[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H1123-H1128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL SILVER ALERT ACT OF 2009
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 632) to encourage, enhance, and integrate Silver
Alert plans throughout the United States, to authorize grants for the
assistance of organizations to find missing adults, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 632
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
TITLE I--SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``National Silver Alert Act
2009''.
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title:
(1) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(2) Missing senior.--The term ``missing senior'' refers to
any individual who--
(A) is reported to, or identified by, a law enforcement
agency as a missing person; and
(B) meets the requirements to be designated as a missing
senior, as determined
[[Page H1124]]
by the State in which the individual is reported or
identified as a missing person.
SEC. 103. SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.
The Attorney General shall, subject to the availability of
appropriations under section 107, establish a national Silver
Alert communications network within the Department of Justice
to provide assistance to regional and local search efforts
for missing seniors through the initiation, facilitation, and
promotion of local elements of the network (known as Silver
Alert plans) in coordination with States, units of local
government, law enforcement agencies, and other concerned
entities with expertise in providing services to seniors.
SEC. 104. SILVER ALERT COORDINATOR.
(a) National Coordinator Within Department of Justice.--The
Attorney General shall designate an individual of the
Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of
the Silver Alert communications network. The individual so
designated shall be known as the Silver Alert Coordinator of
the Department of Justice (referred to in this title as the
``Coordinator'').
(b) Duties of the Coordinator.--In acting as the national
coordinator of the Silver Alert communications network, the
Coordinator shall--
(1) work with States to encourage the development of
additional Silver Alert plans in the network;
(2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to use in
developing Silver Alert plans that will promote compatible
and integrated Silver Alert plans throughout the United
States, including--
(A) a list of the resources necessary to establish a Silver
Alert plan;
(B) criteria for evaluating whether a situation warrants
issuing a Silver Alert, taking into consideration the need
for the use of such Alerts to be limited in scope because the
effectiveness of the Silver Alert communications network may
be affected by overuse, including criteria to determine--
(i) whether the mental capacity of a senior who is missing,
and the circumstances of his or her disappearance, warrant
the issuance a Silver Alert; and
(ii) whether the individual who reports that a senior is
missing is an appropriate and credible source on which to
base the issuance of a Silver Alert;
(C) a description of the appropriate uses of the Silver
Alert name to readily identify the nature of search efforts
for missing seniors; and
(D) recommendations on how to protect the privacy, dignity,
independence, and autonomy of any missing senior who may be
the subject of a Silver Alert;
(3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to recover
missing seniors and to reduce the number of seniors who are
reported missing, including protocols for procedures that are
needed from the time of initial notification of a law
enforcement agency that the senior is missing through the
time of the return of the senior to family, guardian, or
domicile, as appropriate, including--
(A) public safety communications protocol;
(B) case management protocol;
(C) command center operations;
(D) reunification protocol; and
(E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, and public
information procedures;
(4) work with States to ensure appropriate regional
coordination of various elements of the network;
(5) establish an advisory group to assist States, units of
local government, law enforcement agencies, and other
entities involved in the Silver Alert communications network
with initiating, facilitating, and promoting Silver Alert
plans, which shall include--
(A) to the maximum extent practicable, representation from
the various geographic regions of the United States; and
(B) members who are--
(i) representatives of senior citizen advocacy groups, law
enforcement agencies, and public safety communications;
(ii) broadcasters, first responders, dispatchers, and radio
station personnel; and
(iii) representatives of any other individuals or
organizations that the Coordinator determines are necessary
to the success of the Silver Alert communications network;
and
(6) act as the nationwide point of contact for--
(A) the development of the network; and
(B) regional coordination of alerts for missing seniors
through the network.
(c) Coordination.--
(1) Coordination with other agencies.--The Coordinator
shall coordinate and consult with the Secretary of
Transportation, the Federal Communications Commission, the
Assistant Secretary for Aging of the Department of Health and
Human Services, the head of the Missing Alzheimer's Disease
Patient Alert Program, and other appropriate offices of the
Department of Justice in carrying out activities under this
title.
(2) State and local coordination.--The Coordinator shall
consult with local broadcasters and State and local law
enforcement agencies in establishing minimum standards under
section 105 and in carrying out other activities under this
title, as appropriate.
