age of 
     14 years;
       ``(B) the victim dies as a result of the offense; and
       ``(C) the defendant, in the course of the offense, engages 
     in conduct described in section 3591(a)(2).
       ``(2) Exception.--With respect to a person convicted of a 
     Federal offense described in paragraph (1), the court may 
     impose any lesser sentence that is authorized by law to take 
     into account any substantial assistance provided by the 
     defendant in the investigation or prosecution of another 
     person who has committed an offense, in accordance with the 
     Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the policy statements of 
     the Federal Sentencing Commission pursuant to section 994(p) 
     of title 28, or for other good cause.''.

     SEC. 502. SENTENCING ENHANCEMENT FOR CHAPTER 117 OFFENSES.

       (a) In General.--Pursuant to its authority under section 
     994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States 
     Sentencing Commission shall review and amend the Federal 
     Sentencing Guidelines to provide a sentencing enhancement for 
     offenses under chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code.
       (b) Instruction to Commission.--In carrying out subsection 
     (a), the United States Sentencing Commission shall ensure 
     that the sentences, guidelines, and policy statements for 
     offenders convicted of offenses described in subsection (a) 
     are appropriately severe and reasonably consistent with other 
     relevant directives and with other Federal Sentencing 
     Guidelines.

     SEC. 503. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR USE OF A COMPUTER IN THE 
                   SEXUAL ABUSE OR EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD.

       Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 
     United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission 
     shall--
       (1) review the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for--
       (A) aggravated sexual abuse under section 2241 of title 18, 
     United States Code;
       (B) sexual abuse under section 2242 of title 18, United 
     States Code;
       (C) sexual abuse of a minor or ward under section 2243 of 
     title 18, United States Code; and
       (D) coercion and enticement of a minor under section 
     2422(b) of title 18, United States Code, contacting a minor 
     under section 2422(c) of title 18, United States Code, and 
     transportation of minors and travel under section 2423 of 
     title 18, United States Code; and
       (2) upon completion of the review under paragraph (1), 
     promulgate amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to 
     provide appropriate enhancement if the defendant used a 
     computer with the intent to persuade, induce, entice, coerce, 
     or facilitate the transport of a child of an age specified in 
     the applicable provision of law referred to in paragraph (1) 
     to engage in any prohibited sexual activity.

     SEC. 504. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR KNOWING MISREPRESENTATION 
                   IN THE SEXUAL ABUSE OR EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD.

       Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 
     United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission 
     shall--
       (1) review the Federal Sentencing Guidelines on aggravated 
     sexual abuse under section 2241 of title 18, United States 
     Code, sexual abuse under section 2242 of title 18, United 
     States Code, sexual abuse of a minor or ward under section 
     2243 of title 18, United States Code, coercion and enticement 
     of a minor under section 2422(b) of title 18, United States 
     Code, contacting a minor under section 2422(c) of title 18, 
     United States Code, and transportation of minors and travel 
     under section 2423 of title 18, United States Code; and
       (2) upon completion of the review under paragraph (1), 
     promulgate amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to 
     provide appropriate enhancement if the defendant knowingly 
     misrepresented the actual identity of the defendant with the 
     intent to persuade, induce, entice, coerce, or facilitate the 
     transport of a child of an age specified in the applicable 
     provision of law referred to in paragraph (1) to engage in a 
     prohibited sexual activity.

     SEC. 505. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR PATTERN OF ACTIVITY OF 
                   SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN.

       Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 
     United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission 
     shall--
       (1) review the Federal Sentencing Guidelines on aggravated 
     sexual abuse under section 2241 of title 18, United States 
     Code, sexual abuse under section 2242 of title 18, United 
     States Code, sexual abuse of a minor or ward under section 
     2243 of title 18, United States Code, coercion and enticement 
     of a minor under section 2422(b) of title 18, United States 
     Code, contacting a minor under section 2422(c) of title 18, 
     United States Code, and transportation of minors and travel 
     under section 2423 of title 18, United States Code; and
       (2) upon completion of the review under paragraph (1), 
     promulgate amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to 
     increase penalties applicable to the offenses referred to in 
     paragraph (1) in any case in which the defendant engaged in a 
     pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or 
     exploitation of a minor.

     SEC. 506. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF DISTRIBUTION OF 
                   PORNOGRAPHY.

       Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 
     United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission 
     shall--
       (1) review the Federal Sentencing Guidelines relating to 
     the distribution of pornography covered under chapter 110 of 
     title 18, United States Code, relating to the sexual 
     exploitation and other abuse of children; and
       (2) upon completion of the review under paragraph (1), 
     promulgate such amendments to the Federal Sentencing 
     Guidelines as are necessary to clarify that the term 
     ``distribution of pornography'' applies to the distribution 
     of pornography--
       (A) for monetary remuneration; or
       (B) for a nonpecuniary interest.

     SEC. 507. DIRECTIVE TO THE UNITED STATES SENTENCING 
                   COMMISSION.

       In carrying out this title, the United States Sentencing 
     Commission shall--
       (1) with respect to any action relating to the Federal 
     Sentencing Guidelines subject to this title, ensure 
     reasonable consistency with other guidelines of the Federal 
     Sentencing Guidelines; and
       (2) with respect to an offense subject to the Federal 
     Sentencing Guidelines, avoid duplicative punishment under the 
     Federal Sentencing Guidelines for substantially the same 
     offense.

       TITLE VI--CRIMINAL, PROCEDURAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS

     SEC. 601. PRETRIAL DETENTION OF SEXUAL PREDATORS.

       Section 3156(a)(4) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(C) any felony under chapter 109A, 110, or 117; and''.

     SEC. 602. CRIMINAL FORFEITURE FOR OFFENSES AGAINST MINORS.

       Section 2253 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``or 2252 of this chapter'' and inserting ``2252, 
     2252A, or 2260 of this chapter, or who is convicted of an 
     offense under section 2421, 2422, or 2423 of chapter 117,''.

     SEC. 603. CIVIL FORFEITURE FOR OFFENSES AGAINST MINORS.

       Section 2254(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or 2252 of this 
     chapter'' and inserting ``2252, 2252A, or 2260 of this 
     chapter, or used or intended to be used to commit or to 
     promote the commission of an offense under section 2421, 
     2422, or 2423 of chapter 117,''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or 2252 of this 
     chapter'' and inserting ``2252, 2252A, or 2260 of this 
     chapter, or obtained from a violation of section 2421, 2422, 
     or 2423 of chapter 117,''.

     SEC. 604. REPORTING OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY BY ELECTRONIC 
                   COMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS.

