[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H121-H127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT
Mr. JENKINS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 764) to reduce the incidence of
child abuse and neglect, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
TITLE I--THE CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Child Abuse Prevention and
Enforcement Act''.
SEC. 102. GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 102(b) of the Crime Identification Technology Act
of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 14601(b)) is amended by striking ``and''
at the end of paragraph (15), by striking the period at the
end of paragraph (16) and inserting ``; and'', and by adding
after paragraph (16) the following:
``(17) the capability of the criminal justice system to
deliver timely, accurate, and complete criminal history
record information to child welfare agencies, organizations,
and programs that are engaged in the assessment of risk and
other activities related to the protection of children,
including protection against child sexual abuse, and
placement of children in foster care.''.
SEC. 103. USE OF FUNDS UNDER BYRNE GRANT PROGRAM FOR CHILD
PROTECTION.
Section 501(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3751) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (25);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (26) and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(27) enforcing child abuse and neglect laws, including
laws protecting against child sexual abuse, and promoting
programs designed to prevent child abuse and neglect; and
``(28) establishing or supporting cooperative programs
between law enforcement and media organizations, to collect,
record, retain, and disseminate information useful in the
identification and apprehension of suspected criminal
offenders.''.
SEC. 104. CONDITIONAL ADJUSTMENT IN SET ASIDE FOR CHILD ABUSE
VICTIMS UNDER THE VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT OF 1984.
(a) In General.--Section 1402(d)(2) of the Victims of Crime
Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601(d)(2)) is amended--
[[Page H122]]
(1) by striking ``(2) the next $10,000,000'' and inserting
``(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the next
$10,000,000''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B)(i) For any fiscal year for which the amount deposited
in the Fund is greater than the amount deposited in the Fund
for fiscal year 1998, the $10,000,000 referred to in
subparagraph (A) plus an amount equal to 50 percent of the
increase in the amount from fiscal year 1998 shall be
available for grants under section 1404A.
``(ii) Amounts available under this subparagraph for any
fiscal year shall not exceed $20,000,000.''.
(b) Interaction With Any Cap.--Subsection (a) shall be
implemented so that any increase in funding provided thereby
shall operate notwithstanding any dollar limitation on the
availability of the Crime Victims Fund established under the
Victims of Crime Act of 1984.
TITLE II--JENNIFER'S LAW
SECTION 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as ``Jennifer's Law''.
SEC. 202. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
The Attorney General is authorized to provide grant awards
to States to enable States to improve the reporting of
unidentified and missing persons.
SEC. 203. ELIGIBILITY.
(a) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant award
under this title, a State shall submit an application at such
time and in such form as the Attorney General may reasonably
require.
(b) Contents.--Each such application shall include
assurances that the State shall, to the greatest extent
possible--
(1) report to the National Crime Information Center and
when possible, to law enforcement authorities throughout the
State regarding every deceased unidentified person,
regardless of age, found in the State's jurisdiction;
(2) enter a complete profile of such unidentified person in
compliance with the guidelines established by the Department
of Justice for the National Crime Information Center Missing
and Unidentified Persons File, including dental records, DNA
records, x-rays, and fingerprints, if available;
(3) enter the National Crime Information Center number or
other appropriate number assigned to the unidentified person
on the death certificate of each such unidentified person;
and
(4) retain all such records pertaining to unidentified
persons until a person is identified.
SEC. 204. USES OF FUNDS.
A State that receives a grant award under this title may
use such funds received to establish or expand programs
developed to improve the reporting of unidentified persons in
accordance with the assurances provided in the application
submitted pursuant to section 203(b).
SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
title $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000, 2001, and
2002.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins).
General Leave
Mr. JENKINS. 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. 764.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. JENKINS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 764, the child abuse
prevention and enforcement act, as amended and passed by the other body
on November 19, 1999.
This legislation was introduced by the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Pryce) last year; and on October 5, 1999, it passed the House by a vote
of 425-2.
The purpose of this bill is to increase the funds available at the
State and local level to combat and prevent child abuse and neglect. It
will do this by amending existing grant programs that provide funds to
States for crime-related purposes.
