[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 12 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S622-S624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. EDWARDS:
  S. 2065. A bill to authorize the Attorney General to provide grants 
for organizations to find missing adults; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


                             kristen's law

 Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, today I introduce two bills that 
are very important crime fighting measures. My legislation will help 
provide law enforcement with additional assistance in locating missing 
people. One bill, the ``Abducted Young Adults Act,'' will give the 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children the legal authority 
to assist law enforcement officers in locating abducted young adults 
aged 18 through 21. The second bill, ``Kristen's Law,'' authorizes the 
Attorney General to provide grants to public agencies and nonprofit 
private organizations that help find missing adults.

  Mr. President, let me tell you a story about a girl from my State of 
North Carolina. Her name is Kristen Modafferi. Kristen was a bright, 
hard-working student at North Carolina State University. After 
finishing up her freshman year of college, she traveled to San 
Francisco to spend the summer taking a photography class at Berkeley. 
Once Kristen arrived in San Francisco, she started her class and got a 
couple of jobs to help pay for her expenses. She was settling in and 
making friends.
  On Monday, June 23, 1997, Kristen left work to visit a local beach. 
She has not been seen since. Kristen was three weeks over the age of 18 
when she disappeared.
  Law enforcement devoted a great deal of time to finding Kristen and 
should be commended for their efforts. Despite a number of leads, 
Kristen has never been found.
  For 15 years, since the creation of the National Center for Missing 
and Exploited Children, our Nation has recognized the vulnerability of 
young children to abductions and exploitation. We have provided the 
funding and support vital to ensuring rapid and multi jurisdictional 
responses to these cases. But in Kristen's case we could not--and all 
because she was 3 weeks past her 18th birthday. The charter for the 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children only allows the 
Center to help law enforcement search for missing children aged 0 to 
18.
  When a person involuntarily disappears, time is of the essence. 
Search efforts must begin quickly, and they must reach across 
jurisdictions. Abducted youngsters are often taken across state lines. 
In order to effectively coordinate a search, the groups conducting the 
search must have an easy way to share information with each other, no 
matter how far away from one another they may be. The greater the 
number of agencies helping in the search, the more likely it is that 
the person will be found. But there is no central, federally-
established organization that exists to aid law enforcement in their 
efforts to locate missing 18-21 year-olds. Unfortunately, Kristen's 
tragic story illustrates the need for such an organization. And what 
better way to fill this need than to build upon a reputable, federally-
partnered organization--the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children--that already exists to search for missing individuals under 
18?
  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children serves as the 
national clearinghouse for information on missing children and the 
prevention of child victimization. The Center works in partnership with 
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. 
Department of Justice, and its mission is codified in federal law.
  Because the Center was established for the purpose of assisting with 
cases that involve missing children under the age of 18, the Center 
does not typically assist with cases involving involuntarily missing 
college students and other people who happen to be 18 through 21 years 
old. The sad fact is that had Kristen been just a few weeks younger 
when she disappeared, the Center would have immediately mobilized to 
start a search.
  One of the measures I introduce today, The Abducted Young Adults Act, 
would expand the Center's charter to allow it to use its expertise and 
resources to help find involuntarily missing young adults in the 18 
through 21 year-old age group.
  Mr. President, some people might inquire why I chose to limit 
expansion of the Center's mission by only covering individuals under 
age 22. For example, my bill would not affect the Center's ability to 
help police search for Kristen's sister Allison and other individuals 
who are 22 and over. The second bill I am introducing today, Kristen's 
Act, will help fill this gap. I will discuss that bill in a moment. 
However, the reason for my decision to limit the expansion of the 
Center's mission is twofold.
  First, although a person is considered a legal adult when they attain 
the age of 18, I think most people would agree that college-aged kids 
are just that--kids. Members of this age group are particularly 
vulnerable to criminals and are frequently victims of crime. They are 
away from home for the first time in their lives, in an unfamiliar 
area, without the presence of their parents. I believe that most people 
would agree that this age group needs special protection.
  Statistics demonstrate the need to address the issue of missing young 
adults and to find a way to provide some additional resources for this 
group. In fact, according to data from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg 
Sheriff's office in my state of North Carolina, in 1999, they received 
reports of 132 missing persons aged 18-21. That's the number for just 
one city, in just one state in the country. If we were to amass similar 
statistics for every jurisdiction across the country, I believe we 
would be astounded at the high rate of disappearances for this age 
group. For example, in February, 1999, the FBI reported 1,896 new cases 
of missing 18 through 21-year-olds--1,896 new cases in just one month. 
This is a frighteningly large number. And I believe that the Abducted 
Young Adults Act is a necessary protective measure. It will provide 
some comfort to the millions of parents who send their children to

[[Page S623]]

college every year and worry about their safety: If anything does 
happen, a national effort will be mobilized to help.

