[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR 
                     MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. E. CLAY SHAW, JR.

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 18, 2004

  Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 20th anniversary 
of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), 
which was established by the passage of the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act of 1984. I am proud to have been an original cosponsor 
of this legislation. It was my honor to act on behalf of my 
constituents, John and Reve Walsh, who became effective advocates on 
behalf of missing children's issues after the abduction and murder of 
their son, Adam, in 1981. John and Reve's hard work and determination 
helped to create NCMEC, which now serves as the national clearinghouse 
for information on missing children and the prevention of child 
victimization.
  It was under the strong and distinguished leadership of the late 
President Ronald Reagan that the NCMEC was established. On June 13, 
1984, President Reagan officially opened the NCMEC in a ceremony at the 
White House. The President challenged the NCMEC to wake up America and 
attack the crisis of child abduction. At the time, there was little 
coordination between the 50 states and the 18,000 law-enforcement 
agencies. President Reagan encouraged the development of the NCMEC as 
an institution that could combine the benefits of both the public and 
private sectors to achieve its goals.
  The NCMEC has significantly improved and advanced the coordination of 
investigation efforts to recover abducted children on the national 
level in a manner that could not have been accomplished in its absence. 
The clear effectiveness of this program is evidenced by the remarkable 
recovery rate of children under this program. In 2004, the NCMEC 
reported that more than 94 percent of the children reported missing in 
that year were recovered. Furthermore, the highly publicized AMBER 
alert program serves as a national tool to create public awareness of 
abductions and possible threats. Such determined efforts serve an 
invaluable service to our country in staving off some of the most 
serious and concerning threats to our Nation's children.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my sincere belief that the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children cultivates a culture in this country 
that appreciates the safety of its children and establishes direct 
means at recovering children who fall victim to the threats of the 
people who disregard the laws of basic humanity. It was my honor in 
supporting the creation of this institution, just as it's my honor to 
continue to support this program that has had such a positive affect on 
our Nation. As a member of the Congressional Missing and Exploited 
Children's Caucus, I will continue working to provide and sustain high 
levels of support for our law-enforcement agencies in their quest to 
safely retrieve victims of child abduction.

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