[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H1882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CHILD ABDUCTION PREVENTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, surely he came to save that which was lost.
  As the father of two beautiful daughters, I was elated last night to 
see a little girl by the name of Elizabeth Smart lost 9 months ago to 
her family and her community restored to hearth and home. It was an 
awesome sight and a reunion that is difficult to imagine in its joy 
this side of eternity.
  As a member of the Committee on the Judiciary and as the author of 
legislation protecting children from Internet pornographers, Madam 
Speaker, I am delighted to report this week against the backdrop of 
that awesome news Congress was caught doing something. It is truly 
astonishing.
  In the midst of the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart and far too many 
others, last year Congress passed the Child Abduction Prevention Act, 
taking strong action to prevent child kidnappings in the future. It 
included a national Amber alert. But sadly, the Senate failed to act on 
that important legislation. Undeterred, the chairman of the Committee 
on the Judiciary, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), was 
already moving this bill last week when public vigilance restored 
Elizabeth Smart to her family.
  Different from action in the other body earlier today, that creates a 
national coordinator that already exists within the Justice Department 
and a voluntary national Amber alert. The Child Abduction Prevention 
Act that was already marked up last week and scheduled for 
consideration in the Committee on the Judiciary this coming week 
creates a national Amber alert communication network. It gives the 
judicial branch the ability to impose life sentences for child sex 
offenders, creates a mandatory life sentence for two strike offenders. 
It eliminates the statute of limitation for child abduction and it 
doubles Federal funds to the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children.
  There is real substance in the Child Abduction Prevention Act. This 
is a time against the backdrop of this extraordinarily joyous news that 
we in Washington need legislation, not symbolism and photo ops. To the 
family of Elizabeth Smart and her brave and courageous parents, may the 
Lord bless your reunion. But to my colleagues, let us seize this 
historic occasion of joy to pass meaningful legislation. Let us move 
the Child Abduction Prevention Act among my colleagues on the Committee 
on the Judiciary, and as swiftly as is possible, let us move it to the 
floor of the House of Representatives and to the President's desk. Our 
children, including Elizabeth Smart, deserve no less.

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