[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 14, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H7879-H7881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3132, CHILDREN'S SAFETY ACT OF 2005

  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 436 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 436

       Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 3132) to make improvements to the national sex 
     offender registration program, and for other purposes. The 
     first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points 
     of order against consideration of the bill are waived. 
     General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not 
     exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the 
     chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the 
     Judiciary. After general debate the bill shall be considered 
     for amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall be in 
     order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of 
     amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the 
     nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the 
     Judiciary now printed in the bill. The committee amendment in 
     the nature of a substitute shall be considered by title 
     rather than by section. Each title shall be considered as 
     read. Notwithstanding clause 11 of rule XVIII, no amendment 
     to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute 
     shall be in order except those printed in the portion of the 
     Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 
     of rule XVIII and except pro forma amendments for the purpose 
     of debate. Each amendment so printed may be offered only by 
     the Member who caused it to be printed or his designee and 
     shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as 
     may have been adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote 
     in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the 
     Whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature 
     of a substitute. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with 
     or without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), 
pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During 
consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose 
of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 436 is a modified open rule that 
provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. 
It waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. This 
rule provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary now printed in the bill 
shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment. 
It provides that the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 
5-minute rule and that it shall be read by title.
  It makes in order only those amendments to the bill that are 
preprinted in the Congressional Record or are pro forma amendments for 
the purpose of debate, provides that each amendment printed in the 
Congressional Record may be offered only by the Member who caused it to 
be printed or a designee, and that each amendment shall be considered 
as read. It provides one motion to recommit with or without 
instructions.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of House Resolution 436 
and the underlying bill, H.R. 3132, the Children's Safety Act of 2005.
  First, I would like to take this opportunity to commend Chairman 
Sensenbrenner for this comprehensive bill addressing the unconscionable 
atrocities perpetrated against our children by sexual predators and for 
his committee's thorough work and committed devotion to seeing this 
bill realized.
  Mr. Speaker, this fight is not a new one. The sexual and physical 
abuse of our most fragile and defenseless citizens, our children, is 
perhaps the most offensive and utterly unconscionable act that can be 
committed.

                              {time}  1100

  Members on both sides of the aisle recognize the need to continually 
find new ways to prevent sexual abuse and to thoroughly and justly 
punish those who commit these heinous acts.
  The Children's Safety Act of 2005 would combat the sexual 
exploitation and abuse of our children through mounting an offensive on 
numerous fronts and through combining various pieces of good, solid 
legislation into this one comprehensive bill. The final product 
compiles the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, the DNA 
Fingerprinting Act of 2005, the Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes 
Against Children Act of 2005, the Protection Against Sexual 
Exploitation of Children Act of 2005, and the Foster Child Protection 
Act of 2005.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3132 is a commonsense bill. For too long the laws 
have

[[Page H7880]]

