[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 76 (Thursday, June 9, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6331-S6332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Leahy):
  S. 1220. A bill to assist law enforcement in their efforts to recover 
missing

[[Page S6332]]

children and to strengthen the standards for State sex offender 
registration programs; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleague from 
Maine, Senator Collins, and my colleague from Vermont, Senator Leahy, 
to introduce legislation today to protect America's children from the 
vicious criminals who prey on them.
  While we've made some progress in the last few years, anyone who 
picks up a newspaper today can see that far too many of our kids are 
still too vulnerable.
  The most recent annual data shows that about 58,000 children were 
abducted by nonfamily members, usually people who are strangers to the 
children. The most frequent victims were teenage girls. Almost one-half 
of these victims were sexually molested.
  Our bill, ``The Prevention and Recovery of Missing Children Act of 
2005'', will take 3 common-sense steps to better protect the children 
of America.
  First, it will require that information on a missing child be 
disseminated throughout the country within 2 hours through the National 
Crime Information Center database. The reason for this requirement is 
that time is of the essence. In cases where a child is killed, the 
evidence shows that the child died within the first three hours of 
being kidnapped. The more quickly that police throughout the country 
can be alerted, the more likely it is that we can save a child before a 
child is harmed.
  Second, the bill will make it tougher for convicted sex offenders to 
escape the law and the watchful eye of the community in which they 
live. We know that far too many jurisdictions rely essentially on the 
voluntary actions of the convicted sex offender to register his 
residence, his car and license plate, and other pertinent information. 
Moreover, requirements vary from state to state and jurisdiction to 
jurisdiction.
  Therefore the legislation we are introducing today will provide tough 
national standards that will require these criminals to register before 
they are released from prison. It will require, within 48 hours of 
moving to a new residence, that these individuals report to local law 
enforcement and provide information about their residence, a current 
photograph, DNA sample, as well as report the make, model, and license 
plate number of his or her vehicle and get a drivers license or ID. 
Every 90 days, they would have to verify their registry information and 
annually provide a new photograph. Failure to comply with these 
requirements would subject the criminal to a felony.
  These new requirements are tough, but our children's safety is far 
too important to be left to patchwork laws and the voluntary action of 
convicted criminals whose likelihood of repeating the crime is 
extremely high.
  Third, the legislation removes a current requirement that the names 
of missing children be deleted from the national database when those 
children turn 18. Just because a child turns 18 doesn't mean that our 
country should not try to find that child and certainly doesn't mean 
that the child should be forgotten.
  Nothing we do as a Nation is more important than building a better 
future for our children. And, nothing is more important to building 
that future than keeping our children safe today.
  Therefore, in my view, no legislation is more important to be enacted 
in this Congress than this legislation to protect our children from 
every parent's nightmare. I ask unanimous consent to have a brief 
summary of the bill printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

 Prevention and Recovery of Missing Children Act of 2005--Brief Summary

       The most recent annual data shows that 58,000 children were 
     abducted by nonfamily members, mostly strangers to the 
     children. Most of the victims were teenage girls and nearly 
     half were sexually molested. The National Crime Information 
     Center (NCIC) database is a critical means of cooperation, 
     linking 16,000 Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
     agencies. Currently, registration for convicted sex offender 
     rules vary by state. A number of States rely on sex offenders 
     to self-report.
       Improves missing child reporting requirements. Stops the 
     practice of removing a missing child entry from the NCIC 
     database when the child reaches age 18, to increase the 
     chances for child recovery and investigative information 
     available for other cases.
       Improves the chances for recovery of missing children. 
     Requires entry of child information into the NCIC database 
     within 2 hours of receipt. Immediate entry is critical as 
     evidenced by the fact that in 74 percent of abduction 
     homicide cases the child is dead within 3 hours and 91 
     percent are killed within 24 hours.
       Strengthens sex offender registration requirements. Each of 
     the following suggested amendments are currently part of the 
     statutory sex offender registration policies and procedures 
     in at least one or more states.
       Requires States to register sex offenders before they are 
     released from prison. Permitting sex offenders to self-
     register can lead to under-registration and loss of 
     potentially vital investigative information for law 
     enforcement.
       Requires the registering agency to obtain current 
     fingerprints and a photograph (annually), as well as a DNA 
     sample, from an offender at the time of registration. Up-to-
     date identifying information is a vital investigative tool 
     and may help law enforcement connect seemingly unrelated 
     cases in different jurisdictions.
       Requires registrants to obtain either a driver's license or 
     an identification card from the department of motor vehicles. 
     This provides another mechanism through which law enforcement 
     can track the location of potential re-offenders.
       Requires that registration changes occur within 48 hours of 
     the changes taking effect. The delay of registering changes 
     creates a ``loophole'' through which sex offenders can re-
     offend and remain undetected.
       Requires all registered sex offenders to verify their 
     registry information every 90 days. Currently, this 
     requirement is imposed for sexually violent predators only. 
     Obtaining up-to-date registry information from all sex 
     offenders is a vital investigative tool for law enforcement 
     and obtaining it every 90 days provides earlier warning to 
     law enforcement of non-compliant offenders who may have 
     traveled into other jurisdictions, placing new communities at 
     risk.
       Requires States to inform another state when a known 
     registered person is moving into its jurisdiction. Placing 
     this burden solely on the sex offender leads to under-
     registration and places communities at risk.
       In order to give sex offenders a strong incentive to comply 
     with registry requirements, the bill mandates a felony 
     designation for the crime of non-compliance. Non-compliance 
     must be viewed as an ongoing offense.
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