(d) Annual Reports.--Not later than one year after the date
of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Coordinator shall submit to Congress a report on the
activities of the Coordinator and the effectiveness and
status of the Silver Alert plans of each State that has
established or is in the process of establishing such a plan.
Each such report shall include--
(1) a list of States that have established Silver Alert
plans;
(2) a list of States that are in the process of
establishing Silver Alert plans;
(3) for each State that has established such a plan, to the
extent the data is available--
(A) the number of Silver Alerts issued;
(B) the number of individuals located successfully;
(C) the average period of time between the issuance of a
Silver Alert and the location of the individual for whom such
Alert was issued;
(D) the State agency or authority issuing Silver Alerts,
and the process by which Silver Alerts are disseminated;
(E) the cost of establishing and operating such a plan;
(F) the criteria used by the State to determine whether to
issue a Silver Alert; and
(G) the extent to which missing individuals for whom Silver
Alerts were issued crossed State lines;
(4) actions States have taken to protect the privacy and
dignity of the individuals for whom Silver Alerts are issued;
(5) ways that States have facilitated and improved
communication about missing individuals between families,
caregivers, law enforcement officials, and other authorities;
and
(6) any other information the Coordinator determines to be
appropriate.
SEC. 105. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DISSEMINATION OF
ALERTS THROUGH SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS
NETWORK.
(a) Establishment of Minimum Standards.--Subject to
subsection (b), the Coordinator shall establish minimum
standards for--
(1) the issuance of alerts through the Silver Alert
communications network; and
(2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts issued
through the network.
(b) Limitations.--
(1) Voluntary participation.--The minimum standards
established under subsection (a) of this section, and any
other guidelines and programs established under section 104,
shall be adoptable on a voluntary basis only.
(2) Dissemination of information.--The minimum standards
shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as determined by
the Coordinator in consultation with State and local law
enforcement agencies), provide that appropriate information
relating to the special needs of a missing senior (including
health care needs) are disseminated to the appropriate law
enforcement, public health, and other public officials.
(3) Geographic areas.--The minimum standards shall, to the
maximum extent practicable (as determined by the Coordinator
in consultation with State and local law enforcement
agencies), provide that the dissemination of an alert through
the Silver Alert communications network be limited to the
geographic areas which the missing senior could reasonably
reach, considering the missing senior's circumstances and
physical and mental condition, the modes of transportation
available to the missing senior, and the circumstances of the
disappearance.
(4) Age requirements.--The minimum standards shall not
include any specific age requirement for an individual to be
classified as a missing senior for purposes of the Silver
Alert communication network. Age requirements for
determinations of whether an individual is a missing senior
shall be determined by each State, and may vary from State to
State.
(5) Privacy and civil liberties protections.--The minimum
standards shall--
(A) ensure that alerts issued through the Silver Alert
communications network comply with all applicable Federal,
State, and local privacy laws and regulations; and
(B) include standards that specifically provide for the
protection of the civil liberties and sensitive medical
information of missing seniors.
(6) State and local voluntary coordination.--In carrying
out the activities under subsection (a), the Coordinator may
not interfere with the current system of voluntary
coordination between local broadcasters and State and local
law enforcement agencies for purposes of the Silver Alert
communications network.
SEC. 106. TRAINING AND OTHER RESOURCES.
(a) Training and Educational Programs.--The Coordinator
shall make available to States, units of local government,
law enforcement agencies, and other concerned entities that
are involved in initiating, facilitating, or promoting Silver
Alert plans, including broadcasters, first responders,
dispatchers, public safety communications personnel, and
radio station personnel--
(1) training and educational programs related to the Silver
Alert communication network and the capabilities,
limitations, and anticipated behaviors of missing seniors,
which shall be updated regularly to encourage the use of new
tools, technologies, and resources in Silver Alert plans; and
(2) informational materials, including brochures, videos,
posters, and websites to support and supplement such training
and educational programs.
(b) Coordination.--The Coordinator shall coordinate--
(1) with the Assistant Secretary for Aging of the
Department of Health and Human
[[Page H1125]]
Services in developing the training and educational programs
and materials under subsection (a); and
(2) with the head of the Missing Alzheimer's Disease
Patient Alert Program within the Department of Justice, to
determine if any existing material with respect to training
programs or educational materials developed or used as part
of such Patient Alert Program are appropriate and may be used
for the programs under subsection (a).
SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SILVER
ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department
of Justice such sums as may be necessary to carry out the
Silver Alert communications network as authorized under this
title.
SEC. 108. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUPPORT OF SILVER ALERT PLANS.
(a) Grant Program.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations to carry out this section, the Attorney
General shall carry out a program to provide grants to States
for the development and enhancement of programs and
activities for the support of Silver Alert plans and the
Silver Alert communications network.
(b) Activities.--Activities funded by grants under the
program under subsection (a) may include--
(1) the development and implementation of education and
training programs, and associated materials, relating to
Silver Alert plans;
(2) the development and implementation of law enforcement
programs, and associated equipment, relating to Silver Alert
plans;
(3) the development and implementation of new technologies
to improve Silver Alert communications; and
(4) such other activities as the Attorney General considers
appropriate for supporting the Silver Alert communications
network.
(c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of any
activities funded by a grant under the program under
subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent.
(d) Distribution of Grants on Geographic Basis.--The
Attorney General shall, to the maximum extent practicable,
ensure the distribution of grants under the program under
subsection (a) on an equitable basis throughout the various
regions of the United States.
(e) Administration.--The Attorney General shall prescribe
requirements, including application requirements, for grants
under the program under subsection (a).
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) There is authorized to be appropriated to the
Department of Justice $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2009 through 2013 to carry out this section and, in addition,
$5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to
carry out subsection (b)(3).
(2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of
appropriations in paragraph (1) shall remain available until
expended.
TITLE II--KRISTEN'S ACT REAUTHORIZATION
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as ``Kristen's Act Reauthorization
of 2009''.
SEC. 202. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Every year thousands of adults become missing due to
advanced age, diminished mental capacity, or foul play. Often
there is no information regarding the whereabouts of these
adults and many of them are never reunited with their
families.
(2) Missing adults are at great risk of both physical harm
and sexual exploitation.
(3) In most cases, families and local law enforcement
officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to
undertake appropriate search efforts for a missing adult.
(4) The search for a missing adult requires cooperation and
coordination among Federal, State, and local law enforcement
agencies and assistance from distant communities where the
adult may be located.
(5) Federal assistance is urgently needed to help with
coordination among such agencies.
SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONS TO FIND
MISSING ADULTS.
(a) Grants.--
(1) Grant program.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations to carry out this section, the Attorney
General shall make competitive grants to public agencies or
nonprofit private organizations, or combinations thereof,
to--
(A) maintain a national resource center and information
clearinghouse for missing and unidentified adults;
(B) maintain a national, interconnected database for the
purpose of tracking missing adults who are determined by law
enforcement to be endangered due to age, diminished mental
capacity, or the circumstances of disappearance, when foul
play is suspected or circumstances are unknown;
(C) coordinate public and private programs that locate or
recover missing adults or reunite missing adults with their
families;
(D) provide assistance and training to law enforcement
agencies, State and local governments, elements of the
criminal justice system, nonprofit organizations, and
individuals in the prevention, investigation, prosecution,
and treatment of cases involving missing adults;
(E) provide assistance to families in locating and
recovering missing adults; and
(F) assist in public notification and victim advocacy
related to missing adults.
(2) Applications.--The Attorney General shall periodically
solicit applications for grants under this section by
publishing a request for applications in the Federal Register
and by posting such a request on the website of the
Department of Justice.
(b) Other Duties.--The Attorney General shall--
(1) coordinate programs relating to missing adults that are
funded by the Federal Government; and
(2) encourage coordination between State and local law
enforcement and public agencies and nonprofit private
organizations receiving a grant pursuant to subsection (a).
SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
title $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2020.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this is the third elder justice bill that we present to
date. Like the previous two elder justice bills, this bill also passed
the House last September on suspension but was not able to be
considered by the Senate before adjournment.