First, H.R. 764 will amend the Crime Identification Technology Act, a
bill enacted in 1998 to improve the operation of the criminal justice
system by upgrading criminal history and criminal justice record
systems.
H.R. 764 will amend that Act to authorize grants that will help
provide timely, accurate, and complete criminal history record
information to child welfare agencies, organizations, and programs that
conduct risk assessment and other activities related to the protection
of children, including protection against child sexual abuse and the
placement of children in foster care.
These agencies and organizations often do not have access to criminal
history information and may be unaware that when they place a child in
foster care or return a child to a parent that they are placing the
child in the custody of a person with a criminal history. Allowing
Federal funds to be used to provide these agencies access to State
records will help alleviate this problem.
Second, H.R. 764 will modify the Federal Crime Control Assistance
Program, known as the Byrne Grant Program. This program authorizes the
Federal Government to award both block grant and discretionary grants
for specified activities. Block grants are allocated to the States on
the basis of population and are to be used for personnel, equipment,
training, technical assistance, and information systems to improve
criminal justice systems.
The discretionary program funds are distributed to non-Federal public
and private organizations undertaking projects that educate criminal
justice personnel or that provide technical assistance to State and
local governments.
The Byrne Grant Program statute specifies 26 permissible uses for
these funds. H.R. 764 will amend the Grant Program to add two
additional permissible uses for these Federal funds.
The first of these was contained in H.R. 764 when it passed the House
last fall and it would authorize grant money to combat and prevent
child abuse and neglect.
The second permissible use was added by the other body by way of an
amendment, and I support its inclusion in this bill. It will authorize
funds to assist in establishing or supporting cooperative programs
between enforcement and media organizations to collect, record, retain,
and disseminate information useful in the identification and
apprehension of suspected criminal offenders.
Third, H.R. 764 will amend the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, which
created the Crime Victims Fund. The fund is financed through the
collection of criminal fines, penalty assessments, and forfeited
appearance bonds of persons convicted of crimes against the United
States and provides money to States to compensate crime victims
directly and to support public and nonprofit agencies that provide
direct services to crime victims.
Under current law, the first $10 million deposited in the fund each
year is earmarked for grants relating to child abuse prevention and
treatment. As the fund grows in size, more money should be made
available for child abuse prevention and treatment.
H.R. 764 will permit more money to be earmarked for this purpose for
any fiscal year in which the amount of money deposited in the fund
exceeds what was deposited in fiscal year 1998. When more than that
amount of money is deposited, 50 percent of the excess would be
allocated for child abuse prevention and treatment, but the total
amount available in any fiscal year would not exceed $20 million.
Finally, H.R. 764 was amended by the other body to include Jennifer's
Law, a bill introduced by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio) which
passed the House last June by a vote of 370-4. Jennifer's Law will
authorize the Attorney General to award grants to enable States to
improve the reporting of unidentified and missing persons to Federal
and State law enforcement agencies to increase the likelihood that they
will be identified or found. The bill authorizes the appropriation of
$2 million for each of three fiscal years beginning with this fiscal
year.
Mr. Speaker, it has been brought to my attention that there is a one-
word drafting error contained in the bill that is technical in nature.
The error appears twice in the bill. Following consideration of this
bill, I will ask unanimous consent that the House move to immediate
consideration of a concurrent resolution I have introduced that directs
the enrolling clerks to correct this minor error.
In conclusion, I believe the amendments made to H.R. 764, including
Jennifer's Law, strengthen the bill; and I urge all of my colleagues to
support this important piece of legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the problem of child abuse and neglect is disturbing and
far-reaching. The United States Department of Health and Human
Services, in a report issued in April of last year, indicated that
there were over 950,000
[[Page H123]]
documented cases of child abuse and neglect in 1997.
Further, in an earlier report, HHS indicated that while the number of
child abuse and neglect cases has increased since 1986, the actual
number of cases investigated by State agencies has remained about the
same. And, therefore, the proportion of cases investigated has
decreased from 44 percent in 1986 to 28 percent in 1993.
The failure to adequately address the problem of child abuse and
neglect is costly in many ways. First and foremost, there is the human
tragedy related to the victimized child. Obviously, abused and
neglected children carry physical and emotional scars with them forever
affecting every aspect of their life.
