[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 116 (Thursday, September 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1869-E1870]
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

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                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 14, 2005

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 3132, the 
Children's Safety Act of 2005. I can think of few offenses more 
horrifying than sexually assaulting or abusing a child. Children are 
among our society's most vulnerable and it's up to us, the adults, to 
protect them.
  We have all heard the tragic stories about young children being 
kidnaped, assaulted, and too often murdered by sexual offenders who in 
some cases have been living in the same neighborhoods as these kids. 
Tragically, many of these offenders have committed multiple crimes 
against children. According to the National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children, more than 500,000 sex offenders are registered in 
the United States and as many as 100,000 sex offenders cannot be 
located by law enforcement. Statistics from the Bureau of Justice show 
that child molesters who are released from prison are more likely to be 
rearrested for child molestation than other sex and non-sex offenders. 
Approximately 3.3 percent of 4,300 released child molesters in 1994 
were rearrested for another sex crime against a child within 3 years. 
For those who had more than one prior arrest for child molestation, 7.3 
percent were likely to be rearrested for the same crime. And 24 percent 
of released offenders were reconvicted for a new offense, encompassing 
all types of crimes.
  The legislation before us today would accomplish several critical 
objectives including requiring sex offenders to register more often and 
for longer periods of time, providing the public with access to more 
information on sex offenders, creating new penalties, and requiring DNA 
to be used to identify and prosecute sex offenders. However, I do share 
the concerns expressed by some of my colleagues regarding the 
limitations contained in the bill regarding the review of habeas corpus 
petitions by Federal courts.
  I would like to thank Ranking Member Conyers for offering an 
amendment today that is based on legislation that I have introduced, 
H.R. 1193, the ``Hate Crime Statistics Improvement Act,'' which would 
require the Attorney General to collect data about gender-

[[Page E1870]]

based hate crimes. With accurate data, local communities can identify 
gender-based hate crimes in their area and chart their progress toward 
eliminating them. Moreover, the inclusion of gender will send a strong 
message that gender-based hate crimes will not be tolerated. It is my 
understanding that Chairman Sensenbrenner will accept this amendment, 
and I thank him as well.
  We must be diligent in our efforts to protect children from those 
individuals who would steal their innocence, or worse, take their 
lives. I am hopeful that this legislation will enhance the efforts 
already in place so that parents and communities can take the necessary 
steps to ensure that their children will be safe.

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