  The second reason that the legislation would apply to a limited age 
group is that I believe the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children should stay focused on its central mission--to help search for 
missing children.
  Since its founding, the Center has helped recover nearly 48,000 
children. Imagine the benefit to families and law enforcement if the 
Center were to help search for abducted young adults. Surely the number 
of active missing young adult cases would decline if the Center helped 
with the search efforts. I believe my legislation is a logical 
extension of the Center's current mission.
  My bill would authorize appropriations of $2.5 million per year 
through 2003 so that the Center does not have to divert any of the 
funding it needs to effectively search for children. I have worked 
closely with the Center's staff to ensure that my bill will enhance not 
harm the Center's current mission. As a result, the Abducted Young 
Adults Act is fully supported by the Center.
  The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) also strongly supports my 
legislation. Gilbert Gallegos, National President of the FOP, is a 
member of the Board of Directors for the Center. As he so aptly states 
in his letter of support for the bill, ``Just because you turn eighteen 
is no guarantee that you will not be the victim of a crime.''
  Mr. President, I believe that it is important to mention that it is 
true that some individuals aged 18 through 21 may disappear because 
they want to. Some of these individuals may live in abusive households. 
Others may want to start a new life. And because they are considered 
legal adults, they have the choice to remain missing. In these cases, 
it may not make sense for law enforcement, the Center, or anyone else 
to launch a search.
  My legislation ensures that the National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children will use its public resources to search for only 
those missing young adults aged 18-21 that law enforcement has first 
determined to be missing involuntarily.
  Specifically, my bill says that in order for an individual to be 
defined as an involuntarily missing young adult, the following criteria 
must be met: (1) their whereabouts must be unknown to their parent or 
guardian; (2) law enforcement must have entered a missing persons 
report on the individual into the National Crime Information Center; 
and (3) there must be a reasonable indication or suspicion that the 
individual has been abducted or is missing under circumstances 
suggesting foul play or a threat to life; or (4) the individual is 
known to be suicidal or has a severe medical condition that poses a 
threat to his or her life.
  I believe that the Abducted Young Adults Act is a common-sense way to 
help prevent further incidences like the one involving Kristen 
Modafferi. For every child the Center assists in locating, there are a 
handful of individuals that it cannot help find. If my bill enables the 
Center to help find just one more missing youngster, then I believe the 
bill will have succeeded in its goal.
  I am pleased that the Abducted Young Adults Act is co-sponsored by 
Senator Biden. Senator Biden was instrumental to the establishment of 
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and I thank him 
for his leadership and support.
  Mr. President, the Abducted Young Adults Act is only one part of the 
solution. The other part of the solution is to provide the 
organizations that are devoted to searching for missing adults with the 
resources they need to be more effective in their efforts to search for 
all adults, regardless of age.
  That is why I am also introducing Kristen's Law, named after Kristen 
Modafferi. This bill has been introduced in the House of 
Representatives by Representative Sue Myrick, and I thank her for her 
involvement in this issue.
  As I mentioned, Kristen's Law would allow the Attorney General to 
make grants to public agencies or nonprofit private organizations to 
assist law enforcement and families in locating missing adults. Grants 
could also be used by these agencies and organizations for a number of 
other reasons. For example, funds could be used to maintain a national, 
interconnected database for the purpose of tracking missing adults who 
are determined by law enforcement to be endangered due to age, 
diminished mental capacity, or the circumstances of disappearance. And 
the grants could be used to help establish a national clearinghouse for 
missing adults and to assist with victim advocacy related to missing 
adults.
  Generally, the greater the number of people conducting a search, the 
greater the chance is of locating missing individuals. The combination 
of the Abducted Young Adults Act and Kristen's Law sends a message to 
families that they deserve all of the help necessary to locate 
endangered and involuntarily missing loved ones. Together, these bills 
will help ensure that all endangered and involuntarily missing adults--
regardless of age--will receive not only the benefit of search efforts 
by law enforcement, but also by experienced, specialized organizations.
  I request that the text of the two bills be printed in the Record.
  The material follows:

                                S. 2064

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Abducted Young Adults Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS IN REGARD TO VULNERABLE INVOLUNTARILY 
                   MISSING YOUNG ADULTS.

