[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1006-E1007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 USPS STAMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHOULD ISSUE A STAMP TO RAISE AWARENESS 
             ABOUT PLIGHT OF MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2003

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with Representative 
Nick Lampson, Chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited 
Children's Caucus, to announce the introduction of a resolution 
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
States Postal Service (USPS) Stamp Advisory Committee should issue a 
stamp to raise awareness about the plight of missing and exploited 
children. It is only fitting that such an action should occur today, on 
National Missing Children's day.
  My local community was shocked one afternoon in August 1993 when 12-
year-old Sara Anne Wood was abducted near her home in Sauquoit, NY. Far 
too many parents have had to suffer with the agony of not knowing if 
their child was safe--we need to be more vigilant in protecting our 
nation's children.
  The idea for this stamp should be credited to the Missing Children's 
Stamp Committee, a grass roots organization of concerned citizens from 
my district whose goal is to convince the USPS Stamp Advisory Committee 
to issue a commemorative stamp to raise awareness about the plight of 
all missing and exploited children nationwide.

[[Page E1007]]

  The Missing Children's Stamp Committee was formed in January 1996 by 
Chairman John L. Brezinski, a Herkimer County Legislator, and is a 
subcommittee of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 
(Mohawk Valley Branch). In its first year of existence, the Committee 
received over 35,000 letters of support for their efforts from across 
the globe, but has run into many hurdles along the way. In the past, 
the USPS Stamp Advisory Committee has refused to approve such a stamp. 
Forty-five other sponsors of this legislation and I are calling on the 
USPS Stamp Advisory Committee to act and issue a stamp to address this 
critical issue.
  According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 
800,000 children are reported missing each year--that's almost 200 each 
day. According to a recent Zogby International poll of 1,401 adults, 
more than two-in-three Americans say the USPS Stamp Advisory Committee 
should issue a stamp raising awareness about the plight of missing and 
exploited children. The people have spoken and we must respond.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me and the forty five other 
original cosponsors and show their support for this resolution, the 
need to raise awareness, and the need to protect our children.

                          ____________________