not fully reflected or reacted to the changing environment in which our 
children are vulnerable. While the Constitution always protects the 
accused and harmed alike, we should not allow the law to be 
procedurally twisted by child abusers to keep them on the streets to 
harm another child because of a technicality or because of insufficient 
support for our law enforcement and communities.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3132 would require that the definition of sex 
offender be expanded to include both felony sex offenses and 
misdemeanor sex offenses. Additionally, this bill would make the 
possession of child pornography a triggering offense for registration 
and notification requirements.
  Another important provision of this bill would require a State to 
maintain a statewide Internet site to provide thorough and current 
information about sex offenders. This information would include the 
current location of the sex offender, the facts underlying the 
offender's conviction, any vehicles owned or used by the offender, a 
picture and other up-to-date information to keep communities informed 
and give them every possible piece of information available to assess 
the potential threats of these individuals.
  Additionally, Mr. Speaker, this bill makes full use of new and 
innovative technologies available to law enforcement. Specifically, DNA 
technology. It has grown by leaps and bounds, and today this technology 
gives law enforcement new and more precise tools to keep innocent 
people free and keep criminals behind bars, where they belong. This 
bill would also require the Attorney General to create a prioritized 
DNA database focused specifically on those violent predators who would 
prey on our children.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot emphasize enough that our primary goal must be 
to prevent child abuse and stop these deviants before they get their 
hands on a child and before they destroy a child's fragile life. 
However, when one of these deviants does harm a child, then the full 
weight of the law should be upon them.
  This bill would impose new mandatory minimum penalties for violent 
crimes committed against children. These mandatory minimums include the 
death penalty or life imprisonment when a child is murdered. It imposes 
a 30-years-to-life imprisonment when the offender kidnaps, maims, 
commits aggravated sexual abuse, or causes serious bodily harm to a 
child. Additionally, the bill requires a 20-year minimum sentence when 
the crime of violence results in a nonserious bodily injury to a child. 
Fifteen-years-to-life imprisonment is required when the defendant uses 
a dangerous weapon, and in any other case the minimum penalty ranges 
from a mandatory 10 years to life imprisonment.
  Additionally, Mr. Speaker, this bill would increase the existing 
mandatory penalties for several existing sexual offenses, including 
engaging in a sexual act with a child, committing abusive sexual 
contact and sexual exploitation of a child, trafficking child 
pornography, and the use of the Internet to prey on children.
  I would also like to add that this bill places new requirements on 
our States to ensure that they perform complete background checks on 
potential foster and adoptive parents, and grants relevant State 
agencies access to national criminal history databases. Our State and 
local governments should never, let me repeat, never deliver a child 
into the hands of a sexual predator.
  The Children's Safety Act also addresses the growing problem of 
kidnapping and sex trafficking. The trafficking of children is a 
problem not just here in the United States but globally, and this bill 
will increase the penalties for sex trafficking of children. We have to 
root these thugs out and shut down their operations. Sexual abuse of 
children must be stopped at all levels and in all degrees. From the 
lone abuses to a network of criminals peddling children for the 
pleasure of perverts, this must be stopped, and this bill goes a long 
way to strengthen law enforcement capabilities and making sure the 
punishment justly fits the crime.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to unite behind this commonsense legislation. Let us 
keep sexual predators away from our children, off the streets, and 
serving their time.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for 
yielding me this time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here today to consider the rule for H.R. 3132, 
the Children's Safety Act of 2005. This rule has a requirement that all 
amendments be preprinted in the Congressional Record to be in order for 
today's floor debate. While this rule is less restrictive than most 
rules we report out of the Committee on Rules, I must point out that it 
is not an open rule. It restricts the debate we will be able to have 
today on this bill by preventing Members from offering any new 
amendments.
  For example, if a Member came up with a good idea for an amendment 
today based upon the discussion, he or she would not be able to offer 
it. That is unfortunate, because the Children's Safety Act is important 
legislation that aims to protect our children and allow them to grow up 
unharmed and free from abuse, but it is not perfect.
  This legislation ties the hands of the judiciary. We must allow those 
most competent, the judge who has presided over the case, who has seen 
and heard from the victim, to determine the appropriate punishment. Our 
judges are best positioned to hand down sentences that correspond with 
the crime committed.
  Mr. Speaker, it is our responsibility to create laws that protect our 
children from harm.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite), who has been 
extremely active in the crafting of this legislation. Her bill, which 
she will talk about, is actually included in this overall comprehensive 
bill. And she knows well, if not better than all of us, about these 
matters because some of these heinous acts occurred within the last 
year in her great State of Florida.
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
from Georgia for yielding me this time.
  As the person who represents the area that Jessica Lunsford grew up 
in and knowing her family very, very well, all of America was focused 
on Jessica when she turned up missing. Then we found out that she was 
the victim of a predator, a very, very sick, depraved man. Jessica is 
no longer with us; and I commend the Members of Congress, including 
yourself, Mr. Speaker, with whom I have worked very closely, and 
certainly the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the 
chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, in putting together the 
Children's Safety Act.
  No parent should worry when their child is at a playground whether or 
not a sexual predator is nearby. There were many loopholes in the 
various State laws in Jessica's case. The perpetrator came into Florida 
from Georgia. He registered at one point but then transferred his 
address. The probation officer never knew that he had a prior offense 
of violating children. Had that probation officer known that, he never 
would have allowed the offender anywhere near a school.
  That is but one of the very excellent facets of this bill in addition 
to having the nationwide registration and availability on line so that 
parents, so that grandparents, so that anyone can go and find out who 
the offenders are in their neighborhood so that every family member can 
have a modicum of safety in knowing who is nearby.
  It also, as I mentioned, does allow for probation officers to know 
about a prior offense. Now, why is that important? I firmly believe, 
Mr. Speaker, that Jessica Lunsford would be here today had the 
probation officer known that.
  Additionally, the bill also picks up on some language that I had in 
the Jessica Lunsford Act, and part of this bill is named after her, 
that provides for more frequent contacts, a mailing or random mailings 
to the sexual offenders so that they have to report. If the mailer is 
not returned, if they do not fill out the form and send it back, at 
that point police will be alerted to be on the lookout for them because 
they are not at their last known address.

[[Page H7881]]

  With all of the various facets of the bill, many Members who are 
concerned, who have lost children to these offenders, to these 
violators of our most innocent children, every single Member who put a 
bill in and those who signed on as cosponsors realize the importance of 
protecting our streets, of protecting our families, of protecting our 
children from these lowlifes who prey on our most innocent young 
children.
  I certainly support the bill. I want to make sure that the rule is 
adopted so we can go on, pass this bill, send it over to the Senate; 
and, hopefully, they, too, will see the need, the absolute imperative 
need that America has in demanding that this bill pass so that our 
children will be protected.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume; 
and, in closing, I would like to begin by saying that there are very 
few matters in our society that are as clear-cut as this one. Child 
abduction and abuse is not a new problem. It did not begin yesterday, 
and it will not end tomorrow. This is a continuing struggle to protect 
our children; and I truly believe that it will help protect my 
grandchildren, 7-year-old twins Ali and Hannah Manning, 5-year-old Hank 
Manning, IV, and 10-month-old Grey Collins.
  The recent tragedies that have grabbed the attention and sympathy of 
the Nation only serve as a grim and poignant reminder that our work is 
not done and we must continue to do everything that we can to stop the 
abuse and exploitation of our children.

                              {time}  1115

  As I noted in my opening statement, this is commonsense, 
comprehensive legislation that attacks the problem in many different 
ways, from expanding the definition of sex offenders, to strengthening 
law enforcement's tools, to increasing mandatory minimums for child 
abusers and kidnappers.
  Additionally, I believe this legislation protects the constitutional 
rights of the accused while ensuring that the guilty see justice and 
the victims are protected.
  Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner) and the Committee on the Judiciary for putting this bill 
together. H.R. 3132 is sound, well-crafted legislation. I am confident 
that this legislation will empower the innocent over the guilty, 
victims over the predators. With its passage, our country, our children 
and our grandchildren, will be the winners. For that reason I urge my 
colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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