       (a) In General.--The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 
     U.S.C. 13001 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
     226 the following:

     ``SEC. 227. REPORTING OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY BY ELECTRONIC 
                   COMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) the term `electronic communication service' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 2510 of title 18, United 
     States Code; and
       ``(2) the term `remote computing service' has the meaning 
     given the term in section 2711 of title 18, United States 
     Code.
       ``(b) Requirements.--
       ``(1) Duty to report.--Whoever, while engaged in providing 
     an electronic communication service or a remote computing 
     service to the public, through a facility or means of 
     interstate or foreign commerce, obtains knowledge of facts or 
     circumstances from which a violation of section 2251, 2251A, 
     2252, 2252A, or 2260 of title 18, United States Code, 
     involving child pornography (as defined in section 2256 of 
     that title), is apparent, shall, as soon as reasonably 
     possible, make a report of such facts or circumstances to a 
     law enforcement agency or agencies designated by the Attorney 
     General.
       ``(2) Designation of agencies.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of enactment of this section, the Attorney 
     General shall designate the law enforcement agency or 
     agencies to which a report shall be made under paragraph (1).
       ``(3) Failure to report.--A provider of electronic 
     communication services or remote computing services described 
     in paragraph (1) who knowingly and willfully fails to make a 
     report under that paragraph shall be fined--
       ``(A) in the case of an initial failure to make a report, 
     not more than $50,000; and
       ``(B) in the case of any second or subsequent failure to 
     make a report, not more than $100,000.
       ``(c) Civil Liability.--No provider or user of an 
     electronic communication service or a remote computing 
     service to the public shall be held liable on account of any 
     action taken in good faith to comply with this section.
       ``(d) Limitation of Information or Material Required in 
     Report.--A report under subsection (b)(1) may include 
     additional information or material developed by an electronic 
     communication service or remote computing service, except 
     that the Federal Government may not require the production of 
     such information or material in that report.
       ``(e) Monitoring Not Required.--Nothing in this section may 
     be construed to require a provider of electronic 
     communication services or remote computing services to engage 
     in the monitoring of any user, subscriber, or customer of 
     that provider, or the content of any communication of any 
     such person.
       ``(f) Conditions of Disclosure of Information Contained 
     Within Report.--
       ``(1) In general.--No law enforcement agency that receives 
     a report under subsection (b)(1) shall disclose any 
     information contained in that report, except that disclosure 
     of such information may be made--
       ``(A) to an attorney for the government for use in the 
     performance of the official duties of the attorney;
       ``(B) to such officers and employees of the law enforcement 
     agency, as may be necessary in the performance of their 
     investigative and recordkeeping functions;
       ``(C) to such other government personnel (including 
     personnel of a State or subdivision of a State) as are 
     determined to be necessary by an attorney for the government 
     to assist the attorney in the performance of the official 
     duties of

[[Page H10569]]

     the attorney in enforcing Federal criminal law; or
       ``(D) as permitted by a court at the request of an attorney 
     for the government, upon a showing that such information may 
     disclose a violation of State criminal law, to an appropriate 
     official of a State or subdivision of a State for the purpose 
     of enforcing such State law.
       ``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms `attorney 
     for the government' and `State' have the meanings given those 
     terms in Rule 54 of the Federal Rules of Criminal 
     Procedure.''.
       (b) Exception to Prohibition on Disclosure.--Section 
     2702(b)(6) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(6) to a law enforcement agency--
       ``(A) if the contents--
       ``(i) were inadvertently obtained by the service provider; 
     and
       ``(ii) appear to pertain to the commission of a crime; or
       ``(B) if required by section 227 of the Crime Control Act 
     of 1990.''.

     SEC. 605. CIVIL REMEDY FOR PERSONAL INJURIES RESULTING FROM 
                   CERTAIN SEX CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN.

       Section 2255(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``2251 or 2252'' and inserting ``2241(c), 2242, 
     2243, 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422, or 2423''.

     SEC. 606. ADMINISTRATIVE SUBPOENAS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 223 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 3486, by striking the section designation 
     and heading and inserting the following:

     ``Sec. 3486. Administrative subpoenas in Federal health care 
       investigations''; and

       (2) by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 3486A. Administrative subpoenas in cases involving 
       child abuse and child sexual exploitation

       ``(a) Authorization.--
       ``(1) In general.--In any investigation relating to any act 
     or activity involving a violation of section 1201, 2241(c), 
     2242, 2243, 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422, or 
     2423 of this title in which the victim is an individual who 
     has not attained the age of 18 years, the Attorney General, 
     or the designee of the Attorney General, may issue in writing 
     and cause to be served a subpoena--
       ``(A) requiring a provider of electronic communication 
     service or remote computing service to disclose the name, 
     address, local and long distance telephone toll billing 
     records, telephone number or other subscriber number or 
     identity, and length of service of a subscriber to or 
     customer of such service and the types of services the 
     subscriber or customer utilized, which may be relevant to an 
     authorized law enforcement inquiry; or
       ``(B) requiring a custodian of records to give testimony 
     concerning the production and authentication of such records 
     or information.
       ``(2) Attendance of witnesses.--Witnesses summoned under 
     this section shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are 
     paid witnesses in the courts of the United States.
       ``(b) Procedures Applicable.--The same procedures for 
     service and enforcement as are provided with respect to 
     investigative demands in section 3486 apply with respect to a 
     subpoena issued under this section.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for 
     chapter 223 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking the item relating to section 3486 and inserting the 
     following:

``3486. Administrative subpoenas in Federal health care investigations.
``3486A. Administrative subpoenas in cases involving child abuse and 
              child sexual exploitation.''.

     SEC. 607. GRANTS TO STATES TO OFFSET COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH 
                   SEXUALLY VIOLENT OFFENDER REGISTRATION 
                   REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 170101 of the Violent Crime 
     Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071) is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating the second subsection designated as 
     subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(i) Grants to States for Costs of Compliance.--
       ``(1) Program authorized.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice 
     Assistance (in this subsection referred to as the `Director') 
     shall carry out a program, which shall be known as the `Sex 
     Offender Management Assistance Program' (in this subsection 
     referred to as the `SOMA program'), under which the Director 
     shall award a grant to each eligible State to offset costs 
     directly associated with complying with this section.
       ``(B) Uses of funds.--Each grant awarded under this 
     subsection shall be--
       ``(i) distributed directly to the State for distribution to 
     State and local entities; and
       ``(ii) used for training, salaries, equipment, materials, 
     and other costs directly associated with complying with this 
     section.
       ``(2) Eligibility.--
       ``(A) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this subsection, the chief executive of a State shall, on an 
     annual basis, submit to the Director an application (in such 
     form and containing such information as the Director may 
     reasonably require) assuring that--
       ``(i) the State complies with (or made a good faith effort 
     to comply with) this section; and
       ``(ii) where applicable, the State has penalties comparable 
     to or greater than Federal penalties for crimes listed in 
     this section, except that the Director may waive the 
     requirement of this clause if a State demonstrates an 
     overriding need for assistance under this subsection.
       ``(B) Regulations.--
       ``(i) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this subsection, the Director shall promulgate 
     regulations to implement this subsection (including the 
     information that must be included and the requirements that 
     the States must meet) in submitting the applications required 
     under this subsection. In allocating funds under this 
     subsection, the Director may consider the annual number of 
     sex offenders registered in each eligible State's monitoring 
     and notification programs.
       ``(ii) Certain training programs.--Prior to implementing 
     this subsection, the Director shall study the feasibility of 
     incorporating into the SOMA program the activities of any 
     technical assistance or training program established as a 
     result of section 40152 of this Act. In a case in which 
     incorporating such activities into the SOMA program will 
     eliminate duplication of efforts or administrative costs, the 
     Director shall take administrative actions, as allowable, and 
     make recommendations to Congress to incorporate such 
     activities into the SOMA program prior to implementing the 
     SOMA program.
       ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, $25,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 1999 and 2000.''.
       (b) Study.--Not later than March 1, 2000, the Director 
     shall conduct a study to assess the efficacy of the Sex 
     Offender Management Assistance Program under section 
     170101(i) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 
     Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071(i)), as added by this section, 
     and submit recommendations to Congress.