       (a) Conforming Amendments.--Section 402 of the Missing 
     Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``these children'' 
     the following: ``and involuntarily missing young adults'';
       (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting after ``these children'' 
     the following: ``and involuntarily missing young adults'';
       (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting after ``many missing 
     children'' the following: ``and involuntarily missing young 
     adults'';
       (4) in paragraph (6), by inserting after ``abducted 
     children'' the following: ``and involuntarily missing young 
     adults''; and
       (5) in paragraph (7)--
       (A) by inserting after ``leads in missing children'' the 
     following: ``and involuntarily missing young adults''; and
       (B) by inserting after ``where the child'' the following: 
     ``or involuntarily missing young adult''.
       (b) Additional Findings.--Section 402 of the Missing 
     Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771) is amended by--
       (1) redesignating paragraphs (2) through (21) as paragraphs 
     (3) through (22), respectively; and
       (2) inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) each year many young adults are abducted or are 
     involuntarily missing under circumstances which immediately 
     place them in grave danger;''.

     SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PURPOSE OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING 
                   AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

       Section 403 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5772) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
     (4) and (5), respectively; and
       (2) by adding after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) the term `involuntarily missing young adult' means 
     any individual who is at least 18 but has not attained the 
     age of 22 whose whereabouts are unknown to such individual's 
     parent or guardian if law enforcement determines--
       ``(A) there is a reasonable indication or suspicion that 
     the individual has been abducted or is missing under 
     circumstances suggesting foul play or a threat to life; or
       ``(B) the individual is known to be suicidal or has a 
     severe medical condition that poses a threat to his or her 
     life;
       ``(3) the term `young adult' means any individual who is at 
     least 18 but has not attained the age of 22;''.

     SEC. 4. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR IN REGARD 
                   TO INVOLUNTARILY MISSING YOUNG ADULTS.

       Section 404 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5773) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``missing 
     children'' the following: ``and involuntarily missing young 
     adults'';
       (B) in paragraph (5)(A), by inserting after ``missing 
     children'' the following: ``and involuntarily missing young 
     adults'';
       (C) in paragraph (5)(B), by inserting after ``missing 
     children'' the following: ``and involuntarily missing young 
     adults'';
       (D) in paragraph (5)(C), by--
       (i) inserting after ``missing children'' the following: 
     ``or involuntarily missing young adults''; and
       (ii) inserting after ``or to children'' the following: ``or 
     involuntarily missing young adults''; and
       (E) in paragraph (5)(I)(iv), by inserting after ``missing 
     children'' the following: ``and involuntarily missing young 
     adults'';
       (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by--
       (i) inserting after ``regarding the location of any'' the 
     following: ``involuntarily missing young adult or''; and
       (ii) inserting after ``reunite such child with such child's 
     legal custodian'' the following:

[[Page S624]]

     ``, or request information pertaining to procedures necessary 
     to notify law enforcement about such involuntarily missing 
     young adult'';
       (B) in subparagraph (C)(i), by inserting after ``children 
     and their families'' the following: ``and involuntarily 
     missing young adults and their families'';
       (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) as 
     subparagraphs (F), (G), and (H), respectively;
       (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
       ``(E) to coordinate public and private programs which 
     locate or recover involuntarily missing young adults;'';
       (E) in subparagraph (F), as redesignated, by inserting 
     after ``missing and exploited children'' the following: ``and 
     involuntarily missing young adults;'';
       (F) in subparagraph (G), as redesignated by inserting after 
     ``missing and exploited children'' the following: ``and 
     involuntarily missing young adults''; and
       (G) in subparagraph (H), as redesignated, by inserting 
     after ``missing and exploited children'' the following: ``and 
     involuntarily missing young adults,''; and
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) paragraph (1), by inserting after ``number of 
     children'' each place it appears (except after ``who are 
     victims of parental kidnapings'') the following: ``and 
     involuntarily missing young adults''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``missing 
     children'' the following: ``and involuntarily missing young 
     adults''.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR TO MAKE GRANTS AND ENTER 
                   IN CONTRACTS RELATING TO INVOLUNTARILY MISSING 
                   YOUNG ADULTS.