In addition, the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse estimated
in 1993 that the annual cost of child welfare, healthcare, and out-of-
home care for abused and neglected children totaled $9 billion. And I
must add that this is a conservative estimate in light of the fact that
it does not include other related costs, such as long-term physical and
mental impairment, emergency room care, lost productivity, special
education services, and the cost to adjudicate child abuse cases.
Yet another cost of child abuse is in the area of increased criminal
activity. According to a 1992 Department of Justice report entitled
``The Cycle of Violence'', 68 percent of youths arrested had a prior
history of neglect and abuse.
{time} 1415
The study also indicated that childhood abuse increased the odds of
future delinquency and adult criminality by approximately 40 percent.
On the positive side, Mr. Speaker, we know how to address the
problem. The National Child Abuse Coalition reports that family support
programs and parental education programs have demonstrated that
prevention efforts work. As we have seen in other areas such as drug
treatment programs, community-based programs supporting families can be
implemented to prevent future child abuse at far less than the dollars
that we now spend to treat and manage child abuse and neglect problems.
The legislation being considered today is a step in the right
direction. The bill provides increased grant authority for services to
abused and neglected children and also provides an increase in the
existing set-aside for child abuse and neglect cases from the Victims
of Crime Fund. In addition to these important provisions, the Senate
has included a new section entitled ``Jennifer's Law.'' The section
provides for a grant program to improve the reporting for unidentified
and missing persons and authorizes $2 million for that purpose in each
of the next 3 fiscal years.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, this bill would not have been possible without
the hard work and dedication of the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones)
and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce). I would like to thank them
personally for their leadership and bipartisan cooperation which has
made this bill possible.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that prevention and early intervention
treatment for child abuse and neglect victims benefits everyone. This
bill represents a positive step in that direction. I, therefore, ask my
colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time
allocated to the majority.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). Is there
objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Ohio (Ms. Pryce), the author of this bill.
Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me
this time.
Mr. Speaker, today we consider the Child Abuse Prevention and
Enforcement Act, the CAPE Act, a bill that represents an important step
in the fight against child abuse.
Children are our Nation's most precious resource. As a former judge
and prosecutor, I have seen the terrible impact that abuse has on the
lives of our children. It has an impact that robs them of their
childhood and resonates throughout their adult lives, inflicting
irreparable damage on these children, their families and society. As
federal legislators, as parents, as individuals, we have no greater
responsibility than to protect our children from this harm.
The CAPE Act focuses on two critically important aspects of child
abuse, prevention and improved treatment of victims. In doing so, it
recognizes that the people best equipped to make a difference for our
children are those who are on the front lines: the child protection
workers, the police, the judges, the court-appointed special advocates,
the doctors and nurses, the foster families, the nonprofit volunteers.
That is just naming a few. These are the people who offer the best hope
of real progress in our ongoing battle against child abuse. We must
provide them with the resources to coordinate their efforts so that
recognition of abuse or potential abuse situations is swift and
treatment of child abuse victims is handled in a manner that adds no
more confusion or fear to an already traumatized child. The CAPE Act
will do this.
Briefly, CAPE accomplishes this with three important steps. First, it
provides State and local officials the flexibility of using existing
Byrne law enforcement grants, the major source of federal funds to
States for fighting crime, for child abuse prevention. Second, it
increases the set-aside out of the Crime Victims Fund for improving
child abuse treatment. The Crime Victims Fund comes from forfeited
assets, forfeited bail bonds and fines paid to the government, not
taxpayers' dollars. These funds can be used for training police
investigators and child protective workers.
The funds can also be used for building more child advocacy centers,
places where victims of child abuse can receive help and treatment in a
manner that will not cause them further emotional and psychological
stress. By creating these centers, we can overthrow the cold,
bureaucratic maze of probing and prodding which children used to have
to endure and replace it with a one-stop experience in a child-friendly
environment so that examination by police, the prosecutors, the
doctors, and the child protection workers does not have the unintended
consequence of revictimizing the child abuse victim.