            TITLE VII--MURDER AND KIDNAPPING INVESTIGATIONS

     SEC. 701. AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE SERIAL KILLINGS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 33 of title 28, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 540B. Investigation of serial killings

       ``(a) In General.--The Attorney General and the Director of 
     the Federal Bureau of Investigation may investigate serial 
     killings in violation of the laws of a State or political 
     subdivision, if such investigation is requested by the head 
     of a law enforcement agency with investigative or 
     prosecutorial jurisdiction over the offense.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Killing.--The term `killing' means conduct that would 
     constitute an offense under section 1111 of title 18, United 
     States Code, if Federal jurisdiction existed.
       ``(2) Serial killings.--The term `serial killings' means a 
     series of 3 or more killings, not less than 1 of which was 
     committed within the United States, having common 
     characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility 
     that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.
       ``(3) State.--The term `State' means a State of the United 
     States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, 
     territory, or possession of the United States.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for 
     chapter 33 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at end the following:

``540B. Investigation of serial killings.''.

     SEC. 702. KIDNAPPING.

       (a) Clarification of Element of Offense.--Section 
     1201(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     inserting ``, regardless of whether the person was alive when 
     transported across a State boundary if the person was alive 
     when the transportation began'' before the semicolon.
       (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 1201(a)(5) of title 18, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``designated'' and 
     inserting ``described''.
       (c) 24-Hour Rule.--Section 1201(b) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
     ``Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the fact that the 
     presumption under this section has not yet taken effect does 
     not preclude a Federal investigation of a possible violation 
     of this section before the 24-hour period has ended.''.

     SEC. 703. MORGAN P. HARDIMAN CHILD ABDUCTION AND SERIAL 
                   MURDER INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCES CENTER.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 
     establish within the Federal Bureau of Investigation a Child 
     Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center to 
     be known as the ``Morgan P. Hardiman Child Abduction and 
     Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center'' (in this 
     section referred to as the ``CASMIRC'').
       (b) Purpose.--The CASMIRC shall be managed by National 
     Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime of the Critical 
     Incident Response Group of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation (in this section referred to as the ``NCAVC''), 
     and by multidisciplinary resource teams in Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation field offices, in order to provide 
     investigative support through the coordination and provision 
     of Federal law enforcement resources, training, and 
     application of other multidisciplinary expertise, to assist 
     Federal, State, and local authorities in matters involving 
     child abductions, mysterious disappearance of children, child 
     homicide, and serial murder across the country. The CASMIRC 
     shall be co-located with the NCAVC.
       (c) Duties of the CASMIRC.--The CASMIRC shall perform such 
     duties as the Attorney General determines appropriate to 
     carry out the purposes of the CASMIRC, including--
       (1) identifying, developing, researching, acquiring, and 
     refining multidisciplinary information and specialities to 
     provide for the most current expertise available to advance 
     investigative knowledge and practices used in child 
     abduction, mysterious disappearance of children, child 
     homicide, and serial murder investigations;

[[Page H10570]]

       (2) providing advice and coordinating the application of 
     current and emerging technical, forensic, and other Federal 
     assistance to Federal, State, and local authorities in child 
     abduction, mysterious disappearances of children, child 
     homicide, and serial murder investigations;
       (3) providing investigative support, research findings, and 
     violent crime analysis to Federal, State, and local 
     authorities in child abduction, mysterious disappearances of 
     children, child homicide, and serial murder investigations;
       (4) providing, if requested by a Federal, State, or local 
     law enforcement agency, on site consultation and advice in 
     child abduction, mysterious disappearances of children, child 
     homicide and serial murder investigations;
       (5) coordinating the application of resources of pertinent 
     Federal law enforcement agencies, and other Federal entities 
     including, but not limited to, the United States Customs 
     Service, the Secret Service, the Postal Inspection Service, 
     and the United States Marshals Service, as appropriate, and 
     with the concurrence of the agency head to support Federal, 
     State, and local law enforcement involved in child abduction, 
     mysterious disappearance of a child, child homicide, and 
     serial murder investigations;
       (6) conducting ongoing research related to child 
     abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, child 
     homicides, and serial murder, including identification and 
     investigative application of current and emerging 
     technologies, identification of investigative searching 
     technologies and methods for physically locating abducted 
     children, investigative use of offender behavioral assessment 
     and analysis concepts, gathering statistics and information 
     necessary for case identification, trend analysis, and case 
     linkages to advance the investigative effectiveness of 
     outstanding abducted children cases, develop investigative 
     systems to identify and track serious serial offenders that 
     repeatedly victimize children for comparison to unsolved 
     cases, and other investigative research pertinent to child 
     abduction, mysterious disappearance of a child, child 
     homicide, and serial murder covered in this section;
       (7) working under the NCAVC in coordination with the 
     National Center For Missing and Exploited Children and the 
     Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the 
     Department of Justice to provide appropriate training to 
     Federal, State, and local law enforcement in matters 
     regarding child abductions, mysterious disappearances of 
     children, child homicides; and
       (8) establishing a centralized repository based upon case 
     data reflecting child abductions, mysterious disappearances 
     of children, child homicides and serial murder submitted by 
     State and local agencies, and an automated system for the 
     efficient collection, retrieval, analysis, and reporting of 
     information regarding CASMIRC investigative resources, 
     research, and requests for and provision of investigative 
     support services.
       (d) Appointment of Personnel to the CASMIRC.--
       (1) Selection of members of the casmirc and participating 
     state and local law enforcement personnel.--The Director of 
     the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall appoint the members 
     of the CASMIRC. The CASMIRC shall be staffed with Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation personnel and other necessary 
     personnel selected for their expertise that would enable them 
     to assist in the research, data collection, and analysis, and 
     provision of investigative support in child abduction, 
     mysterious disappearance of children, child homicide and 
     serial murder investigations. The Director may, with 
     concurrence of the appropriate State or local agency, also 
     appoint State and local law enforcement personnel to work 
     with the CASMIRC.
       (2) Status.--Each member of the CASMIRC (and each 
     individual from any State or local law enforcement agency 
     appointed to work with the CASMIRC) shall remain as an 
     employee of that member's or individual's respective agency 
     for all purposes (including the purpose of performance 
     review), and service with the CASMIRC shall be without 
     interruption or loss of civil service privilege or status and 
     shall be on a nonreimbursable basis, except if appropriate to 
     reimburse State and local law enforcement for overtime costs 
     for an individual appointed to work with the resource team. 
     Additionally, reimbursement of travel and per diem expenses 
     will occur for State and local law enforcement participation 
     in resident fellowship programs at the NCAVC when offered.
       (3) Training.--CASMIRC personnel, under the guidance of the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the 
     Analysis of Violent Crime and in consultation with the 
     National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, shall 
     develop a specialized course of instruction devoted to 
     training members of the CASMIRC consistent with the purpose 
     of this section. The CASMIRC shall also work with the 
     National Center For Missing and Exploited Children and the 
     Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the 
     Department of Justice to develop a course of instruction for 
     State and local law enforcement personnel to facilitate the 
     dissemination of the most current multidisciplinary expertise 
     in the investigation of child abductions, mysterious 
     disappearances of children, child homicides, and serial 
     murder of children.
       (e) Report to Congress.--One year after the establishment 
     of the CASMIRC, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 
     a report, which shall include--
       (1) a description of the goals and activities of the 
     CASMIRC; and
       (2) information regarding--
       (A) the number and qualifications of the members appointed 
     to the CASMIRC;
       (B) the provision of equipment, administrative support, and 
     office space for the CASMIRC; and
       (C) the projected resource needs for the CASMIRC.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001.
       (g) Conforming Amendment.--Subtitle C of title XVII of the 
     Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 
     U.S.C. 5776a et seq.) is repealed.

