[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 69 (Thursday, May 13, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S5194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




VIOLENT AND REPEAT JUVENILE OFFENDER ACCOUNTABILITY AND REHABILITATION 
                              ACT OF 1999

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I strongly urge my colleagues to support 
this Hatch-Leahy amendment, which is aimed at limiting the negative 
impact violence and indecent material on the Internet have on children.
  As I noted last evening, this amendment does not regulate the 
content. Instead, it encourages the larger Internet service providers, 
the ISPs, if you will, to provide, either for free or at a fee not 
exceeding the cost to the service providers, filtering technologies 
that will empower parents to limit or block the access of minors to 
unsuitable materials on the Internet. We simply cannot ignore the fact 
that the Internet has the ability to expose children to violent, 
sexually explicit, and other inappropriate materials with no limits.
  A recent Time/CNN poll found that 75 percent of teenagers from 13 to 
17 believe the Internet is partly responsible for the crimes that 
occurred in Littleton, CO, at Columbine High School. The amendment 
respects the first amendment of the Constitution by not regulating 
content but ensures that parents will have the adequate technological 
tools to control access of their children to unsuitable material on the 
Internet.
  I honestly believe that the Internet service providers that do not 
already provide filtering software to their subscribers will do so 
voluntarily. They will know it is in their best interests, and I 
believe the market will demand it.
  A recent survey reported in the New York Times yesterday found that 
almost a third of on-line American households with children use 
blocking software.
  In a study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of 
Pennsylvania, 60 percent of parents said they disagreed with the 
statement that the Internet was a safe place for their children. 
According to yesterday's New York Times, after the shootings in 
Colorado, the demand for filtering technologies has dramatically 
increased. This indicates that parents are taking an active role in 
safeguarding their children on the Internet. That is what this 
amendment is all about--using technology to empower parents.
  I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I yield the floor 
and hope we can go to a vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is on 
agreeing to amendment No. 335. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The 
clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 100, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 113 Leg.]

                               YEAS--100

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Allard
     Ashcroft
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bryan
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Robb
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 335) was agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. HATCH. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Santorum). Under the previous order, the 
Senator from Nevada, Mr. Bryan, is recognized for up to 12 minutes for 
a morning business statement.
  The Senator from Nevada.

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