[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4588-S4590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COMBATING CHILD EXPLOITATION

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, the exploitation of children is a plague. 
It is a war with many fronts, and we must be engaged in them all. I 
wish to review some of the ways we are fighting this good fight and 
encourage my colleagues to be as relentless in protecting children as 
are those in the world who exploit them.
  Just 2 days ago, the Supreme Court upheld our most recent attempt to 
combat the spread of child pornography. In a 7-to-2 decision--an 
overwhelming vote by the Supreme Court, by the way--the Court held that 
the PROTECT Act is consistent with the first amendment. I introduced 
the PROTECT Act in January 2003. It passed this body unanimously in 
February, passed the House without objection in March, and was signed 
into law in April. The PROTECT Act prohibits the pandering or 
solicitation of child pornography.
  Child pornography is perhaps the most egregious form of exploitation. 
It not only victimizes and brutalizes children directly but makes a 
permanent record of that abuse that may never be erased. Child 
pornography is not protected by the first amendment, which means its 
possession and sale can be banned.
  In 2002, the Supreme Court struck down the Child Pornography 
Prevention Act, a bill I introduced in the 104th Congress. So we went 
back to the drawing board. If the objective is important--and I do not 
believe any objective is more important than protecting children from 
exploitation--then we must not take no for an answer. We must not let 
speed bumps,

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roadblocks, or potholes, or Supreme Court decisions stop us.
  The PROTECT Act was the result. We studied the Supreme Court's 
decision and used its guidance to craft a bill that would prohibit the 
offer to distribute or the request to receive child pornography. When 
it upheld the PROTECT Act this week, the Court said that the speech 
this law targets is what literally introduces this destructive material 
into the distribution network. Now the PROTECT Act can be deployed in 
our ongoing, never-ending fight to protect children from exploitation, 
and I am glad it can be deployed.
  I thank my colleagues for not giving up, for not throwing up your 
hands when the Supreme Court initially said no. I thank you for rolling 
up your sleeves, for joining with me to find some way to protect 
children.
  Let me quote from the closing paragraph of Justice Antonin Scalia's 
opinion this week in United States v. Williams:

       Child pornography harms and debases the most defenseless of 
     our citizens. This court held unconstitutional Congress' 
     previous attempt to meet this new threat, and Congress 
     responded with a carefully crafted attempt to eliminate the 
     First Amendment problems we identified. As far as the 
     provision at issue in this case is concerned, that effort was 
     successful.

  While the 108th Congress passed the PROTECT Act, the 109th Congress 
passed the Adam Walsh Act. The Adam Walsh Act was a comprehensive child 
protection bill hailed by agencies and organizations throughout this 
country for its importance.
  This legislation enhanced the Web technology available for tracking 
convicted sex offenders and replaced outdated and inaccurate Web sites 
with meaningful tools to protect children.
  Today, there are more than half a million registered sex offenders in 
the United States. Unfortunately, many of them receive limited 
sentences and roam invisibly through our communities. With too many, we 
don't know where they are until it is too late. Under this law, 
offenders are now required to report regularly to the authorities in 
person and let them know when they move or change jobs. If they do not 
want to follow the rules, they will go back to jail because failure to 
provide meaningful information is now a felony. In addition, the law 
created a searchable national Web site that interacts with State sites. 
Citizens in every State are able to inform themselves about predators 
in their communities with accurate information.