Thousands of vulnerable older adults go missing each year as a result
of dementia, diminished capacity, foul play, and other unusual
circumstances. For example, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America
estimates that more than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's
disease; and, according to the foundation, approximately 60 percent of
these men and women are likely to wander from their homes. If they do,
the disorientation and confusion that is a part of this illness keeps
many from finding their way back home. Their safe return then often
depends on being found quickly. If not found within 24 hours, roughly
half risk serious illness, injury, or death.
When the House passed the bill last Congress, 11 States had Silver
Alert programs. As we again consider this bill, there are now 13 States
with the Silver Alert programs.
The need for Silver Alert programs and for appropriate assistance
from Congress continue to grow. Last Congress, three Members of
Congress, Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Sue Myrick of North Carolina, and Gus
Bilirakis of Florida, individually introduced legislation to address
this serious problem in separate bills. H.R. 632 combines these three
bills into one.
Title I, the National Silver Alert Act of 2009, establishes a
national program patterned after the successful Amber Alert program for
children. It creates a national Silver Alert coordinator responsible
for developing voluntary guidelines, standards, and protocols for
States to consider in the creation of their own local Silver Alert
plans. It establishes a Department of Justice grant program to help
States develop and implement local Silver Alert programs. And, finally,
the program requires the coordinator to submit annual reports on the
status and activities of the State Silver Alert plans.
Title II reauthorizes Kristen's Act, which expired in 2005. Kristen's
Act provides for competitive grants to both public agencies and
nonprofit private organizations for a national resource center,
information clearinghouse, and database for tracking missing adults,
training, and other related activities. I commend Congressman Doggett,
Congresswoman Myrick, and Congressman Bilirakis for their hard work and
bipartisan efforts to address the critical problem of missing elders. I
urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 632, the National Silver
Alert Act of 2009, to help protect the elderly, particularly those
suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. This legislation
is the work of three bills sponsored by the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Doggett), the gentleman
[[Page H1126]]
from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), and the gentlelady from North Carolina
(Mrs. Myrick). Last year, the House passed similar legislation with
overwhelming bipartisan support.
By creating a structure similar to the Amber Alert system used to
locate missing children, H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act, will
help assist States in their efforts to protect our elderly. The Amber
Alert system was created by the Dallas Police in 1996, after the
kidnapping and murder of a 9-year-old girl from Arlington, Texas.
In 2003, Congress created the national Amber Alert program. As co-
chair of the Victims Rights Caucus, I have seen firsthand the huge
success of the Amber Alert program in locating missing children. Just
as the Amber Alert program, which is currently now used in all 50
States, was designed to notify the public when a child was missing, the
Silver Alert will also notify the public when an elderly adult is
missing.
Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the big freeway signs that have Amber
Alert, give the name of the child and the license number of the car
that the child was taken in, and now we will see that also occur with
the elderly in our community. Citizens can now offer any information
they have on the missing person which will aid law enforcement
officials in their search. Currently, the Silver Alert is used in 13 of
our States. These States have reported nominal costs associated with
operating the system, since they are able to utilize existing Amber
Alert infrastructure to issue Silver Alerts.
H.R. 632 establishes a nationwide communication structure to
coordinate State and local search efforts, and expand the system to
those States not participating and authorizes a grant to support State
Silver Alert systems and communication networks. The bill directs the
Attorney General to assign an officer of the Department of Justice to
act as the national director of the Silver Alert program. The director
will develop voluntary guidelines that States can use in implementing
the alert system and provide training and other resources to State law
enforcement agencies.
The Amber Alert system has proven successful in locating missing
children throughout the country; so too has the Silver Alert system in
States currently using it. By establishing the Silver Alert system
nationwide, H.R. 632 will help coordinate State efforts in protecting
older Americans the same way the Amber Alert system has for missing
children. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend from
Texas, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, such time as he may consume.
Mr. DOGGETT. I thank the gentleman, and I thank my colleague from
Texas. It is great that the House is tonight considering a package of
elder justice legislation. These bills, of which I am a sponsor of both
of the earlier bills by Ms. Waters and Mr. Sestak, are complementary.
There is really no silver bullet when it comes to trying to help our
elderly citizens, but we think that Silver Alert is one component. And,
as my colleague from Texas pointed out, Amber Alert became a national
program because of something that happened in Texas. I am pleased that
Texas also has taken a leadership with Silver Alert.