Third, the CAPE Act allows existing grant funds to be used by States
to help provide child protective services workers access to criminal
conviction records and provide law enforcement instant and timely
access to court child custody, visitation, protection, guardianship, or
stay-away orders. This will ensure that abused and neglected children
are placed in foster and adoptive homes as expeditiously as possible so
that they do not languish in bureaucratic limbo. Healing for abused and
neglected children only begins when they are in a permanent, safe
environment free from fear and danger. The CAPE Act accomplishes all
this without tapping the United States Treasury.
Along with CAPE, today we will be passing Jennifer's Law, an
inspirational piece of legislation sponsored by the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Lazio). It will take great strides in the effort to identify
missing children and adults.
By taking these steps together, we can make a difference in the lives
of children. And we can do this without additional cost to the
taxpayer, as the CAPE Act will do nothing more than remove federally
imposed straitjackets on federal funds and give local officials and
workers the necessary flexibility to be successful in their struggle
against abuse. Given that this bill requires so little from us and
nothing additional from the Treasury, can we do anything less than pass
it today?
Passage of this bill will strengthen the national arsenal of
resources that can be used in the prevention and treatment of child
abuse. I urge my colleagues' support. I am thankful for the continuous
support and the hard work of the original cosponsors of this bill, the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs.
Jones), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood), the gentleman
from Illinois (Mr. Ewing), and the help of the Committee on the
Judiciary and all the staff involved. Their efforts toward ending child
abuse should be commended by all.
[[Page H124]]
We must never waver in our fight to protect our children from abuse
and neglect. We must be ever vigilant, ever resourceful and always
striving to do more to improve the lives of all the Nation's children.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones), the lead cosponsor on this piece of
legislation who has worked diligently and in a bipartisan fashion.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to thank
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) for her support and the work we
have done together on this piece of legislation. We two have similar
backgrounds, coming from the bench as well as serving as prosecutors;
and we saw this area as an important part that we need to implement
here in the Congress. I would like to thank the gentleman from Virginia
(Mr. Scott) on the Committee on the Judiciary for kind of guiding me
through this process. Without him, I would not have understood some of
the things that happened with this piece of legislation as it went
through the process.
I rise today to speak in strong support of the Child Abuse Prevention
and Enforcement Act and Jennifer's Law. Together, these bills will mean
a great deal for victims and their families throughout America. This
legislation has deep and diverse support which is evidenced in the list
of cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. The House has passed both of
these bills on their own merit by wide margins in the last session of
Congress. Now thanks to the foresight of the other body, we have the
opportunity to send these bills to the President together.
Child abuse prevention is an extremely important issue. A child
cannot grow in an environment in which he or she is subject to
emotional and physical abuse. We can offer a helping hand to America's
children through the passage of this legislation. Through CAPE, we are
funding child advocacy centers and training those who deal with
children who are abused. In Cuyahoga County, my experience as a
prosecutor and as a judge told me and taught me that there are many
instances in which many of our child-abuse protection workers are new
to the job, they are undertrained, they are overworked and burnout
reaches them very quickly. It is important that we give them an
opportunity to have greater insight into the job that they need to
perform as well as to give them an opportunity to step away, step back
and be able to see situations as they arise. With better training they
will be able to have an opportunity to prevent abuse and treat the
victims of abuse.
CAPE will increase the funding available. This money will not cost
taxpayers any extra money. It will come strictly from forfeited bail
bonds and other fines paid to the government and taken from the Crime
Victims Fund. The allocation of this money comes under the Byrne Law
Enforcement Grant Program for Child Abuse Prevention and is allocated
through State and local funding by local officials. As a former
prosecutor, I served on the Byrne Grant Memorial Fund as a person who
was responsible for the allocation of those funds. I can recall
distinctly that in many instances there could have been opportunities
where our children and family services unit could have applied for
funds which were dedicated to other programs. I am so happy to be able
to report to them that upon the passage of this bill, we will be
specifically designating dollars to allow them to train their people as
well as to create an advocacy center.
In my home, the State of Ohio, there is a child abused or neglected
every 3 minutes. Every day throughout the country, 8,470 children are
abused or neglected. Throughout America every day, 13 children are
homicide victims and firearms kill 14 children.
CAPE is supported by the National Child Abuse Coalition, which
includes the Children's Defense Fund and the Child Welfare League. It
is supported by Prevent Child Abuse America, the Christian Coalition,
the Family Research Council and the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children.
