[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 122 (Friday, October 1, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S10277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MISSING CHILD COLD CASE REVIEW ACT OF 2004

  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committee be 
discharged from further consideration of S. 2435 and the Senate proceed 
to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2485) to permit Inspectors General to authorize 
     staff to provide assistance to the National Center for 
     Missing and Exploited children, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is considering 
and passing the ``Missing Child Cold Case Review Act of 2004,'' S. 
2435, which will allow an Inspector General to authorize his or her 
staff to provide assistance on and conduct reviews of the inactive case 
files involving children, or ``cold cases,'' stored at the National 
Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to develop 
recommendations for further investigations.
  I thank Senators Grassley, Lincoln and Hatch for joining me as 
cosponsors of this bipartisan legislation. I thank them for their 
leadership in this area.
  Speed is everything in homicide investigations. As a former 
prosecutor in Vermont, I know firsthand that speed is of the essence 
when trying to solve a homicide. This focus on speed, however, has led 
the law enforcement community to generally believe that any case not 
solved within the first 72 hours or lacking significant leads and 
witness participation has little likelihood of being solved, regardless 
of the expertise and resources deployed. With time, such unsolved cases 
become ``cold,'' and these are among the most difficult and frustrating 
cases detectives face because they are, in effect, cases that other 
investigators, for whatever reason, failed to solve.
  Our Nation's law enforcement agencies, regardless of size, are not 
immune to rising crime rates, staff shortages and budget restrictions. 
Such obstacles have strained the investigative and administrative 
resources of all agencies. More crime often means that fewer cases are 
vigorously pursued, fewer opportunities arise for follow-up and 
individual caseloads increase for already overworked detectives.
  All the obstacles that hamper homicide investigations in their early 
phases contribute to cold cases. The National Center for Missing & 
Exploited Children--our Nation's top resource center for child 
protection--presently retains a backlog of cold cases involving 
children that law enforcement departments nationwide have stopped 
investigating primarily due to all those obstacles. NCMEC serves as a 
clearinghouse for all cold cases in which a child has not been found 
and/or the suspect has not been identified.
  The bill that we pass today will allow an inspector general to 
provide staff support to NCMEC for the purpose of conducting reviews of 
inactive case files to develop recommendations for further 
investigation and similar activities. The inspector general community 
has one of the most diverse and talented criminal investigative cadres 
in the Federal Government. A vast majority of these special agents have 
come from traditional law enforcement agencies, and are highly-trained 
and extremely capable of dealing with complex, criminal cases.
  Under current law, an inspector general's duties are limited to 
activities related to the programs and operations of an agency. Our 
bill would allow an inspector general to permit criminal investigators 
under his or her supervision to review cold case files, so long as 
doing so would not interfere with normal duties. An inspector general 
would not conduct actual investigations, and any inspector general 
would only commit staff when the office's mission-related workloads 
permitted. At no time would these activities be allowed to conflict 
with or delay the stated missions of an inspector general.
  From time to time a criminal investigator employed by an inspector 
general may be between investigations or otherwise available for brief 
periods of time. This act would also allow those resources to be 
provided to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. 
Commitment of resources would be at a minimum and would not materially 
affect the budget of any office.
  We have before us the type of bipartisan legislation that should move 
easily through the House once it passes the Senate. It is supported by 
the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. I applaud 
the ongoing work of the National Center for Missing & Exploited 
Children and hope the House will follow the Senate's leadership and 
promptly pass this bill to provide NCMEC with the resources it requires 
to solve cold cases involving missing children.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and 
passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2435) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 2435

       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 ``Missing Child Cold Case 
     Review Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

       Title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     5779 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 3701 the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 3701A. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

       ``(a) In General.--An Inspector General appointed under 
     section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
     U.S.C. App.) may authorize staff to assist the National 
     Center for Missing and Exploited Children--
       ``(1) by conducting reviews of inactive case files to 
     develop recommendations for further investigations; and
       ``(2) by engaging in similar activities.
       ``(b) Limitations.--
       ``(1) Priority.--An Inspector General may not permit staff 
     to engage in activities described in subsection (a) if such 
     activities will interfere with the duties of the Inspector 
     General under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
     App.).
       ``(2) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be 
     appropriated to carry out this section.''.




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