[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 134 (Friday, September 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12099-S12101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RUNAWAY, HOMELESS, AND MISSING CHILDREN PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 289, S. 1451.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1451) to reauthorize programs under the Runaway 
     and Homeless Youth Act and the Missing Children's Assistance 
     Act, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I urge the Senate to take up and pass S. 
1451, the Runaway, Homeless, and Missing Children Protection Act. It 
passed unanimously in the Judiciary Committee earlier today, and it 
deserves the support of every Senator. I joined with Senator Hatch in 
introducing this legislation to reauthorize and improve the Runaway and 
Homeless Youth Act, and to extend the authorization of the Missing 
Children's Assistance Act. This bill follows in the footsteps of the 
recently enacted PROTECT Act legislation, and presents another 
milestone in our efforts to safeguard all of our children.
  In the 29 years since it became law, the Runaway and Homeless Youth 
Act has helped some of the most vulnerable children in our country. I 
have worked in the past to extend the program, most recently in the 
106th Congress, when I cosponsored S. 249, the Missing, Exploited, and 
Runaway Children Protection Act, which extended the act through this 
year. I am pleased to help extend it once again.
  A Justice Department report released last year estimated that 1.7 
million young people either ran away from or were thrown out of their 
homes in 1999 alone. Other studies have suggested an even higher 
number. This law and the programs it funds provide a safety net that 
helps give these young people a chance to build lives for themselves. 
It is slated to expire at the end of this fiscal year, and we should 
not allow that to happen.
  In my State, both the Vermont Coalition for Runaway and Homeless 
Youth and Spectrum Youth and Family Services in Burlington receive 
grants under this law, and they have provided excellent services both 
to young people trying to build lives on their own and to those who are 
struggling on the streets. Reauthorizing this law will allow them to 
continue their enormously important work.
  This bill would improve the law by extending the period during which 
older homeless youth can receive services under the Transitional Living 
Program, to ensure that all homeless youth can take advantage of 
services at least until they turn 18. The bill would also make 
permanent the Secretary of Health and Human Services' authority to make 
grants explicitly to help rural areas meet the unique stresses of 
providing services to runaway and homeless youth. Programs serving 
runaway and homeless youth have found that those in rural areas are 
particularly difficult to reach and serve effectively, and this bill 
recognizes that fact.
  The improvements proposed in this bill to the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act build on provisions included in the PROTECT Act 
legislation that we enacted earlier this year. In that bill, we 
authorized National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC, 
activities through 2005 and authorized the Center to strengthen its 
CyberTipline to provide online users an effective means of reporting 
Internet-related child sexual exploitation in distribution of child 
pornography, online enticement of children for sexual acts, and child 
prostitution. This bill would extend NCMEC through 2008. Now more than 
ever, it is critical for Congress to give the center the resources it 
needs in order to pursue its important work. A missing or abducted 
child is the worst nightmare of any parent or grandparent, and NCMEC 
has proved to

[[Page S12100]]

be an invaluable resource in Federal, State, and local efforts to 
recover children who have disappeared.
  Although this is a good bill on the whole, I am disappointed that 
Senator Hatch did not agree to remove a provision that was included in 
the House-passed bill that prohibits grantees from using any funds 
provided under this program for needle distribution programs. This is a 
superfluous provision that simply repeats what is already law. In 
addition, it is unnecessary because no grantee under this program 
operates needle exchange programs or has expressed interest in doing 
so. The inclusion of this needless provision, however, does not change 
the fact that this is still a very good bill.
  The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs have received tremendous 
bipartisan support over the years, and the House has already passed its 
version of this bill by a vote of 404 to 14. I urge the Senate to 
follow suit today.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1451) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1451

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Runaway, Homeless, and 
     Missing Children Protection Act''.

         TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH ACT

     SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS.

       Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5701) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 302. FINDINGS.

       ``The Congress finds that--
       ``(1) youth who have become homeless or who leave and 
     remain away from home without parental permission, are at 
     risk of developing, and have a disproportionate share of, 
     serious health, behavioral, and emotional problems because 
     they lack sufficient resources to obtain care and may live on 
     the street for extended periods thereby endangering 
     themselves and creating a substantial law enforcement problem 
     for communities in which they congregate;
       ``(2) many such young people, because of their age and 
     situation, are urgently in need of temporary shelter and 
     services, including services that are linguistically 
     appropriate and acknowledge the environment of youth seeking 
     these services;
       ``(3) in view of the interstate nature of the problem, it 
     is the responsibility of the Federal Government to develop an 
     accurate national reporting system to report the problem, and 
     to assist in the development of an effective system of care 
     (including preventive and aftercare services, emergency 
     shelter services, extended residential shelter, and street 
     outreach services) outside the welfare system and the law 
     enforcement system;
       ``(4) to make a successful transition to adulthood, runaway 
     youth, homeless youth, and other street youth need 
     opportunities to complete high school or earn a general 
     equivalency degree, learn job skills, and obtain employment; 
     and
       ``(5) improved coordination and collaboration between the 
     Federal programs that serve runaway and homeless youth are 
     necessary for the development of a long-term strategy for 
     responding to the needs of this population.''.

