[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H3234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE SAFER NET ACT, H.R. 4982

  (Ms. BEAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute).
  Ms. BEAN. Madam Speaker, sadly we have all become familiar with the 
media reports of online child predators trolling for kids on the 
Internet networking sites like MySpace, unsuspecting Americans having 
their lives hijacked by online identity thieves and scams which swindle 
millions of Americans of their hard-earned money.
  While our families want to access the tremendous resources available 
on the Internet, they now know that there are significant dangers 
lurking there. Unfortunately, most Americans do not know where to turn 
to for help. In fact, a Google search on Internet safety returns over 5 
million hits.
  To assist our families in their efforts to protect themselves, I have 
introduced H.R. 4982, The SAFER Net Act. This bipartisan effort would 
do three things: First, it would streamline existing Federal resources 
to coordinate and promote best practices for safe surfing.
  Second, the SAFER Net Act would launch a national public awareness 
campaign to alert Americans to online threats and how they can protect 
their loved ones. Finally, this legislation would authorize Federal 
grants to support efforts that promote Internet safety, conducted by 
our schools, businesses, local law enforcement agencies and nonprofit 
organizations.
  Madam Speaker, we have the resources in place. We just need to use 
them better. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4982.

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