[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 63 (Thursday, May 16, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S4503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 271--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
   EFFECTIVENESS OF THE AMBER PLAN IN RESPONDING TO CHILD ABDUCTIONS

  Mrs. CLINTON submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 271

       Whereas communities should implement an emergency alert 
     plan such as the AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast 
     Emergency Response) Plan to expedite the recovery of abducted 
     children;
       Whereas the AMBER Plan, a partnership between law 
     enforcement agencies and media officials, assists law 
     enforcement, parents, and local communities to respond 
     immediately to the most serious child abduction cases;
       Whereas just as in a storm emergency, when warnings are 
     broadcast locally, under AMBER, radio and television 
     stations, as a public service, interrupt programming with a 
     critical message from law enforcement regarding the 
     description of a missing child;
       Whereas the AMBER Plan was created in 1996 in memory of 9-
     year-old Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped and murdered in 
     Arlington, Texas;
       Whereas in response to community concern, the Association 
     of Radio Managers with the assistance of area law enforcement 
     in Arlington, Texas, created the AMBER Plan;
       Whereas statistics from the Department of Justice show that 
     74 percent of kidnapped children who are later found murdered 
     are killed within the first 3 hours of their abduction;
       Whereas since the first few hours during which a child is 
     missing are critical, the AMBER plan helps the community 
     respond quickly;
       Whereas since the first AMBER alert in 1997, AMBER plans 
     have helped to recover 16 children throughout the country;
       Whereas the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
     Children endorses the AMBER Plan and is promoting the use of 
     such emergency alert plans nationwide;
       Whereas the AMBER Plan is responsible for reuniting 
     children with their searching parents: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the AMBER Plan is a powerful tool in fighting child 
     abductions; and
       (2) the AMBER Plan should be used in communities across the 
     United States.

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