[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 14 (Monday, January 27, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H143]]
                    NATIONAL AMBER ALERT NETWORK ACT

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, just a few minutes ago, we were notified 
that the Senate has passed the National AMBER Alert Network Act, and it 
will be introduced here in the House and will be taken up shortly.
  As founder and chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Missing and 
Exploited Children, I am an original cosponsor of that piece of 
legislation, and I am here to encourage my colleagues to join me in 
that commonsense bipartisan legislation.
  The National AMBER Alert Network Act builds on the success of the 
AMBER Alert Plan, a voluntary, cooperative program between law 
enforcement agencies and local broadcasters to quickly send an 
emergency alert to the public when a child has been abducted. Thanks to 
the work of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and 
others, there are now 84 AMBER plans. Still, the vast majority of 
America's communities have not established an AMBER plan to protect 
their children.
  This legislation provides State and local entities grants through the 
Departments of Justice and Transportation for highway signage, 
education and training programs, and equipment to facilitate AMBER 
Alert systems. The bill offers States the resources they need to 
establish a seamless network of AMBER plans.
  Please join me in supporting the National AMBER Alert Network Act.

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