Attached to the CAPE Act is Jennifer's Law. This legislation is an
excellent addition to the bill. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio)
introduced this bill to create within the National Crime Information
Center a link between missing persons files and unidentified persons
files. This will allow the families of missing victims to know their
loved one may have been found and end the doubt of not knowing the fate
of one of their family members. Prior to this legislation, there was no
sharing between these two computer systems. The cross-referencing
system that Jennifer's Law will create will allow States to apply for
competitive grants to cover the costs of linking to those computer
systems.
I believe that this combined legislation will help victims and their
families in crisis, help them treat victims and inform families of the
status of their loved ones. This bill addresses all aspects of
victimization. I strongly support the legislation and recommend to my
colleagues that they vote in favor of this bill.
Again, I want to thank all of my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle for the support that they have given to me in the process of
putting this piece of legislation through. I look forward to working
with them on other pieces of legislation that will impact families
throughout America.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the majority whip.
Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I too want to congratulate the gentlewoman
from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) and
especially the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) for all the hard work
on this very, very important issue.
Mr. Speaker, abuse against children is one of the unpardonable sins
we must all work to end in this century. This Child Abuse Prevention
and Enforcement Act takes a very big step toward making America safer
for all of our most vulnerable youngsters. Without question, too many
of our young ones are having their innocence stripped away. Two years
ago, there were 3 million cases of child abuse and neglect in this
country. Today, as I speak, there are at least a half a million
American kids in foster care because it is not safe enough for them to
live with their own families.
At the federal level, we have to help lift these children out of
despair while simultaneously giving more flexibility to States to deal
with their local concerns. In other words, we must take action and get
out of the way and not interfere with the good work that is already
taking place.
Nationally, billions upon billions of dollars have been spent on
child welfare programs, but money is not the solution and one-size-
fits-all federal programs often allow too many children to fall through
the cracks. Such failure directly translates into trouble for our
communities in the future as children with a bad formation predictably
make bad choices in life.
No one is surprised to learn that there is a correlation between
adolescent crime and child abuse. But this is a cycle of trouble we can
beat. CAPE is the first step toward this goal. This legislation allows
State and local officials to take advantage of existing Byrne law
enforcement grants for child abuse prevention work.
{time} 1430
It also mandates that localities may use Identification Technology
Act grants to provide criminal history records to child protection
agencies. This bill also now includes Jennifer's Law, a sensible
measure that simply makes certain that descriptive case information is
reported to the FBI computer database. These measures simply make use
of resources that already exist, while cutting out wasteful repetitive
action from different agencies at different levels of government.
Along with these steps, CAPE also increases the set-aside for child
abuse services in the Crime Victims' Fund, all of which comes from non-
taxpayer dollars.
In short, this bill expands services, cuts red tape and works within
already existing programs. It is good for government at the federal
level, better for State governments; and, most importantly, it is great
for the victims of abuse that it seeks to protect.
Just one example of the good work CAPE assists is the Court Appointed
Special Advocates, COSA. COSA is a group of volunteers who provide
millions of hours of courtroom support for abused children. In Texas
alone, these
[[Page H125]]
programs save the Federal Government an estimated $80 million a year,
at least, all while maximizing support services for children and
minimizing their time in foster care. But this is just one program of
many that do tremendously good work.
Mr. Speaker, there are no lack of ideas in the fight to prevent child
abuse and neglect, but many people do not know where to start.
Supporting this legislation is a good start.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Cummings), a strong supporter of crime prevention
initiatives and effective child advocate.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, as America's lawmakers, we direct the
focus of our Nation through the stances we take, the resolutions we
adopt, and the legislation we approve. It is important that we take a
strong stand with regard to pressing issues, pressing issues like a
child being reported abused every 12 minutes in my home State of
Maryland; pressing issues like 50 out of 1,000 children currently being
reported as maltreated; pressing issues like the 2,000 children a year
who die from abuse or neglect.
It is time that we act for our children in the way of their
protection. H.R. 764 acts by providing increased funding for prevention
training, child advocacy and treatment, and increased access by
protective service workers with regard to criminal conviction records.
