[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 166 (Friday, December 21, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8364-S8365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Collins, Mr. Cardin,
Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Snowe, and Mr. Conrad):
S. 3705. A bill to establish a commission to develop a national
strategy and recommendations for reducing fatalities resulting from
child abuse and neglect; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, Nelson Mandela, the former president of
South Africa, once said ``Safety and security don't just happen; they
are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe
our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free
of violence and fear.''
Today, I echo that call to protect our most vulnerable citizens as I
join Senators Kerry, Collins, Cardin, Shaheen, Snowe, and Conrad to
introduce the Protect Our Kids Act.
This important legislation establishes a special task force dedicated
to reducing child abuse and neglect in America. Comprised of our
Nation's top child welfare administrators and researchers, law
enforcement officers, and other dedicated experts, this task force
would study and evaluate federal, state, and private child welfare
systems and develop a comprehensive national strategy to prevent and
reduce these tragic acts of violence.
Since 2002, more than 15,000 children have died due to abuse and
neglect. This number is based on state-reported Child Protection
Services data. But advocates predict the true number is far greater.
We don't have clear facts because currently, there is no national
standard for collecting data on these young victims. Many state child
protection agencies do not share vital data and statistics with other
agencies, officials, or law enforcement.
Clearly, more must be done to better protect our Nation's children.
More must be done to protect them from the fear and terror of abuse,
especially when the threat to their safety often comes from those that
should cherish them the most.
We need to bring this issue out of the shadows. It starts by learning
more about the tragic deaths of these children, so that we can prevent
the senseless murders from happening again. That is what this task
force will do. They will study the issue and develop a national
strategy and recommendations for improvements throughout the child
welfare system.
According to Child Protection Services data, in Montana we reported
zero fatalities from child abuse and neglect
[[Page S8365]]
last year. While that of course sounds like good news, the story is
more complicated. We have heard of at least three child deaths related
to abuse or neglect. Some abuse is going unreported. And there are
clear gaps in data between the agencies and in the reporting. So I am
urging my state to elevate the standards of protective services even
higher.
Child Protection Services needs to coordinate with other agencies.
They need to share data so we can have a clear picture of the full
scope of the problem. Everyone needs to work together to make sure that
all Montana kids are safe.
Our Nation must tackle this issue head on. We must embrace our
responsibility to protect our children. We need to provide them with
safe, nurturing environments and the support they need to thrive and
succeed in our society.
We need to make sure that kids have access to physical and mental
health services, so they can grow into happy, productive adults. We
need to help children with mental illnesses by reducing the stigma
surrounding mental health services and ensuring that these young people
know there is a strong support network backing them up.
We should look at programs like home visits, which currently provide
professional assistance, right at home, for more than 50,000 families
across our Nation, and see how they can be improved to do an even
better job supporting vulnerable families.
We are blessed to live in the richest, most powerful country in the
world. We have to use every resource at our disposal to strengthen our
laws to ensure that all children are given a chance to succeed in life.
This bipartisan legislation we are introducing today is a step in the
right direction to protect our kids.
I commend my colleagues Senators Kerry and Collins for their years of
tireless work, fighting for the rights of our children. The House of
Representatives has already acted on this legislation. Let us now join
together and create a life free of violence and fear for our most
vulnerable citizens.
Let us pass the Protect Our Kids Act.
______
By Mr. KYL:
S. 3708. A bill to encourage reporting of child abuse; to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the
bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3708
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Abuse For Every Child
Act of 2012'' or the ``SAFE Child Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL ASSESSMENT.
(a) In General.--Chapter 20 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after section 3013 the
following:
``Sec. 3014. Additional special assessment
``(a) In addition to the assessment imposed under section
3013, the court shall assess on any person other than an
individual convicted of an offense against the United States
an amount equal to 3 times the amount that would be assessed
on a person under section 3013 for the same offense.
``(b) There is established in the Treasury a fund, to be
known as the `Surcharge Fund' (referred to in this section as
the `Fund'), to be administered by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services.
``(c) Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, or any
other law regarding the crediting of money received for the
Government, there shall be deposited in the Fund an amount
equal to the amount of the assessments collected under this
section, which shall remain available until expended.
``(d) From amounts in the Fund, and without further
appropriation, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall, for fiscal year 2013, and every 3 fiscal years
thereafter, award a competitive grant with a grant period of
3 years and in the amount of $1,000,000 for each year to a
private nonprofit organization that has a successful multi-
year record of operating a national child abuse hotline,
which shall be used--
``(1) to operate such a hotline, which shall--
``(A) operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with
individuals answering calls;
``(B) be staffed by individuals that are trained to handle
crisis counseling and child abuse and neglect inquiries,
including individuals with a background or advanced degrees
in counseling, mental health, social work, or other related
fields;
``(C) have the ability to provide assistance to callers in
multiple languages;
``(D) have chat or text message capability to increase
access and participation for children and youth who may not
be as likely to call on a telephone; and
``(E) provide--
``(i) assistance in reporting incidences of child abuse and
neglect;
``(ii) crisis counseling;
``(iii) referrals to relevant resources in the caller's
community; and
``(iv) education and resources on the signs and symptoms of
abuse, risk factors, parenting concerns, and adult survivor
issues; and
``(2) to encourage reporting of child abuse and conduct
public education on child abuse.
``(e)(1) Effective on the day after the date on which an
award is made under subsection (d), or, for a fiscal year in
which no award is made under subsection (d), effective on
September 30 of that fiscal year, all unobligated balances in
the Fund shall be transferred to the Crime Victims Fund
established under section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of
1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).
``(2) Amounts transferred under paragraph (1)--
``(A) shall be available for any authorized purpose of the
Crime Victims Fund; and
``(B) shall remain available until expended.
``(f) The amount assessed under subsection (a) shall be
collected in the manner that fines are collected in criminal
cases.
``(g) The obligation to pay an assessment imposed on or
after the date of enactment of the SAFE Child Act shall not
cease until the assessment is paid in full.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 20 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3013
the following:
``3014. Additional special assessment.''.
____________________