     TITLE VIII--RESTRICTED ACCESS TO INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICES

     SEC. 801. PRISONER ACCESS.

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no agency, 
     officer, or employee of the United States shall implement, or 
     provide any financial assistance to, any Federal program or 
     Federal activity in which a Federal prisoner is allowed 
     access to any electronic communication service or remote 
     computing service without the supervision of an official of 
     the Federal Government.

     SEC. 802. RECOMMENDED PROHIBITION.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) a Minnesota State prisoner, serving 23 years for 
     molesting teenage girls, worked for a nonprofit work and 
     education program inside the prison, through which the 
     prisoner had unsupervised access to the Internet;
       (2) the prisoner, through his unsupervised access to the 
     Internet, trafficked in child pornography over the Internet;
       (3) Federal law enforcement authorities caught the prisoner 
     with a computer disk containing 280 pictures of juveniles 
     engaged in sexually explicit conduct;
       (4) a jury found the prisoner guilty of conspiring to trade 
     in child pornography and possessing child pornography;
       (5) the United States District Court for the District of 
     Minnesota sentenced the prisoner to 87 months in Federal 
     prison, to be served upon the completion of his 23-year State 
     prison term; and
       (6) there has been an explosion in the use of the Internet 
     in the United States, further placing our Nation's children 
     at risk of harm and exploitation at the hands of predators on 
     the Internet and increasing the ease of trafficking in child 
     pornography.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     State Governors, State legislators, and State prison 
     administrators should prohibit unsupervised access to the 
     Internet by State prisoners.

     SEC. 803. SURVEY.

       (a) Survey.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall conduct a 
     survey of the States to determine to what extent each State 
     allows prisoners access to any interactive computer service 
     and whether such access is supervised by a prison official.
       (b) Report.--The Attorney General shall submit a report to 
     Congress of the findings of the survey conducted pursuant to 
     subsection (a).
       (c) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' 
     means each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

                           TITLE IX--STUDIES

     SEC. 901. STUDY ON LIMITING THE AVAILABILITY OF PORNOGRAPHY 
                   ON THE INTERNET.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall request 
     that the National Academy of Sciences, acting through its 
     National Research Council, enter into a contract to conduct a 
     study of computer-based technologies and other approaches to 
     the problem of the availability of pornographic material to 
     children on the Internet, in order to develop possible 
     amendments to Federal criminal law and other law enforcement 
     techniques to respond to the problem.
       (b) Contents of Study.--The study under this section shall 
     address each of the following:
       (1) The capabilities of present-day computer-based control 
     technologies for controlling electronic transmission of 
     pornographic images.
       (2) Research needed to develop computer-based control 
     technologies to the point of practical utility for 
     controlling the electronic transmission of pornographic 
     images.
       (3) Any inherent limitations of computer-based control 
     technologies for controlling electronic transmission of 
     pornographic images.
       (4) Operational policies or management techniques needed to 
     ensure the effectiveness of these control technologies for 
     controlling electronic transmission of pornographic images.
       (c) Final Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to 
     the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate a final report of the study 
     under this section, which report shall--
       (1) set forth the findings, conclusions, and 
     recommendations of the Council; and
       (2) be submitted by the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
     House of Representatives and the Senate to relevant 
     Government agencies and committees of Congress.

     SEC. 902. STUDY OF HOTLINES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall conduct 
     a study in accordance with subsection (b) and submit to 
     Congress a report on the results of that study.
       (b) Contents of Study.--The study under this section shall 
     include an examination of--
       (1) existing State programs for informing the public about 
     the presence of sexual predators released from prison, as 
     required in section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control and 
     Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071), including the 
     use of CD-ROMs, Internet databases, and Sexual Offender 
     Identification Hotlines, such as those used in the State of 
     California; and
       (2) the feasibility of establishing a national hotline for 
     parents to access a Federal Bureau of Investigation database 
     that tracks the location of convicted sexual predators 
     established under section 170102 of the Violent Crime Control 
     and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C.