Just a couple of examples of what has happened with our State Silver
Alert program. I had a constituent who began driving south of Austin
about 80 miles to San Antonio, then drove another couple hundred miles
up to Dallas going back through Austin, and was finally found there. If
he had been here in the North, he would have gone through about seven
States. And he was clearly lost. They found him in a shopping center
parking lot as a result of Silver Alert, and the Austin Police
Department was notified.
More recently, we had an example from the Texas hill country in
Kerrville, where a fellow ended up driving to San Marcos. Our San
Marcos Police Department dispatchers were helpful because of the Silver
Alert program, described just as my colleague from Texas mentioned,
using the existing billboards and existing resources, was really
valuable in finding it.
As Mr. Johnson pointed out, since this bill was passed here last
fall, two more States have joined the effort; I believe there are about
another 10 that have it under consideration. All we are trying to do
through the Silver Alert initiative here at the national level is to
provide them a clearinghouse of best practices, just as we did with
Amber Alert earlier, where we will coordinate federal resources from
several agencies that have responsibilities, and also reward best
practices of the States, try to see that these are replicated so that
we can find these people.
This legislation is also related to the legislation we were just
considering. As the Elder Justice Coalition pointed out in a statement
that they had today endorsing the Silver Alert bill, they say, ``A
missing elder person can be the next victim of elder abuse. It is
critical that all appropriate resources are utilized at the local level
to assist in the safe locating of missing older persons.''
This legislation has been endorsed by a large number of
organizations. There is a recognition, we have talked a lot about
Alzheimer's tonight and other forms of dementia, that about 60 percent
of the people who are afflicted with Alzheimer's at sometime during
their disease will wander off from their caregiver. If they are not
found within 24 hours, up to half will suffer serious injury or death.
Only 4 percent of those who leave home alone are able to find their way
back. And so there is a big gap here, a serious problem, if they leave
home in not being able to get back. We hope to use what the States have
done, what the Amber Alert success has been to link everyone up.
There are many organizations, as I mentioned, that have joined in
supporting this effort; but it came to my attention as a Texas idea
because of a constituent, Bill Cummings, who is really a model citizen
in his involvement and concern for the community. Bill and Carlos
Higgins, who is also a devoted member of the Texas Silver-Haired
Legislature, brought this to the attention of the Silver-Haired
Congress, as seniors from all over the country came together here in
Washington, came over to the office, told me of the success of the
program, and asked that we take this initiative. We have now been
joined by the American Health Care Association, the Assisted Living
Federation of America, the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home
Reform, the Child Alert Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association, and
the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, all offering their support for
this legislation.
Finally, as both of you have noted, this has been a bipartisan
effort. I salute Mr. Bilirakis and Mrs. Myrick, who I believe is not
able to join us on the floor tonight. Hers is not a Silver Alert bill,
but it is again a companion measure that we have incorporated into
this.
{time} 1900
Mr. Bilirakis had a very similar idea based on an unfortunate
experience in his district. Working together, tonight we can take a
positive step forward to keep our seniors safe.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the cosponsor of
this bill, Mr. Bilirakis from Florida.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
632, the National Silver Alert Act, sponsored by my colleague from
Texas, Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
I first became involved in this issue of finding missing seniors last
year when one of my constituents, Mary Lallucci, lost her mother, who
had left her care-giving facility and could not be located. She had
driven her car into the Gulf of Mexico and drowned. This tragedy,
unfortunately, highlighted the very real problem of older individuals
who suffer from diseases which leave them easily confused and
disoriented, wandering away from their homes or care-giving facilities
and meeting harm because family, friends and authorities could not find
them in time. The inability to find missing elderly is a problem State
and Federal policymakers should address before something like this
happens again. That is why I support this bill before us today, which
includes provisions from silver alert legislation that I introduced
last year.
The National Silver Alert Act is a bipartisan bill developed by
Congressman Doggett, myself and Congresswoman Sue Myrick. It combines
portions of missing persons bills that each of us
[[Page H1127]]
previously introduced. The National Silver Alert Act includes language
from legislation I introduced last Congress to create a grant program
to help States establish and operate silver alert notification systems
to help find missing individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's disease
and other dementia-related illnesses. The measure we are considering
today also establishes a national silver alert communications network
to assist regional and local missing persons search efforts and
requires an annual report to determine the effectiveness of State
silver alert plans to help guide their establishment in other States.
