[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.''.

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