[[Page H10571]]

     14072) and, in determining that feasibility, the Attorney 
     General shall examine issues including the cost, necessary 
     changes to Federal and State laws necessitated by the 
     creation of such a hotline, consistency with Federal and 
     State case law pertaining to community notification, and the 
     need for, and accuracy and reliability of, the information 
     available through such a hotline.
         Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to amend title 
     18, United States Code, to protect children from sexual abuse 
     and exploitation, and for other purposes.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H.R. 3494, the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3494, the Child Protection and Sexual Predator 
Punishment Act of 1998, is a very important piece of legislation that 
responds to the horrifying threat of sex crimes against children, 
particularly crimes against children facilitated by the Internet.
  The House passed this measure in June by a vote of 416 to zero, and 
the other body passed the bill with amendments by unanimous consent 
this past Friday night.
  Mr. Speaker, industry experts estimate that more than 10 million 
children currently spend time on the information superhighway; and by 
the year 2002, 45 million children will use the Internet to talk with 
friends, do homework assignments and explore the vast world around 
them. Computer technologies and Internet innovations have unveiled a 
world of information that is literally just a mouse click away.
  Unfortunately, individuals who seek children to sexually exploit and 
victimize them are also a mouse click away. Sex offenders who prey on 
children no longer need to hang out in parks or malls or school yards. 
Instead, they can roam from web site to chat room seeking victims with 
little risk of detection.
  The anonymous nature of the online relationship allows users to 
misrepresent their age, gender or interests. Children are rarely 
supervised while they are on the Internet. Unfortunately, this is 
exactly what cyber-predators look for.
  We are seeing numerous accounts in which pedophiles have used the 
Internet to seduce or persuade children to meet them to engage in 
sexual activities. Children who have been persuaded to meet their new 
online friend face-to-face have been kidnapped, raped, photographed for 
child pornography, or worse. Some children have never been heard from 
again.
  Three factors: the skyrocketing online presence of children, the 
proliferation of child pornography on the Internet and the presence of 
sexual predators trolling for unsupervised contact with children has 
resulted in a chilling mix which has resulted in far too many terrible 
tragedies that steal the innocence from our children and create scars 
for life.
  H.R. 3494 provides law enforcement with the tools it needs to 
investigate and bring to justice those individuals who prey on our 
Nation's children and sends a message to those individuals who commit 
these heinous crimes that they will be punished swiftly and severely.
  The other body made some amendments to the House-passed version of 
this bill, which I think are disappointing. The underlying House bill 
would have prohibited contacting a minor over the Internet for purposes 
of engaging in illegal sexual activity. The Senate amendment, which we 
are considering today, strikes this language.
  The House bill also would have established a 3-year minimum term of 
imprisonment for using that computer to entice or coerce a minor to 
engage in illegal sexual activity and would have cracked down on serial 
rapists by mandating life in prison for such repeat offenders. 
Unfortunately, the Senate amendment strikes this language.
  However, there are a good number of things in this bill, and I am 
convinced the bill will be of great assistance to the criminal justice 
community.
  This bill targets pedophiles who stalk children on the Internet. It 
prohibits knowingly transferring obscene materials to a minor or an 
assumed minor over the Internet. This bill also prohibits transmitting 
or advertising identifying information about a child to encourage or 
facilitate criminal sexual activity. This bill doubles the maximum 
prison sentence from 5 to 10 years for enticing a minor to travel 
across State lines to engage in illegal sexual activity and increases 
the maximum prison sentence from 10 to 15 years for persuading a minor 
to engage in prostitution or a sexual act.
  In addition to Internet-related crimes, this bill also includes other 
very important provisions, such as authorizing criminal forfeiture and 
pretrial detention for Federal sex offenders. The bill also increases 
the maximum prison sentence from 10 to 15 years for transporting a 
minor in interstate commerce for prostitution or sexual activity and 
requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend the 
sentencing guidelines to increase the penalties for a number of Federal 
sex offenses against children.
  This bill doubles prison sentences for abusive sexual contact if the 
victim is under the age of 12 and doubles the maximum prison sentence 
available for second-time sex offenders.
  H.R. 3494 gives law enforcement the tools it needs to track down 
pedophiles, kidnappers and serial killers. The bill allows for 
administrative subpoenas in certain child exploitation investigations 
and provides for the immediate commencement of Federal investigations 
in kidnapping cases.
  The bill also allows for the Federal investigation of serial murder 
offenses when such an investigation is requested by a State or local 
law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the offense.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a substantive bill that the subcommittee has 
worked very hard to put together. It is the most comprehensive package 
of new crimes and increased penalties we have ever developed in 
response to this horrible problem.
  It is a bipartisan effort. It is supported by the administration. 
Moreover, this bill received a great amount of input from several 
Members of Congress, Federal, State and local law enforcement, child 
advocacy groups and victims' parents. Were it not for their invaluable 
assistance, I would not be proposing this essential package of 
legislation today.
  Mr. Speaker, the chairman, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum), 
could not be here today, but I know he is very pleased that this 
legislation has received such overwhelming support by the House and 
Senate and that if it passes today it will go to the President for 
signature.
  This is an important bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), 
who cannot be with us at this time, I rise in support of this timely, 
much-needed piece of legislation.
  H.R. 3494 is a comprehensive response to the horrifying menace of sex 
crimes against children, particularly assaults facilitated by 
computers. While there are currently no estimates as to the number of 
children victimized in cyberspace, the rate at which Federal, State and 
local law enforcement are confronted with these types of cases is 
growing at a rapid rate.
  The Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act seeks to 
address the challenges posed by the new computer age to these 
challenges by providing law enforcement with the tools it needs to 
investigate and bring to justice those individuals who prey on our 
Nation's children.

                              {time}  1430

  The legislation makes a number of important changes, principally by 
targeting pedophiles who stalk children on the Internet and by cracking 
down on pedophiles who use and distribute

[[Page H10572]]