I was honored to work with these two fine Members last year and am
pleased that we were able to combine these complementary bills. I want
to thank them for their work as well as the willingness of the majority
and minority on the Judiciary Committee to allow this to come to the
floor on suspension so early in this session. The House passed this
bill, as you know, unanimously last September. But the Senate was
unable to act on it before Congress adjourned. I hope that our timely
action here today will help facilitate its passage through the Senate
and enactment into law.
I believe that all States should establish systems similar to the
highly successful Amber Alert program to help find those suffering from
dementia-related illnesses and prevent tragedies like the one that
occurred in my community. An Amber Alert system has a remarkable track
record of success because necessary information is filtered so that the
relevant details are transmitted to appropriate authorities as quickly
as possible. The experiences of States that already have developed such
silver alert systems suggest that these programs save lives. States
have found that timely notification and dissemination of appropriate
information about missing seniors greatly improves the chances that
they will be found before they harm themselves. I believe that the
Federal Government can and should help States develop notification
systems to prevent these all-too-frequent tragedies.
This is especially important in Florida, which has more residents
aged 65 and older than any other State in the Nation. My State
implemented silver alert last year with spectacular results. Florida's
statewide silver alert system has led to the successful location of all
37 people, I repeat, all 37 people for whom the State has issued
bulletins. More than 4.3 million Floridians are aged 60 and older, and
there are about 501,000 probable Alzheimer's cases in the State.
The silver alert program in my State will help prevent tragedy among
one of Florida's largest potentially vulnerable groups. Passage of this
bill today will help bring other States without these lifesaving
systems one step closer to improving their ability to find missing
seniors and the crucial few hours after they go missing. It also will
provide critical resources, guidance and coordination, which is very
important for States like mine, that already have such systems. We have
many people to thank for that, including Mary Lallucci, one of my
constituents whose determined advocacy for the silver alert has
inspired me and serves as a loving tribute to her mother's memory.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. POE of Texas. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Lallucci was asked whether she
thought a silver alert system in Florida could have saved her mother.
``Who knows?'' She said. ``Unfortunately, I will never know.''
I urge my colleagues to support the National Silver Alert Act to
prevent another family from being forced to struggle with the same
uncertainty.
Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds Members to not traffic the
well while another Member is speaking.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I will reserve the balance of my time, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. POE of Texas. I yield 3 minutes to the cosponsor of this bill,
the gentlelady from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick).
Mrs. MYRICK. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Today is an important day for anyone who has ever lived through the
nightmare of an adult loved one who has gone missing. The National
Silver Alert Act will reauthorize Kristen's Act as part of that and
give these people hope. Kristen Modafferi disappeared shortly after her
18th birthday. And after visiting her family and hearing the detailed
account of their nightmare, I introduced Kristen's Act in 1999, and it
was successfully signed into law in 2000. It reauthorizes funding to
maintain a national clearinghouse for missing adults whose
disappearance is determined by law enforcement to be foul play. It
expired in 2005 and then was reintroduced in the 110th and the 109th
Congress. But the efforts weren't successful. Today with the help of my
friends on both sides of the aisle, we honor the efforts of so many and
pay tribute to mournful families by ratifying this bill.
Kristen Modafferi disappeared in 1997. She was a bright, hardworking
young college student, and she attended North Carolina State. She had
just finished her freshman year. And like so many young people, she
decided she wanted to go to another city to spend the summer, work and
have a new experience. So she moved to San Francisco and had just
enrolled in classes at Berkeley and got a job at a local coffee shop.
She began settling in and making friends. On Monday, June 23, when she
was just a mere 3 weeks short of her 18th birthday, she left her job at
the coffee shop, headed to the beach for the afternoon, and has not
been seen since. When her panicked parents called the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children, they heard these unbelievable
words, ``I'm sorry, we can't help.'' They were shocked to discover that
because Kristen was 18, the center could not place her picture or story
into its national database or offer any assistance whatsoever. In fact,
there is no national agency to help locate missing adults.