     SEC. 102. GRANT PROGRAM CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

       The heading for part A of the Runaway and Homeless Youth 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 5711 et seq.) is amended by striking ``Runaway 
     and Homeless Youth'' and inserting ``Basic Center''.

     SEC. 103. GRANTS FOR SERVICES PROVIDED.

       Section 311(a)(2)(C) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 5711(a)(2)(C)) is amended--
       (1) in clause (ii) by striking ``and'';
       (2) in clause (iii) by striking the period and inserting 
     ``; and''; and
       (3) after clause (iii) by inserting the following:
       ``(iv) at the request of runaway and homeless youth, 
     testing for sexually transmitted diseases.''.

     SEC. 104. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISION RELATING TO CERTAIN 
                   ALLOTMENTS.

       Section 311(b) the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5711(b)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Subject to paragraph 
     (3), the'' and inserting ``The'';
       (2) by striking paragraph (3); and
       (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3).

     SEC. 105. ELIGIBILITY PROVISION.

       Section 312(a) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5712(a)) is amended by striking ``juveniles'' each 
     place it appears and inserting ``youth''.

     SEC. 106. RECOGNITION OF STATE LAW RELATING TO CAPACITY 
                   LIMITATION ON ELIGIBLE RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS 
                   YOUTH CENTERS.

       Section 312(b)(2)(A) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 5712(b)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting after 
     ``youth'' the following: ``, except where the applicant 
     assures that the State where the center or locally 
     controlled facility is located has a State or local law or 
     regulation that requires a higher maximum to comply with 
     licensure requirements for child and youth serving 
     facilities''.

     SEC. 107. MATERNITY GROUP HOMES.

       (a) Eligibility.--Section 322(a)(1) of the Runaway and 
     Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-2(a)(1)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting after ``group homes,'' the following: 
     ``including maternity group homes,''; and
       (2) by inserting after ``use of credit,'' the following: 
     ``parenting skills (as appropriate),''.
       (b) Definition.--Section 322 of the Runaway and Homeless 
     Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-2) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new subsection:
       ``(c) Definition.--In this part, the term `maternity group 
     home' means a community-based, adult-supervised transitional 
     living arrangement that provides pregnant or parenting youth 
     and their children with a supportive and supervised living 
     arrangement in which such pregnant or parenting youth are 
     required to learn parenting skills, including child 
     development, family budgeting, health and nutrition, and 
     other skills to promote their long-term economic independence 
     in order to ensure the well-being of their children.''.

     SEC. 108. LIMITED EXTENSION OF 540-DAY SHELTER ELIGIBILITY 
                   PERIOD.

       Section 322(a)(2) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5714-2(a)(2)) is amended by inserting after ``days'' 
     the following: ``, except that a youth in a program under 
     this part who is under the age of 18 years on the last day of 
     the 540-day period may, if otherwise qualified for the 
     program, remain in the program until the earlier of the 
     youth's 18th birthday or the 180th day after the end of the 
     540-day period''.

     SEC. 109. PART A PLAN COORDINATION ASSURANCES.

       Section 312(b)(4)(B) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 5712(b)(4)(B)) is amended by striking 
     ``personnel'' and all that follows through the semicolon and 
     inserting ``McKinney-Vento school district liaisons, 
     designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-
     Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), 
     to assure that runaway and homeless youth are provided 
     information about the educational services available to such 
     youth under subtitle B of title VII of that Act;''.

     SEC. 110. PART B PLAN COORDINATION AGREEMENT.

       Section 322(a) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5714-2(a)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of 
     paragraph (13);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (14) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(15) to coordinate services with McKinney-Vento school 
     district liaisons, designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) 
     of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
     11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), to assure that runaway and homeless 
     youth are provided information about the educational services 
     available to such youth under subtitle B of title VII of that 
     Act.''.

     SEC. 111. PART B PLAN DEVELOPMENT.

       Section 322(a)(7) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5714-2(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(7) to develop an adequate plan to ensure proper referral 
     of homeless youth to social service, law enforcement, 
     educational (including post-secondary education), vocational, 
     training (including services and programs for youth available 
     under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998), welfare 
     (including programs under the Personal Responsibility and 
     Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996), legal service, 
     and health care programs and to help integrate and coordinate 
     such services for youths;''.

