[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 136 (Thursday, October 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S11181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AUTHORIZING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO PROVIDE GRANTS TO FIND MISSING 
                                 ADULTS

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of H.R. 2780, which is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2780) to authorize the Attorney General to 
     provide grants for organizations to find missing adults.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I rise today to thank my colleagues for 
supporting Kristen's Act. Representative Sue Myrick  introduced this 
essential crime prevention legislation on the House side, and I 
introduced the Senate companion. With the Senate's action today, this 
measure will be set to become law. I am grateful to Representative 
Myrick for her tireless efforts towards ensuring that Kristen's Act 
becomes law. The legislation will help public agencies and nonprofit 
organizations provide desperately needed assistance to law enforcement 
and families in locating involuntarily missing adults.
  I would also like to thank Senators Leahy and Hatch. They deserve 
special praise for their constant support of victim advocacy 
initiatives and their fight to put a stop to crime in our Nation.
  Kristen's Law was inspired by the story of a young woman from North 
Carolina, Kristen Modafferi. On June 23, 1997, just three weeks after 
her 18th birthday, Kristen disappeared. Despite tireless efforts by law 
enforcement to locate Kristen, she has not been seen since. And 
tragically, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was 
unable to assist with the search, all because Kristen had passed the 
age of 18.
  Unfortunately, Kristen's story is not unique. Numerous other cases 
involving the disappearance of young adults are reported to authorities 
every year. During 1999, in North Carolina, the Mecklenburg County 
Sheriff's Office received reports of 132 missing persons ages 18 
through 21. That's the number for just one age group, in just one 
county, in just one state in the country. When we look at nationwide 
statistics for missing adults, what we find is staggering. For example, 
as of February 1999, the FBI reported that there were more than 38,000 
active missing person entries for adults over the age of eighteen. This 
is frighteningly large number.
  That is why I believe that Kristen's Act is a necessary protective 
measure. It will not only provide some comfort to the millions of 
parents who send their children to college every year and worry about 
their safety, but it will help ensure that when an adult of any age is 
determined missing due to foul play, a national effort will be 
mobilized to help.
  When a person involuntarily disappears, time is of the essence. 
Search efforts must begin quickly, and they must reach across 
jurisdictions. Abducted individuals 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. Kristen's Act will 
help facilitate communication between search parties through the 
establishment of a national database to track involuntarily missing 
adults.
  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 
organization that exists to aid law enforcement in their efforts to 
locate missing adults. Unfortunately, Kristen's tragic story 
illustrates the need for such an organization. Kristen's Act will help 
enable this to happen by providing funds to help establish a national 
clearinghouse for missing adults.
  Mr. President, I believe that it is important to mention that it is 
true that some individuals 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 of law enforcement, the Center, or anyone else to launch a 
search.
  That is why I believe the Attorney General should ensure that under 
Kristen's Act, grants will be given out only to organizations that have 
demonstrated they have in place clear, effective methods of 
distinguishing between disappearances that are voluntary and those that 
may involve foul play. And that is why Kristen's Act specifies that if 
a national database is set up, it will be used to track only those 
missing adults who have first been determined by law enforcement to be 
endangered due to age, diminished mental capacity or suspicious 
circumstances.
  There are many individuals who really do need help. In those 
instances, Kristen's Act sends a message to families that they deserve 
whatever assistance is necessary to locate endangered and involuntarily 
missing loved ones. The bill will help ensure that all involuntarily 
missing adults--regardless of age--will receive not only the benefit of 
search efforts by law enforcement, but also by experienced, specialized 
organizations.
  Mr. President, I believe we must do everything we can to prevent 
situations like the one that Kristen Modafferi and her family have 
suffered through. The bill we passed today goes a long way toward 
achieving this goal. Again, I commend my colleagues for recognizing its 
importance.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the 
third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, 
and that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 2780) was read the third time and passed.

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