[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 72 (Wednesday, June 5, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H3165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          PROVIDING CRITICAL INFORMATION TO PREVENT ABDUCTIONS

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, I generally give my 1-minutes each day on 
the issue of missing children, whether it is to talk about Ludwig 
Koonz, who has been abducted by his noncustodial mother to Italy, or 
whether it is talk about the Missing Children's Day, which we observed 
only a couple of weeks ago.
  During that time, there was a survey that was done, it was done by 
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and ADVO, and it 
showed that many parents lack information critical to recovering 
children who have been abducted. The survey results show that many 
parents are missing opportunities to help prevent abductions.
  Law enforcement tells us that information such as height, weight, eye 
color, and a recent photograph are critically important when searching 
for a child. However, the survey shows that 22 percent of parents do 
not know the height, weight, and eye color for all of their children; 
and in the event of an emergency, it is critical for parents to have 
readily available their child's accurate physical description and a 
recent photograph so that law enforcement can act immediately and 
effectively.
  So, parents, take the time to get a good portrait ID-type photograph 
of each child, not just a low-quality snapshot. Parents need to take 
the responsibility of knowing about their children and being able and 
ready to respond in the event that something terrible happens such as 
that. Let us work to take care of our children.

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