child pornography to lure children into sexual encounters.
  This legislation passed the House unanimously last June. However, the 
Senate made several significant changes to that bill. Many of these 
changes are worthwhile. For example, this version of the bill contains 
no mandatory minimum sentences. Although none of us support the type of 
conduct covered by the bill, it is not productive to tie judges' hands 
with one-size-fits-all mandatory minimum sentences.
  The original House bill was also too broad in that it made it a crime 
to contact or attempt to contact a minor. This was so broad that it 
would have covered a simple ``hello'' in an Internet chat room. 
Targeting attempts to make contact is like prosecuting a thought crime.
  Another overbroad provision in the original House bill would have 
prohibited transmittal of identifying information about any person 
under 18 for the purpose of encouraging unlawful sexual activity. This 
would have had the absurd result of prohibiting a person under the age 
of 18 from e-mailing her own address or telephone number to her 
boyfriend. The Senate fixed this problem by making it clear that a 
violation must involve someone else's identifying information.
  Another problematic provision in the original House bill gives the 
Attorney General sweeping authority to subpoena records and witnesses 
in investigations involving crimes against children. We need to be 
extremely careful before we further extend the Justice Department's 
administrative subpoena authority. This gives Federal agents the power 
to compel disclosures without any oversight by a Federal judge.
  I am also pleased to announce that we have reached accommodation on 
new reporting requirements for Internet service providers. Under the 
bill, Internet service providers have a duty to make a report to law 
enforcement authorities when they obtain knowledge of a material from 
which a violation of the Federal child pornography laws is apparent. I 
believe this is stricter than the probable cause standard which has 
also been proposed and will reduce incentives for over-reporting. This 
standard is acceptable to providers such as America On Line.
  The principal concern that I believe the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers) and other Members have, and so do I, with the revised bill, is 
that it excludes language from the Violence against Women Act II bill 
that the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Schumer) introduced this year and which the House added 
unanimously. Although the Senate was not ready to expand the rights of 
women who are subject to horrible abuse, we will continue to fight for 
them in the future until this bill becomes law.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield three minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller).
  (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Arkansas for yielding 
me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here in support of what is very, very 
important legislation, legislation that is intended to protect children 
from those who would prey on them using the latest technology. The 
Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act is important 
legislation that has earned bipartisan support, deserves bipartisan 
support, and I hope will be signed into law by the President soon.
  I particularly want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Chairman 
McCollum), who is, unfortunately, not with us here today, for his 
leadership and help on this legislation, as well as Members of the 
committee for their bipartisan efforts in getting this important 
legislation through the House, through the Senate and now ready to send 
to the President.
  I would like to speak briefly on a provision I sought to have 
included in this legislation as a response to an unfortunate incident 
that occurred in the 11th Congressional District of Illinois in the 
south suburbs.
  In the summer of 1977, the Boehle family in Joliet, Illinois, began 
receiving telephone calls at all hours of the day and night, strange 
men asking for their nine year old daughter by name. Now, imagine that. 
Imagine if you are a parent with a little girl under the age of 10, and 
at all hours of the day and night strange men are calling asking 
specifically for your little girl, your daughter, by name.
  As a result of that, the family looked into why they were trying to 
get phone calls, and they discovered that somebody had posted messages 
on the Internet posing as their nine year old little girl. The messages 
implied that she was having sex with her father, that she wanted to 
have sex with other grown men, and that she had photos for sale.
  These messages were posted on message boards targeted to pedophiles, 
and they included her full name, home phone number and her hometown. As 
a result of these messages, they began receiving these disturbing 
telephone calls for their nine year old little girl at all hours of the 
day and night.
  When Mrs. Boehle read with horror the messages that were posted about 
her daughter, she called the police, and they told her that nothing 
could be done, that there was no law against this type of action.
  She contacted the FBI, and they worked for three weeks to try and 
find a statute, a law, they could use to prosecute the perpetrator, and 
they came up empty.
  The police advised the Boehle family to move, which they did. While 
they knew that nothing could be done legally, they knew that any 
pedophile that read these messages could find their home and find their 
daughter. Due to this grave danger, they sold their home, uprooted 
their lives, left their church and schools and moved out of their 
community.
  At this time Mrs. Boehle contacted me seeking help. As a result of 
working in response to Mrs. Boehle's leadership and with the help of 
local, state and Federal law enforcement, I introduced H.R. 2815, the 
Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act. I want to thank the 
gentleman from Florida (Chairman McCollum) for including this important 
piece of legislation as an amendment to H.R. 3494. This provision will 
make it illegal to use the Internet to transmit the name, telephone 
number or other identifying information of a child.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to do everything we can to ensure that the 
wierdos, the whackos, the slimeballs, those who would use the latest 
technology to prey on children and their families, are stopped. I 
applaud the work of the Committee on the Judiciary and applaud the work 
of the House and ask unanimous support for this legislation.

                 [From the Herald News, Apr. 19, 1998]

                   Free Speech, Child Safety at Odds

                           (By Dori Meinert)

       Washington.--You say your 10-year-old daughter needs to do 
     a little research for a school paper on the government?
       If she logs on to an innocuous looking address that 
     includes the word ``whitehouse,'' you'll both be in for a 
     surprise.
       Instead of information about the president, she'll see a 
     scantily clad woman lying on an American flag. The Web site 
     boasts that it's ``one of the most controversial and erotic 
     Web sites in the world.''
       Such sites are noted by some in Congress to argue in 
     support of federal regulation of the Internet, which some 62 
     million Americans now are using.
       How can society protect both free speech and children in 
     cyberspace?
       That's the problem that faces members of Congress this 
     spring as they sort through several bills introduced since 
     the Supreme Court last year overturned the Communications 
     Decency Act, which would have banned the dissemination to 
     minors any material that is ``indecent'' or ``patently 
     offensive.''
       Given the huge constitutional issues involved and the 
     shortened congressional work schedule this year, it's unclear 
     whether any of these bills will be enacted before Congress 
     adjourns this fall.
       However, if any of the more than 50 Internet-related bills 
     stand a chance of passage in this election year, it would be 
     those that aim to protect children, observers say.


                          congress in quandary

       ``Congress is in a quandary,'' said Jeff Chester, executive 
     director of the Center for Media Education, which advocates 
     Internet regulation to protect children. The various bills 
     set different age limits for ``minors,'' ranging from age 16 
     to 18.
       ``Clearly, we need to put some laws in place to protect 
     some children and youth who are online. The goal is to 
     strike a balance that nurtures the First Amendment 
     potential of the Internet, but at the same time safeguards 
     our privacy,'' Chester said.

[[Page H10573]]

       On Thursday, the House crime subcommittee is scheduled to 
     hold a hearing on proposals for protecting kids from cyber-
     predators.
       Among those expected to testify are Deborah Boehle of Kane 
     County, whose family has filed a $3 million civil suit 
     against a former neighbor in Joliet for allegedly posting 
     their 9-year-old daughter's name and phone number on 14 
     Internet newsgroups with messages indicating she was 
     available for sex.
       The family says it was forced to move from their Joliet 
     home out of fear that a pedophile would show up on their 
     doorstep.
       Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris, and Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, 
     D-Ill., have proposed legislation attempting to punish those 
     who solicit children for criminal acts over the Internet.
       Moseley-Braun, who is expected to introduce her bill next 
     week, has been working with the American Civil Liberties 
     Union (ACLU) to craft a narrowly tailored version that could 
     survive a court challenge.


                             predators loom

       A growing concern for law-enforcement agencies are 
     predators who lure children into on-line ``chat rooms'' and 
     eventually to real-life meetings.
       Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., who chairs the House crime 
     subcommittee, has proposed legislation that would prohibit 
     contacting a minor over the Internet for the purposes of 
     engaging in illegal sexual activity and knowningly 
     transferring obscene materials to a minor over the Internet.
       Next month, the Senate may hold a ``high-tech'' week 
     devoted to several Internet-related bills, including those 
     aimed at protecting children.
       Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., 
     has been discussing that possibility with Senate Majority 
     Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., McCain's aide said.
       One proposal likely to come up for a floor vote that week 
     is McCain's bill that would require public schools and 
     libraries to use special ``filtering'' technology to keep 
     children from gaining access to pornographic materials on the 
     Internet. The Commerce Committee approved the bill last 
     month.
       The Senate also may take up a bill introduced by Sen. Dan 
     Coats, R-Ind., that would ban commercial distribution over 
     the Web of materials considered ``harmful to minors.''
       Coat's bill presents the same constitutional problems as 
     its predecessor, the Communications Decency Act, which was 
     overturned by the Supreme Court last June, said ACLU 
     Washington staff counsel Cassidy Sehgal.
       Yet, ``Everyone says that if they vote against an anti-
     pornography bill in an election year, it would be politically 
     devastating,'' Sehgal said.
       The nation's high court said the Communications Decency 
     Act, which was aimed at protecting children, was so broad 
     that it would have restricted adult conversations. The 
     justices ruled that the Internet is entitled to the broadest 
     free-speech protections.