  Unfortunately, many of the enforcement provisions in the Adam Walsh 
Act have not been funded, and I am fully aware of the competing demands 
for funding but have no doubt that Americans throughout this country 
would approve of Federal tax dollars being utilized to ensure that 
criminals who blatantly trade in child pornography are made to pay a 
high price for these crimes. I urge my colleagues to show their 
dedication and resolve to fully fund the Adam Walsh Act.
  In another important development, last night the Senate passed the 
Protect Our Children First Act. I joined Senator Leahy in introducing 
this legislation last July, and it is now on its way to the President 
to be signed into law. This legislation authorizes continued funding 
for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a center we 
helped to create. The collective expertise of the center has been 
invaluable in efforts to address child exploitation, and this bill will 
ensure their vital work will continue.
  With all of the tremendous advantages brought about by the Internet, 
it has also provided a means of communication which criminals use to 
advance their crimes. We are all aware that pedophiles are utilizing 
the Internet to facilitate distribution of illegal child pornography. 
Everyone agrees this type of crime is the most heinous imaginable, but 
many think the people who trade these horrendous videos and pictures 
must set up elaborate technology to facilitate their illegal 
activities. Unfortunately, this is not true. Many individuals 
throughout this country utilize peer-to-peer software to share illegal 
child porn with as much ease as sharing MP3s. Many criminals don't even 
bother trying to hide what they are doing. They utilize graphic words 
and acronyms to describe the horrible pictures and videos which they 
willingly share with one another. They seem to have no fear of being 
caught by law enforcement.
  To illustrate this point, I want to highlight a graphical 
representation of the locations where law enforcement determined child 
pornography videos were hosted on computers and shared via peer-to-peer 
software. It is as disturbing as it is eye-opening.
  This map shows the continental United States and locations where 
child pornography was electronically traded on May 15, 2008. This is 
just 1 day in the life of this country--6 days ago, as a matter of 
fact. And it is not meant to be all-inclusive; these are the ones we 
know of. You can imagine how many there must be. Just in the DC area, 
look at the child pornography electronic trades. And those are the ones 
we know about.
  Now, this type of activity has created a market for new child 
pornography. In order to move into the higher echelons of this criminal 
activity, individuals need to offer new material, new graphic pictures 
and videos. Many of these criminals find that the easiest way to get 
new materials is to make it themselves; thus, a vicious cycle is 
created. These monsters, in some sick, sadistic goal of obtaining 
stature, videotape their crimes against children in order to facilitate 
their twisted version of moving up the ladder.
  Congress has done a great deal to address this issue. We have passed 
numerous statutes in order to ensure those who harm children face the 
most serious penalties possible.
  While many local law enforcement agencies are doing a fantastic job 
addressing these crimes, they are often limited by a lack of manpower 
and equipment. One program that has had great success is the Internet 
Crimes Against Children--the ICAC--Task Force Program, which has 
utilized State and local law enforcement agencies to develop an 
effective response to child pornography cases. These ICACs provide 
forensic and investigative activities, training and technical 
assistance, victim services, and community education.
  Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation, which I 
cosponsored with Senator Biden of Delaware, which would take 
significant steps in highlighting the Federal Government's strategy to 
address child exploitation and ensuring that each State has an ICAC.
  The bill also calls for an annual report from the Attorney General, 
which will represent the national strategy for child exploitation, 
prevention, and interdiction. I believe this report will be invaluable 
for the effective coordination of Government efforts to address this 
problem.
  I have no doubts this legislation will be instrumental in combating 
child exploitation, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill quickly.
  I also wish to mention another extremely valuable organization that 
is playing a vital role in locating missing children. A Child is 
Missing is a nonprofit organization assisting the police in the first 
hours after a child's disappearance. For over 10 years, this 
organization has provided local law enforcement with technology 
otherwise unavailable to them.
  Here is how the program works. When a child is missing, local law 
enforcement contacts the organization with details of the 
disappearance, including the child's description, clothes, and last 
known location. A Child is Missing records a message on behalf of the 
police agency, and this message is phoned out to the geographical area 
where the child was last seen. The organization has the ability to send 
over 1,000 calls in 60 seconds. This message asks for residents to 
contact the police if they have any information.
  The effect is instantaneous in that this service opens the eyes of 
the entire neighborhood in search for the missing child. We all know 
these first few hours are critical in finding missing children, making 
this service critical. This is the only program of its kind in the 
country, and law enforcement has credited it with over 300 safe 
assisted recoveries. This service is available to law enforcement 
throughout the country and at no charge to the agencies. It operates 24 
hours a day, 365 days a year.
  I have joined Senator Menendez in introducing legislation, S. 2667, 
to ensure that this organization will have the funds to continue to 
offer law enforcement throughout this country this invaluable service. 
I am hopeful this bill receives prompt consideration.

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  In conclusion, Congress has many opportunities to advance the worthy 
cause of reducing child exploitation. I call on my colleagues to 
continue this noble cause and pledge my continued support to advance 
appropriate legislative endeavors.

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