     SEC. 112. COORDINATION OF PROGRAMS.

       Section 341 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5714-21) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) shall consult, as appropriate, the Secretary of 
     Housing and Urban Development to ensure coordination of 
     programs and services for homeless youth.''.

     SEC. 113. CLARIFICATION OF GRANT AUTHORITY.

       Section 343(a) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5714-23(a)) is amended by inserting after ``service 
     projects'' the following: ``regarding activities under this 
     title''.

     SEC. 114. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT RELATING TO DEMONSTRATION 
                   PROJECTS.

       The section heading of section 344 of the Runaway and 
     Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-24) is amended by striking 
     ``temporary''.

[[Page S12101]]

     SEC. 115. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISION RELATING TO STUDY.

       The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) 
     is amended by striking section 345 (42 U.S.C. 5714-25).

     SEC. 116. AGE LIMIT FOR HOMELESS YOUTH.

       Section 387(3)(A)(i) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 5732a(3)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting after ``of 
     age'' the following: ``, or, in the case of a youth seeking 
     shelter in a center under part A, not more than 18 years of 
     age''.

     SEC. 117. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Other Than Part E.--Section 388(a)(1) of the Runaway 
     and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)(1)) is amended by 
     striking ``such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 
     2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003'' and inserting ``$105,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be necessary for 
     fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008''.
       (b) Part E.--Section 388(a)(4) of the Runaway and Homeless 
     Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)(4)) is amended by striking 
     ``2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003'' and inserting ``2004, 2005, 
     2006, 2007, and 2008''.
       (c) Part B Allocation.--Section 388(a)(2)(B) of the Runaway 
     and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)(2)(B)) is amended 
     by striking ``not less than 20 percent, and not more than 30 
     percent'' and inserting ``45 percent and, in those fiscal 
     years in which continuation grant obligations and the quality 
     and number of applicants for parts A and B warrant not more 
     than 55 percent''.

     SEC. 118. REPORT ON PROMISING STRATEGIES TO END YOUTH 
                   HOMELESSNESS.

       Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
     consultation with the United States Interagency Council on 
     Homelessness, shall submit to the Congress a report on 
     promising strategies to end youth homelessness.

     SEC. 119. STUDY OF HOUSING SERVICES AND STRATEGIES.

       The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall conduct a 
     study of programs funded under part B of the Runaway and 
     Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-1 et seq.) to report on 
     long-term housing outcomes for youth after exiting the 
     program. The study of any such program should provide 
     information on housing services available to youth upon 
     exiting the program, including assistance in locating and 
     retaining permanent housing and referrals to other 
     residential programs. In addition, the study should identify 
     housing models and placement strategies that prevent future 
     episodes of homelessness.

     SEC. 120. RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.

       The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 389. RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.

       ``(a) In General.--None of the funds contained in this 
     title may be used for any program of distributing sterile 
     needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any 
     illegal drug.
       ``(b) Separate Accounting.--Any individual or entity who 
     receives any funds contained in this title and who carries 
     out any program described in subsection (a) shall account for 
     all funds used for such program separately from any funds 
     contained in this title.''.

       TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE ACT

     SEC. 201. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS.

       Section 402 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5771) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 402. FINDINGS.

       ``The Congress finds that--
       ``(1) each year thousands of children are abducted or 
     removed from the control of a parent having legal custody 
     without such parent's consent, under circumstances which 
     immediately place the child in grave danger;
       ``(2) many missing children are at great risk of both 
     physical harm and sexual exploitation;
       ``(3) in many cases, parents and local law enforcement 
     officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to 
     mount expanded search efforts;
       ``(4) abducted children are frequently moved from one 
     locality to another, requiring the cooperation and 
     coordination of local, State, and Federal law enforcement 
     efforts;
       ``(5) the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
     Children--
       ``(A) serves as the national resource center and 
     clearinghouse;
       ``(B) works in partnership with the Department of Justice, 
     the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of the 
     Treasury, the Department of State, and many other agencies in 
     the effort to find missing children and prevent child 
     victimization; and
       ``(C) operates a national and increasingly worldwide 
     network, linking the Center online with each of the missing 
     children clearinghouses operated by the 50 States, the 
     District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as with 
     Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, the Royal Canadian 
     Mounted Police, INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France, and 
     others, which enable the Center to transmit images and 
     information regarding missing children to law enforcement 
     across the United States and around the world instantly.''.

     SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Annual Grant to National Center for Missing and 
     Exploited Children.--Section 404(b)(2) of the Missing 
     Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(2)) is amended 
     by striking ``2005'' and inserting ``2008''.
       (b) In General.--Section 408(a) of the Missing Children's 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5777(a)) is amended by striking 
     ``2005.'' and inserting ``2008''.

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