[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 127 (Friday, October 8, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H9009-H9010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2245
             PREVENTION OF CHILD ABDUCTION PARTNERSHIP ACT

  Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 2883) to amend the International 
Child Abduction Remedies Act to limit the tort liability of private 
entities or organizations that carry out responsibilities of the United 
States Central Authority under that Act, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 2883

       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 ``Prevention of Child 
     Abduction Partnership Act''.

     SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.

       Section 7 of the International Child Abduction Remedies Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 11606) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(f) Limited Liability of Private Entities Acting Under 
     the Direction of the United States Central Authority.--
       ``(1) Limitation on Liability.--Except as provided in 
     paragraphs (2) and (3), a private entity or organization that 
     receives a grant from or enters into a contract or agreement 
     with the United States Central Authority under subsection (e) 
     of this section for purposes of assisting the United States 
     Central Authority in carrying out its responsibilities and 
     functions under the Convention and this Act, including any 
     director, officer, employee, or agent of such entity or 
     organization, shall not be liable in any civil action 
     sounding in tort for damages directly related to the 
     performance of such responsibilities and functions as defined 
     by the regulations issued under subsection (c) of this 
     section that are in effect on October 1, 2004.
       ``(2) Exception for Intentional, Reckless, or Other 
     Misconduct.--The limitation on liability under paragraph (1) 
     shall not apply in any action in which the plaintiff proves 
     that the private entity, organization, officer, employee, or 
     agent described in paragraph (1), as the case may be, engaged 
     in intentional misconduct or acted, or failed to act, with 
     actual malice, with reckless disregard to a substantial risk 
     of causing injury without legal justification, or for a 
     purpose unrelated to the performance of responsibilities or 
     functions under this Act.
       ``(3) Exception for Ordinary Business Activities.--The 
     limitation on liability under paragraph (1) shall not apply 
     to any alleged act or omission related to an ordinary 
     business activity, such as an activity involving general 
     administration or operations, the use of motor vehicles, or 
     personnel management.''.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2883, the 
Prevention of Child Abduction Partnership Act.
  The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction is the diplomatic tool which creates a civil cause of action 
for the return of an abducted child to his or her habitual residence. 
Under this international treaty, the U.S. Department of State is the 
central authority responsible for discharging the duties as outlined by 
the Convention. For the past 9 years, pursuant to a cooperative 
agreement between the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children, NCMEC, and the Departments of State and Justice, NCMEC has 
played a vital role by assisting the Department of State in performing 
certain obligations under the Convention, thereby helping the United 
States fulfill its international treaty obligations under the 
Convention.
  In sum, NCMEC helps parents seeking the return of or access to a 
child in the United States to process an application under the 
Convention and to pursue remedies as provided by statute. Secretary of 
State Colin Powell has written to NCMEC that

     its expertise and national networks make NCMEC uniquely 
     effective in helping us give force to the Hague Abduction 
     Convention in the United States. NCMEC's credibility and the 
     success of our work together also give us a decided advantage 
     when we press other governments for changes of practice, 
     policy, legislation, and resource allocation to deter 
     international parental child abduction and send abducted 
     children home to the United States.

  In May, I introduced H.R. 4347, the International Assistance for 
Missing and Exploited Children Act of 2004. Among many other important 
issues, this legislation provides a mechanism for granting NCMEC 
employees, who are working on Hague Convention cases under the 
direction of the State Department, the same limited immunity enjoyed by 
those employed by the Department of State. This legislation is 
currently being negotiated with the administration and other 
congressional committees, and I intend to reintroduce it again in the 
109th session of Congress. As a product of this negotiation, an 
agreement has been reached on language which would provide NCMEC with 
the limited immunity necessary to be able to continue performing its

[[Page H9010]]

obligations under the Hague Convention, which is the substance in S. 
2883.
  This measure has the support of the relevant House and Senate 
Committees and the Departments of State and Justice. If this measure is 
not enacted into law, NCMEC may not be able to continue its operations 
on behalf of the Federal Government since its resources would be lost 
in the defense of frivolous lawsuits. Left-behind parents would suffer 
the prolonged loss of their children, and our Nation potentially would 
lose its advantage in pressing other nations to return abducted 
children.
  I wish to extend my personal gratitude to the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children for its critical work on reuniting 
families, to Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner of the House Judiciary 
Committee, and to Senators Hatch and Leahy of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee and to Senators Lugar and Biden of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee, for working tirelessly to implement this measure.

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