       Section 405 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5775) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by inserting after ``children,'' the first place it 
     appears the following: ``young adults,'';
       (ii) by inserting after ``children'' the second place it 
     appears the following: ``or involuntarily missing young 
     adults'';
       (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``children'' the 
     following: ``or involuntarily missing young adults'';
       (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting after ``children'' the 
     following: ``or involuntarily missing young adults'';
       (D) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) in the matter before subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     after ``children'' the following: ``or involuntarily missing 
     young adults'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after ``child'' each 
     place it appears the following: ``or involuntarily missing 
     young adult''; and
       (iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after ``child'' the 
     following: ``or involuntarily missing young adult'';
       (E) in paragraph (5), by inserting after ``missing 
     children's'' the following: ``or involuntarily missing young 
     adults' '';
       (F) in paragraph (6), by inserting after ``children'' the 
     each place it appears the following: ``or involuntarily 
     missing young adults'';
       (G) in paragraph (7), by inserting after ``children'' each 
     place it appears the following: ``or involuntarily missing 
     young adults''; and
       (H) in paragraph (9), by inserting after ``children'' the 
     following: ``or involuntarily missing young adults''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after ``children'' 
     the first place it appears the following: ``or involuntarily 
     missing young adults'';
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after ``services to'' 
     the following: ``involuntarily missing young adults,''; and
       (C) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after ``children'' 
     the following: ``or involuntarily missing young adults''.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 408(a) of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5777(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following: ``In addition, there is authorized to be 
     appropriated $2,500,000 for fiscal years 2001 through 2003 to 
     carry out the provisions of the amendments made to this Act 
     by the Abducted Young Adults Act.''.

     SEC. 7. SPECIAL STUDY AND REPORT.

       (a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Office of 
     Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall begin to 
     conduct a study to determine the obstacles that prevent or 
     impede law enforcement from recovering involuntarily missing 
     young adults.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Office of 
     Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall submit a 
     report to the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of 
     the House of Representatives and the chairman of the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate containing a 
     description, and a summary of the results, of the study 
     conducted under subsection (a).

     SEC. 8. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

       Section 3701(a) of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     5779) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Each 
     Federal, State, and local law enforcement agency may report 
     each case of an involuntarily missing young adult reported to 
     such agency to the National Crime Information Center of the 
     Department of Justice.''.

     SEC. 9. STATE REQUIREMENTS.

       Section 3702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     5780) is amended by--
       (1) redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
       (2) inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) provide that each involuntarily missing young adult 
     report and all necessary and available information with 
     respect to such report, shall include--
       ``(A) the name, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, 
     and eye and hair color of the involuntarily missing young 
     adult;
       ``(B) the date and location of the last known contact with 
     the involuntarily missing young adult; and
       ``(C) once the State agency receiving the case has made a 
     determination to enter such report into the State law 
     enforcement system and the National Crime Information Center 
     computer networks, and make such report available to the 
     Missing and Exploited Children Information Clearinghouse 
     within the State or other agency designated within the State 
     to receive such reports, shall immediately enter such report 
     and all necessary and available information described in 
     subparagraphs (A) and (B);'';
       (3) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by striking 
     ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting the following: ``paragraphs 
     (2) and (3)''; and
       (4) in paragraph (4)(C), as redesignated, by inserting 
     after ``missing children'' the following: ``and involuntarily 
     missing young adults''.
                                  ____


                                S. 2065

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as ``Kristen's Law''.

     SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONS TO FIND 
                   MISSING ADULTS.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General may make grants to 
     public agencies or nonprofit private organizations, or 
     combinations thereof, for programs--
       (1) to assist law enforcement and families in locating 
     missing adults;
       (2) to maintain a national, interconnected database for the 
     purpose of tracking missing adults who are determined by law 
     enforcement to be endangered due to age, diminished mental 
     capacity, or the circumstances of disappearance, when foul 
     play is suspected or circumstances are unknown;
       (3) to maintain statistical information of adults reported 
     as missing;
       (4) to provide informational resources and referrals to 
     families of missing adults;
       (5) to assist in public notification and victim advocacy 
     related to missing adults; and
       (6) to establish and maintain a national clearinghouse for 
     missing adults.
       (b) Regulations.--The Attorney General may make such rules 
     and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act $1,000,000 each year for fiscal years 2001 through 
     2004.
                                 ______