Unfortunately, the Modaferris are not alone. The families of
thousands of missing adults, almost 51,000 as of last year, have found
that law enforcement and other agencies respond very differently when
the person who has disappeared is not a child. It's a very traumatic
experience which I know personally in dealing with the Modaferris. But
having to do a search on your own without any skills or resources is
very unjust. Kristen's Act sends a message to these families. They
deserve help in locating endangered and involuntarily missing loved
ones.
Endangered adults, no matter what their age, should receive not only
the benefit of a search effort by local law enforcement, but also an
experienced national organization. With this bill, families will never
again have to hear they cannot be assisted because a loved one is too
old.
I urge my colleagues to support the act.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R.
632, the National Silver Alert Act, which I cosponsored in the 110th
Congress.
At the outset, let me congratulate my neighboring colleague from
Florida Gus Bilirakis for his leadership on this legislation to create
a nationwide communications network to help locate missing senior
citizens. Gus was the original author of this legislation last year in
response to the tragic death of 86-year-old Mary Zelter, who drove away
from her assisted living facility in Pinellas County, Florida, which
Gus and I both represent, and drowned when her car crashed into a local
waterway.
With Gus leading the way, our community responded by calling
attention to the lack of an alert system for missing senior citizens.
Mary Zelter's daughter Mary Lallucci become a vocal advocate for the
need for such a system and Largo Police Chief Lester Aradi personally
undertook a system to establish a local Silver Alert system for our
area. Gus and I attended the kick-off for this network when Chief Aradi
activated our county-wide system September 30th. He was also the
chairman of the committee that coordinated the establishment of a
Florida-wide Silver Alert system, which was activated by Governor
Charlie Crist and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement last
October.
The local model we developed under the leadership of Gus Bilirakis,
Chief Aradi, State Representative Tom Anderson, Mary Lallucci, Gloria
Smith, the president our local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association,
and Sallie Parks, the past president and board member of our local Area
Agency on Aging, can be taken nationwide to save the lives of senior
citizens who wander off in their vehicles. As with the Amber Alert
system for children and youth, it
[[Page H1128]]
makes those critical first minutes and hours when someone is found to
be missing count and increases the chances of a happy ending. In the
four months since the enactment of our state-wide program, there have
been 41 Florida Silver Alerts including nine last month.
The legislation we consider today will take the Florida model
nationwide so that all States can have the benefit of a Silver Alert
system and so that we can track missing senior citizens who drive off
in their cars should they cross state boundaries. It will establish a
national coordinator to bring together State efforts and authorize the
appropriation of $10 million a year for State activities in support of
the Silver Alert program. Finally, it will provide an annual report to
Congress and the States on the program so that we can share lessons
learned to improve the effectiveness of state- wide and nationwide
Silver Alert networks.
Mr. Speaker, this is good legislation and I again want to commend my
colleague from Florida Gus Bilirakis for his tireless work to keep the
issue alive. Senior citizens and their families all across our nation
will directly benefit from that action we take today.
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act of 2009. I thank Mr. Doggett
for his leadership on this issue. This bill allows for the creation and
enhancement of alert plans for missing adults across the nation and is
an important step toward ensuring the safe return of missing adults
nationwide.
According to the Connecticut Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association,
nearly 70,000 Connecticut residents have Alzheimer's disease or a
related dementia. Six out of every ten people diagnosed with
Alzheimer's will wander from their homes or care giving facilities at
some stage of their disease. Of those who wander, 50 percent risk
serious injury or death if not found within the first 24 hours. For
this reason, it is necessary that systems for timely, local search
responses are put into place.
The National Silver Alert Act of 2009 provides for the coordination
of resources needed by families and law enforcement officials to
undertake appropriate search efforts for a missing adult. The bill
acknowledges the need to protect the privacy, dignity, independence and
autonomy of any missing adult who may be the subject of a Silver Alert,
making this bill a truly comprehensive approach.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support of the National Silver
Alert Act of 2009 and to continue to push for legislation that seeks to
protect missing adults.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, if the other side decides to
relinquish its remaining time, I will do the same. We have no other
speakers.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. I
urge adoption of this resolution.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I will yield back the balance of my time, Mr.
Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 632.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________