[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 23, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S5531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




NATIONAL MISSING CHILDREN'S DAY AND THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND 
                           EXPLOITED CHILDREN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today I recognize National Missing 
Children's Day and the great work of the National Center for Missing 
and Exploited Children, NCMEC. The NCMEC has made an unmatched 
contribution in the area of missing children recovery.
  At their annual Congressional Breakfast this morning, the NCMEC 
honored law enforcement officers from around the country for their 
exemplary performance in recovering missing children and in 
apprehending child sex offenders. Last year, we honored a Vermonter at 
this event for his extraordinary work in tracking down a child 
exploitation offender.
  In 1999, I helped pass legislation that authorized funding for the 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and I am pleased to 
see its continued success. Since 1984, when the Center was established, 
it has handled more than 1.4 million calls through its national Hotline 
1-800-THE-LOST; trained more than 161,728 police and other 
professionals; and published more than 20 million publications that are 
distributed free of charge. The Center has worked with law enforcement 
on more than 75,283 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of 
50,605 children.
  In 1998 the Center launched the CyberTipline which allows Internet 
users to report suspicious or illegal activity, including child 
pornography and online enticement of children for sexual exploitation. 
Since its launch in 1998, the CyberTipline has received close to 37,000 
leads with many of those leading to arrests.
  I applaud the ongoing work of the Center, its President, Ernie Allen, 
and all those dedicated employees and volunteers who make this good 
work possible. I wish them continued success in the area of missing 
children recovery.

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