It is important that the message we send to our children is that we
are not afraid to act in their favor, that we realize that they are our
future, and that they are invaluable. Support H.R. 764.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Lazio), who was a sponsor of Jennifer's Law.
Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the gentlewoman
from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) for
their great work; the majority whip, the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
DeLay); and of course, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum). And I
rise in strong support, Mr. Speaker, of the CAPE Act, which includes
Jennifer's Law.
Mr. Speaker, just about everybody knows the famous line by Charles
Dickens: ``It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.'' As
every parent knows, this is a shorthand for the conflicting feelings we
all come to know once we have children. We start with the overwhelming
joy of childbirth, when you first hold a beautiful new creation, life's
greatest gift, in your arms. It is a humbling experience. The joys
start immediately. The fears and uncertainties are not really very far
behind.
For most of us, the fears will never fully be realized.
Unfortunately, for more parents than we would like to admit, tragedy
strikes and their lives become a nightmare from which they cannot
awake.
Mr. Speaker, in 1993, 21-year-old Jennifer left her family's suburban
New York home for California in pursuit of a dream, a dream to make it
on her own. Nine months later Jennifer's mom sent her a plane ticket to
return home for a visit. Jennifer never made it home. She disappeared
that day and is still missing.
Jennifer's mom describes her daughter as an extraordinary, open,
caring and sensitive child. At only 3 years old, Jennifer befriended a
local homeless man. In her kindergarten class, a classmate wore a
prosthetic arm. The teacher called Jennifer's mother one day very
excited because Jennifer was the only classmate to hold this girl's
hand. And in 5th grade, Jennifer threw a party for all the kids who
never got invited to other parties.
Jennifer's disappearance has drained the life out of her family,
parents and siblings alike. Jennifer's brother Steven was only 14 years
old when he found out his sister had disappeared. His life began to
question. He questioned his sister's existence and his own worth. He
could not understand any of it.
Today, 6 years later, Jennifer's mom, Susan Wilmer, still suffers
terribly, beside herself with sadness. And even though her intuition
tells her that Jennifer is not alive, she has not allowed herself to
grieve, and instead floats somewhere between hope and resignation.
Mrs. Wilmer came to me last year asking that I help her and other
families who have suffered these types of losses. She told me her
story. When Susan Wilmer reported Jennifer missing to the police, she
breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that at least that Jennifer has not
been found dead or lying in the hospital, unaware that there are people
who loved her and missed her.
Then to her horror, 8 months into the search, she discovered that
that wasn't the case. She found out that our Nation does not report
bodies to a central agency. She found that, in many States, when a body
is found, local attempts are made at identification, possibly through
the local TV news or a local paper. She found if no one claims the
body, it is buried in a Potter's field as a Jane or John Doe or a baby
Doe. The family never gets notified. The victim's fingerprints are not
taken. No dental records or DNA sample is gathered. Victims' families
are left to wonder, going to their grave never quite knowing for sure
what has happened to the child that they first brought into this world.
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this story is all too common. People
report thousands of missing persons each year. Sadly, many of these
people will never be found, or are found and not identified.
For example, last year in New York State, more than 4,500 missing
persons were reported, but only 279 unidentified persons. Back in my
home county, Suffolk County, more than 2,200 children under the age of
17 were reported missing in 1999, and more than 700 adults shared the
same fate. These missing persons sometimes tragically end up as
unidentified victims. However, their families sometimes never find out
that their loved ones have been found.
These statistics beg the big question: What might we do to bring some
measure of peace of mind to these families? We can help them know the
truth. The bill before us, the CAPE act, includes my legislation called
Jennifer's Law. It will provide States the opportunity to apply for
funding to help law enforcement agencies gather all the identifying
information about unidentified victims. This information can then be
entered into a national database that can be cross-referenced with
missing persons' reports.
Currently this technology exists and is available to all law
enforcement officials. However, the problem is that the system remains
severely underutilized. The issue is not negligence, but instead stems
from inadequate funding. The funds that Jennifer's Law will bring to
the States can help eliminate the cruel phrase ``unidentified
deceased'' from our vocabulary. Jennifer's Law is designed to bring an
end to the unbearable uncertainty, the purgatory of the unknown.
Jennifer is a symbol of the value society places on a human life.