                          filtering technology

       McCain's bill requiring special technology to filter out 
     pornography at schools and libraries would place an added 
     financial burden on poorer communities, which then may not be 
     able to afford Internet access, Sehgal said.
       The ACLU argues that such filtering software--which could 
     cost an initial $8,000 and $3,000 a year to be maintained--is 
     tantamount to ``removing books from the shelves'' of the 
     Internet that have value to adults and children alike. The 
     ACLU has had some initial victories in the filtering battle 
     in the lower courts.
       The Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center 
     tested some filtering software and found it blocked access to 
     almost 90 percent of Internet sites that mentioned common 
     phrases such as ``American Red Cross,'' ``Bill of Rights,'' 
     and ``Smithsonian Institution.''
       The Clinton administration and many in Congress are 
     reluctant to restrict the burgeoning information technology 
     industry, preferring instead to encourage voluntary self-
     monitoring.
       ``The Internet is Aladdin's lamp,'' Chester said. ``Rub it 
     the right way and it will transform the American economy and 
     the political system and enrich us all. On the other hand, 
     that genie out of the bottle is likely to be an insidious 
     monster robbing us of privacy.''
                                  ____


                 [From the Courier News, Mar. 18, 1998]

              Internet Abuse Shows Need for Speech Limits

                          (By Deborah Boehle)

       What would you do if you discovered that your 9-year old 
     daughter's name and phone number had been posted by someone 
     on 14 Internet newsgroups, along with messages that were 
     invitations to pedophiles to call her 24 hours a day?
       When this happened to us last August, we called the police, 
     but it was like a slap in the face to be told that little 
     could be done. I couldn't believe that this was not illegal, 
     so I called the state police, the FBI, the state's attorney, 
     the attorney general and many more government offices.
       In fact, I was on the phone all day. Person after person 
     told me that this was not against the law. After all, when 
     the Supreme Court struck down the Communications Decency Act 
     only two months earlier, they had reinforced the right of 
     Americans to say anything on the Internet.
       Our life had been turned upside-down. A part of our 
     daughter's childhood had been stolen from her. She was now 
     fearful of things that she should not even know exists, and 
     everybody kept talking about the other guy's rights. We're 
     not even talking about criminals' right here, because this 
     person had not committed a crime. Why is there not a law to 
     protect my daughter's rights and her well-being?
       By using a reverse directory on the Internet, any pedophile 
     could have our complete address within seconds. With only one 
     more click of the mouse, a pedophile could even have a map of 
     our neighborhood. Was there a pedophile out there crazy 
     enough to come looking for our neighborhood? Those messages 
     clearly stated that she wanted to have sex with grown men, 
     and the messages even promised pornographic pictures.
       The police advised us to move--to leave our neighborhood, 
     our town, our friends, our church and our children's school. 
     Although we could not afford to do so, we felt that no price 
     was too high to pay for our daughter's safety.
       Since moving to our new home, I have been working to get 
     legislation passed that would make it illegal for anyone to 
     put personal information on the Internet that could be used 
     to target a child for sexual contact. U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, 
     R-Morris, introduced legislation in the U.S. House last 
     November, but it will not be an easy task to get this 
     legislation passed.
       Our first nemesis is right here in Illinois: U.S. Sen. 
     Richard Durbin. According to staffers Joel Wiggington in the 
     Washington, D.C., office and Adrienne Jones in the Chicago 
     office, Durbin refuses to support any legislation such as 
     this because he believes it is unconstitutional. There is a 
     price we pay for democracy, but giving citizens unlimited 
     free speech at the expense of children's lives is too high a 
     price.
       As a reporter myself, I am very protective of my First 
     Amendment rights, but no one needs to have the right to 
     endanger children's lives. The Constitution was written to 
     protect the citizens of this country, not to put us at risk. 
     When the writers of the Constitution said we had a right to 
     bear arms, they were talking about a musket, not a fully 
     automatic rifle. They said we had a right to express 
     ourselves freely so that we could voice our opinion in a 
     newspaper column and not be tarred and feathered. They could 
     not have even imagined that someday there would be a medium 
     such as the Internet that would allow citizens to write 
     something that could endanger a child's life and that it 
     could be read by millions.
       Durbin clearly sees that there are limits to the Fourth 
     Amendment because there is no reason that a law-abiding 
     citizen would need to purchase a fully automatic rifle to go 
     duck hunting. And there are limits to the First Amendment. 
     While pornography is not illegal, child pornography is. It is 
     illegal to shout fire in a crowded theater because it is 
     dangerous. Certainly, it should be illegal to write something 
     on the Internet that can endanger a child's life or well-
     being. We don't need any more laws named after dead little 
     girls. Let us pass a law now.

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield three minutes to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Franks).
  Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, as cochair of the Missing and Exploited Children's 
Caucus, I wanted to congratulate the gentleman from Florida (Chairman 
McCollum), the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and the members 
of the Committee on the Judiciary for their excellent work on this 
bill.
  I rise to briefly turn my colleagues' attention to two of its 
important provision. But first I want to share with you a tragic 
incident which was covered in depth this morning on NBC's Today Show.
  Twenty-five years ago, seven year old Joan D'Alessandro left her home 
in Hillsdale, New Jersey, to deliver Girl Scout cookies to a neighbor. 
Three days later, that neighbor, a 26 year old schoolteacher, confessed 
to sexually molesting and then murdering little Joan.
  But for the D'Alessandro family, the nightmare had just begun. For 
the past 12 years, they have had to live with the very real prospect 
that one day soon their daughter's killer would be set free. Rosemarie 
D'Alessandro, Joan's mother, has been fighting this terrible injustice. 
She has been the driving force behind a provision in this bill that 
would mandate a sentence of no less than life imprisonment with no 
opportunity for early release for anyone who commits a serious violent 
felony which results in the death of a child.
  Thanks to this bill, no family will ever have to endure the double 
tragedy of losing a child to an act of violence and then seeing their 
child's killer walk out of prison a free man.
  Another important provision of this bill addresses a new and growing 
threat to our children, child exploitation in cyberspace. It would 
require the providers of Internet services to report

