[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMBER ALERT: A POWERFUL TOOL TO PROTECT KIDS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call the attention of my colleagues 
to the successes of the AMBER Alert program. As my colleagues know, 
this is a program that utilizes media alerts to help locate missing 
children within hours after they are abducted.
  When a child is abducted, every minute is crucial. Statistics show 
that, when abducted, a child's greatest enemy is time. In those 
critical first hours, the AMBER Alert works to aid in a child's safe 
return by enlisting the entire community in their recovery.
  The AMBER Plan idea was created in 1996 in response to the tragic 
murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, a little girl who was kidnapped 
and killed while riding her bicycle near her home in Arlington, Texas. 
That tragedy shocked and outraged the entire community. Residents 
contacted radio stations in the area and suggested they broadcast 
special ``alerts'' over the airwaves to help in the future.
  Since that time, the AMBER Alert idea has spread across the country. 
Since the original AMBER Plan was established, 66 modified versions 
have been adopted at local, regional, and statewide levels; 24 states 
have a statewide plan. In my home State of New Jersey, Governor James 
E. McGreevey, together with the Office of the Attorney General and the 
State Police have been working to implement an AMBER Alert system.
  In my own district, we know something about the plague of child 
abduction. Megan's Law, the law that requires authorities to notify 
residents when a sexual predator resides in their neighborhood was 
named after Megan Kanka, a central New Jersey child who was the victim 
of a ruthless child killer. My predecessor in Congress, Representative 
Dick Zimmer, worked with Megan Kanka's parents to pass Megan's Law.
  I am proud to have recently joined with my colleagues here in 
Congress, Representative Martin Frost and Representative Jennifer Dunn 
and other legislators to introduce legislation calling for an expansion 
of the AMBER Alert concept nationally. Protecting our children against 
violence is nothing less than a national priority, and we are committed 
to passing this bill immediately to begin the creation of a nationwide 
network of AMBER Alert programs.
  Unfortunately, passage of an AMBER Alert package into law this year 
is very much in doubt. Earlier this week, Congress passed legislation 
that included provisions to promote a national AMBER Alert program. 
While that would seem to be good news, I'm afraid that passage of this 
bill may actually delay, not speed up, the implementation of AMBER 
nationally.
  The components that were unnecessarily added to the AMBER Alert Bill 
had previously been passed as stand-alone bills and I have previously 
voted in favor of them. On March 14, I voted to pass the ``Two Strikes 
and You're Out Child Protection Act.'' On May 21 I voted to pass the 
``Child Sex Crimes Wiretapping Act.'' On June 25, I voted to pass the 
``Lifetime Consequences for Sex Offenders Act.'' And on June 26, I 
voted to pass the ``Sex Tourism Prohibition Act.''
  A week ago, at the White House Conference on Missing and Exploited 
and Runaway Children, President Bush called on us in the House to pass 
the AMBER Alert legislation passed by the Senate. I completely agree 
with the President. Bipartisan legislation to create a national AMBER 
Alert System quickly passed the Senate and it should have passed the 
House and been put into law by now.
  Unfortunately, instead of enacting this bipartisan plan to protect 
kids, House Congressional leaders added all of these other provisions 
to the AMBER bill, an action that may make it impossible to pass this 
legislation prior to adjournment because some members of the Senate do 
not support them. In fact, several of the provisions have been pending 
in the Senate for over four years without action. The likely result is 
that we will have no national AMBER Alert system for at least another 
year. That is unfortunate and unnecessary. I suspect that the 
leadership of the House presented the legislation more for the sake of 
appearance than to actually bring about a national AMBER Alert system.
  We in Congress have a chance to do something positive to keep our 
children safe. I call on all of my colleagues to come together and 
redouble our efforts to pass AMBER Alert legislation before Congress 
adjourns next week. We owe it to parents and kids in central New Jersey 
and the nation.

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