Every person is important, unique, and has worth. Mr. Speaker, we vote
today to recognize that worth, to restore the dignity of identity to
the victims, and to give families the closure that they deserve.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
McCollum) for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor, and
particularly thank our two colleagues, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs.
Jones) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce), for their dedication
to our children and for demonstrating what can happen when we work
together in a constructive, bipartisan planner. I frankly hope that
their work on this bill will be a model to the way we handle other
legislation on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). The gentleman
from Florida is recognized for 45 seconds.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that there is nothing
more heart wrenching than child abuse cases, than missing children
cases. This bill addresses both of those.
I, too, compliment the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) and the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio) for the initiation of these pieces
of legislation that combined here today are before us. What we are
going to be doing here is providing additional grant
[[Page H126]]
money to the States to let them improve their systems, particularly on
missing children and on the question of child abuse and neglect.
The bill will specifically provide the opportunity for welfare
agencies and others who conduct risk assessments to get criminal
history records that they have not had access to in the past. It will
provide money that is long overdue in the sense of what is required
with regard to a lot of the block grant programs that are out there
that could not before be used for the child abuse-neglect arena,
including the Byrne Grant program.
Mr. Speaker, I again compliment my colleague, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott), for his work on it; the gentlewoman from Ohio
(Ms. Pryce); the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio). And I encourage
the passage of this important legislation on child abuse, neglect, and
missing children.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 764, the
Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act. This legislation is similar
to H.R. 3902, which I introduced during the 105th Congress. The bill
provides funding for grants that will make the child abuse judicial
process more effective and responsive to the needs of the participants.
For example, this measure allows for the purchase of closed-circuit
television equipment so children can record their testimony instead of
appearing in court in person. It also provides for the use of
additional court-appointed special advocates. These are people trained
to work with families as they go through the court system. Both of
these valuable provisions help to humanize what can be a very
intimidating and frightening process.
During my 16-year career in the Michigan Legislature, I was a leading
advocate on child abuse and family issues, and I appreciate the work of
my colleagues Congresswomen Deborah Pryce and Stephanie Tubbs Jones on
this matter. Domestic violence and child abuse affect the victims for
the rest of their lives. It is essential that we do everything in our
power to make the courts accessible, empathetic institutions, capable
of compassion as well as justice. Without this effort, the future is
less bright for kids that have already been robbed of their innocence.
I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this legislation.
Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 764, the Senate
Amendments to Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act. This is a
solid piece of legislation that will help to prevent child abuse,
provide assistance to victims, and help states to improve the reporting
of unidentified and missing persons.
As the Health and Human Service Department (HHS) recently documented,
there was nearly one million documented cases of child abuse and
neglect in the United States in 1997. This number only reflect the
cases that were reported and detected by the authorities.
In the most advanced economy in the world, I strongly believe that
children should be allowed to grow up as children: To attend schools,
to learn and play and enjoy their childhood. No child should be
subjected to abuse and neglect.
I believe this bill provides a sensible approach to prevent child
abuse and to provide much-needed assistance to the victims of abuse.
H.R. 764 would authorize the release of additional funding from the
Crime Victims Fund to be set aside for child abuse and domestic
assistance program. The bill also expands the allowable uses of grant
money to protect abused children from further trauma by testifying in
court through electronic means, and authorized $6 million through FY
2000-2002 for states to improve the reporting of missing and
unidentified persons.
Mr. Speaker, I believe this is a strong and sound piece of
legislation that will help protect our nation's children and I strongly
support H.R. 764.
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Child
Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act offered by Congresswoman Deborarh
Pryce. This bill will expand child abuse grants and allow states
flexibility in programs for child abuse protection services and
programs to prevent the incidents of child abuse. I also want to thank
Congressman Rick Lazio for his work on Jennifer's Law. A missing loved
one is a terrible trauma to endure and his efforts will provide those
families and friends with a sense of closure.
Currently, about 47 out of every 1,000 children are reported as
victims of child mistreatment. Based on these numbers, more than three
children die each day as a result of child abuse or neglect or a
combination of neglectful and physically abusive parenting.