[[Page H10574]]

evidence of child pornography to law enforcement authorities. 
Importantly, Internet service providers would be protected from 
criminal or civil liability if they acted in good faith to assist in 
the effort to prosecute peddlers of kiddie porn. The requirement now in 
this bill is similar to the one that we already impose on photo 
development labs when they discover evidence of child exploitation. 
With this provision, law enforcement will have a powerful new tool in 
combating child pornography in cyberspace.
  I strongly support these measures, as well as the rest of the 
underlying bill, and urge my colleagues to join me in sending it to the 
President.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to the other 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pappas).
  Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3494, the Child 
Protection Sexual Predator Punishment act. I am a cosponsor of this 
legislation and I am glad we will be able to send this bill to the 
President for his signature so we can better protect children from 
sexual predators.
  Mr. Speaker, the Internet offers a wonderful way to expand the 
knowledge and creativity of our nation's children. This bill is an 
important investment by furthering Internet technologies that keep our 
families safe. With more young people using the Internet every day, 
this is very timely.
  Moreover, I too am from a state, the State of New Jersey, which has 
seen its unfortunate share of sexual predators praying upon young 
children. Megan Kanka and Amanda Wengart are two victims of tragic 
situations where child predators have caused devastating harm to 
families and communities.
  I have met with Karen Wengart, Amanda's mother, and her hard work to 
close loopholes on both the state and Federal levels has inspired me to 
do more in my role as a Federal official.
  This bill will toughen the laws on those who molest children, those 
who traffic in child pornography, and those who try to entrap 
unsuspecting children and urges governors, legislators, and prison 
administrators to prohibit unsupervised access to the Internet by state 
prisoners. It is a good step in furthering our bipartisan efforts to 
stop child pornography.
  I commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) for listening to 
the concerns of people like me who want this Congress to do more to end 
pain to families such as those we have mentioned when our children are 
killed or are the victims of sex crimes.
  I urge all Members support this bill.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield three minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Washington (Ms. Dunn).
  (Ms. DUNN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for mothers and dads all over 
this country who are doing everything they can to keep their children 
safe and innocent but may not be aware of the pedophiles who break into 
our homes by cruising the Internet.
  In this age of ever-expanding technology and personal computers in so 
many homes, pedophiles are increasingly using the anonymity of the 
Internet to pose as minors and befriend children who are unknowingly 
lured into dangerous situations.
  With both Megan's Law and the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against 
Children Act, we told sexual offenders you can run, but you can't hide. 
These laws have given neighborhoods a greater sense of security by 
informing them when a sexual predator might be living in their midst.
  But what about cyber-predators? They may live anywhere; in our 
neighborhood, in another state, across the country, and yet they still 
have access to our children. These predators think that they can hide 
behind the faceless, voiceless world of the Internet. Make no mistake, 
they are wrong.
  That is why the McCollum-Dunn bill is so critical to families across 
America. This legislation helps law enforcement crack down on 
pedophiles who no longer offer candy to unsuspecting children on the 
playground, but now offer companionship to children through an Internet 
chat room.
  This bill tells sexual predators that the information superhighway is 
not a detour for deviant behavior. We will not stop until we enable 
every mother and father to feel secure that their children are safe 
from violence, at school, at home and in the neighborhood.
  McCollum-Dunn will ensure that cyber-predators become real live 
prisoners by providing law enforcement with the tools it needs to bring 
to justice those who would prey on our children. By allowing the 
immediate commencement of Federal investigations in kidnapping cases, 
the FBI can begin investigating a missing person's report without 
waiting for 24 hours.

                              {time}  1445

  When an abducted child is not found in the first 24 hours, it becomes 
far more difficult to find that child at all.
  By clarifying this rule, this bill offers parents greater peace of 
mind that their child will be found quickly and that he will not be 
frustrated by the inaction of law enforcement.
  Additionally, McCollum-Dunn metes out harsher penalties for sexual 
predators. By doubling maximum prison sentences and tightening child 
pornography statutes, this bill cracks down on criminals who would use 
legal loopholes to escape punishment.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe this is the most important legislation to 
protect children and give parents peace of mind of any law since 
Megan's Law, which stemmed from Washington State after the tragic death 
of my friend, Diane Ballasiotes. As a mother and as a legislator, I 
understand what the protections in this legislation mean to parents all 
over the country, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, let me acknowledge the leadership of the 
gentlewoman from Washington on this issue.
  Mr. RILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3494, the 
Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998. I would 
also like to commend the gentleman from Florida for introducing this 
important legislation and agreeing to include my legislation, H.R. 
3185, the Abolishing Child Pornography Act, as a portion of this bill.
  In my view, this bill will go a long way to protect our children from 
those who choose to stalk them as their prey.
  No longer will it be legal for anyone to use the Internet to contact 
a child for sexual purposes.
  No longer will prisoners in our jails be allowed unrestricted and 
unsupervised access to the Internet so they can continue to victimize 
our children.
  No longer will anyone be allowed to possess any amount of child 
pornography for any reason.
  And, no longer will it be difficult to prosecute these crimes nor 
will the penalties be light.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill sends a very clear and very strong message to 
these sexual predators: Whether it is over the Internet or on the 
playground, stay away from our children or pay the price.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to vote in favor of H.R. 3494--our 
children deserve nothing less.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3494, the 
Protection of Children From Sexual Predators Act of 1998, as introduced 
by Representative McCollum.
  This bill amends the Federal Criminal Code to prohibit and penalize 
any individual using the mail or Internet to transmit the name, phone 
number, address, or electronic mail address of a person under the age 
of 16, with the intent of enticing, offering, soliciting or encouraging 
illegal sexual activity.
  The Internet, although a remarkable source of information and 
knowledge, makes it all too easy for pedophiles to illegally contact 
our children and engage in inappropriate communication and contact with 
them.
  H.R. 3494 provides prosecution for those individuals producing child 
pornography if the visual portrayal was produced with materials mailed, 
shipped or transported by interstate or foreign commerce--including via 
the Internet. This bill also prohibits using the mail or Internet to 
knowingly transfer obscene matter to another individual known to be 
under the age of 16.
  The Protection of Children From Predators Act recognizes the 
extremely serious nature of child pornography and abuse, and imposes 
harsh penalties on pedophiles. Some of the provisions of this bill 
would double the maximum term of imprisonment for abusive sexual 
contact with children under age 12. Additionally, H.R. 3494 provides 
pre-trial detention of those who commit specified Federal sex offenses 
involving transportation of a minor for

[[Page H10575]]

illegal sexual activity. It also sets fines for initial and subsequent 
failures by computer service providers to report violations of 
specified offenses involving child pornography.
  Children should not be cheated of the benefits of learning that the 
Internet offers them, because of the existence of pedophiles on the 
Internet. Parents and teachers should not be fearful that when a child 
logs on to his or her computer, that they will be the victim of a child 
predator.
  H.R. 3494 is a strong step towards fighting child pornography and 
abuse, and institutes much-needed precautions and penalties to ensure 
the safety of our children. I know that my colleagues will join me in 
supporting this worthwhile legislation.
  Mrs. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bass). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) that the House 
suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 
3494.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the 
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a 
quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________