Approximately 45 percent of these deaths occurred to children known to
child protective service agencies as current or prior clients.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act, expands as key
element of preventing child abuse and neglect by providing access to
services that address specific needs of local communities. Services
must be responsive to the range of ongoing and changing needs of both
children and families. This bill allows individual states and
communities to develop and update their programs to meet these changing
needs.
I urge my colleagues to support the amended CAPE Act.
Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Child Abuse
Protection and Enforcement Act--also known as the CAPE act.
The CAPE act is a much needed piece of legislation that will not only
help children in my home state of Illinois, but children in every
community across the nation.
In working on this legislation I was shocked to find out that:
Each day there are nearly nine thousand reported cases of child abuse
or neglect in the United States. That's over 3 million cases per year.
Keep in mind these are only the reported cases.
Since 1987 the total number of reports of child abuse nationwide have
gone up by 47 percent.
Of the cases of abuse, 54 percent resulted in a fatality and over
18,000 children were permanently disabled as a result of physical
abuse.
And finally, what is most concerning--
Many victims of abuse--as adolescents or adults--turn to crime,
domestic violence and child abuse.
These statistics make it clear there is a problem, but for me, what
illustrates the problem most clearly are the people that I talk to in
my district who work with these kids every day.
We must put our best efforts forward to address the issue of child
abuse here in America just as we have with many other problems in the
past.
To help protect kids, the CAPE act allows local law enforcement and
social service agencies greater flexibility in using federal grants to
combat child abuse.
Under this proposal, we've also increased the earmarked money within
existing accounts for assistance from $10 million to $20 million to
help child abuse victims.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that individual communities can be encouraged
to do a better job combating problems like child abuse if Washington
steps back and gives them some breathing room.
The CAPE act does just that.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle to
support the CAPE Act so we can truly begin to make a difference for
abused children across America.
Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, thousands of children are reported missing
each year. To many of us, the numbers are nothing more than statistics,
albeit tragic statistics. But to a unique group of people, these
numbers represent the pain and uncertainty that accompanies the loss of
a child, grandchild, brother, sister, or friend.
We should be using every resource within our power to find children
who are missing or to get information about them to their families. We
have the technology to find most of these children, but as is often the
case, the technology is not being used to its fullest capability.
Jennifer's law will help solve this dilemma. Linking national missing
person files and unidentified persons files will make it much easier
for local, State, and Federal law enforcement officials to get all of
the information they need to solve a missing persons case.
We would like to reunite every missing child with their families, but
in reality this is not always possible. Even so, families with missing
children deserve to have an end to their suffering and a sense of
closure. Jennifer's law will help make this possible.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time has expired. The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) that the
House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill,
H.R. 764.
The question was taken.
Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair announces that a 5-minute vote on
the passage of H.R. 1838 will occur immediately following this vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 410,
nays 2, not voting 23, as follows:
[Roll No. 4]
YEAS--410
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Allen
Andrews
Archer
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (WI)
Bartlett
Bateman
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
[[Page H127]]
Bonior
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Canady
Cannon
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Castle
Chabot
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Condit
Conyers
Cook
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crowley
Cubin
Cummings
Cunningham
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Ewing
Farr
Filner
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Fowler
Frank (MA)
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gejdenson
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Goodling
Gordon
Goss
Granger
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill (IN)
Hill (MT)
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kasich
Kelly
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kleczka
Klink
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
Kuykendall
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Lantos
Largent
Larson
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Martinez
Mascara
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Metcalf
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Ose
Owens
Oxley
Packard
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pease
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pickett
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Reyes
Reynolds
Riley
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Salmon
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simpson
Sisisky
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sununu
Sweeney
Talent
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Traficant
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watkins
Watt (NC)
Watts (OK)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Weygand
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wise
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
NAYS--2
Chenoweth-Hage
Paul
NOT VOTING--23
Barrett (NE)
Barton
Bass
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Bryant
Campbell
Carson
Chambliss
DeMint
Fattah
Graham
Hinojosa
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Kaptur
Myrick
Rivers
Sanchez
Sanford
Tiahrt
Turner
Vento
Young (FL)
{time} 1501
Mr. HILLIARD and Mr. WATKINS changed their vote from ``nay'' to
``yea.''
So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof), the rules were
suspended and the Senate amendment was concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 4 on February 1,
2000, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have
voted ``yea.''
____________________