[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 173 (Monday, December 9, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7570-H7571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
KILAH DAVENPORT CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 2013
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 3627) To require the Attorney General to report on
State law penalties for certain child abusers, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3627
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 ``Kilah Davenport Child
Protection Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, and again 3 years thereafter, the Attorney General shall
publish and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary
of the United States Senate a report on the penalties for
violations of laws prohibiting child abuse in each of the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the
United States, including whether the laws of that State,
District, or territory provides for enhanced penalties when
the victim has suffered serious bodily injury, or permanent
or protracted loss or impairment of any mental or emotional
function.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PREDICATE FOR INCREASED PENALTIES FOR
CERTAIN DOMESTIC ASSAULTS.
Section 117(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ``, or against a child of or in the care
of the person committing the domestic assault'' after
``intimate partner''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Collins) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 3627, currently under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
The bill under consideration today, the Kilah Davenport Child
Protection Act of 2013, is named after a young girl from North Carolina
who was brutally beaten by her stepfather last year. Her stepfather was
charged with felony child abuse and awaits trial. Kilah, who was only 3
years old at the time of the attack, will face a lifetime of brain
damage and paralysis at the hands of someone who was supposed to love
and protect her.
Stories like Kilah's are absolutely tragic, but they are not uncommon
across our country. Approximately 3.5 million cases of child abuse
involving 6 million children are reported every year in the United
States. In my own State of Georgia, there were over 37,000 reports of
child abuse and neglect with over 15,000 substantiated incidents of
abuse in 2009 alone. And the rates of child abuse are even higher in
Indian Country, where Indian children experience child abuse at a
significantly higher rate than the rest of the population.
Adding to those and these tragedies is the fact that child abuse
cases are not always reported and oftentimes not prosecuted with the
same vigor as other crimes. Studies have found that charges are less
likely to be filed against perpetrators in child abuse cases than most
other felonies, and these cases have lower incarceration rates than
other crimes.
H.R. 3627, introduced by Mr. Pittenger of North Carolina, will help
draw attention to how child abuse cases are handled across the country
by requiring the Judiciary Department to issue reports on the criminal
penalties for child abuse in the 50 States, the District of Columbia,
and the U.S. territories.
This report focused on State statutes because most child abuse cases
are handled at the State level. However, there are parts of the country
where the Federal Government has an increased law enforcement role,
such as including in Indian Country. H.R. 3627 helps to strengthen the
Federal response to child abuse and other forms of domestic violence in
Indian Country and the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction by
amending 18 U.S.C., section 117 to allow prior convictions for the
abuse of a child to trigger the offense of domestic assault by a
habitual offender. This is a small but important change to the statute
that will permit the Federal Government to prosecute more violent
offenders.
I commend the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger) for
drawing attention to the terrible crime of child abuse and encourage my
colleagues to support this legislation.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Today we rise to consider H.R. 3627, the Kilah Davenport Child
Protection Act of 2013. This legislation is part of the continuing
effort to stamp out the scourge of child abuse in our society.
According to the organization Childhelp, each year there are more
than 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States. At least 6
million children are impacted on an annual basis. Every day an average
of four to seven children die in this great country as a result of
child abuse and neglect, and more than 78 percent of reported child
fatalities resulting from abuse and neglect were caused by one or more
of the victim's parents.
We must do everything in our power to change this sad reality. Our
effort, of course, must be comprehensive and should include both robust
criminal justice enforcement and parental education and prevention
efforts. In other words, our approach should be balanced. Those who
abuse children must understand that the consequences connected to their
criminal behavior will be significant.
We must also aggressively take steps to prevent child victimization
before it occurs. In doing so, we can mitigate the severe trauma of
child abuse and simultaneously channel precious taxpayer resources away
from the criminal justice system.
H.R. 3627 requires the Attorney General to issue a report regarding
the penalties for violations of laws prohibiting child abuse in the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. This report
must consider, of course, whether those laws provide enhanced penalties
when the victim has suffered serious bodily injury or permanent or
protracted loss or impairment of any mental or emotional function, as
occurred in this tragic case referred to in North Carolina. This
reporting requirement is a good step toward helping Congress accurately
evaluate the statutory landscape in the child abuse context and govern
in a more informed fashion.
In addition, the legislation permits prior convictions for assault,
sexual abuse, or serious violent felonies to be used to trigger
additional penalties for habitual domestic abusers on Native American
reservations and in special maritime and territorial jurisdictions.
This trigger will better protect potential child abuse victims from
repeat offenders.
For the above-referenced reasons, I urge my colleagues to support
this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield as much
time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Pittenger),
[[Page H7571]]
the author of this legislation, the gentleman who has a great passion
for this issue.
Mr. PITTENGER. Thank you, Mr. Collins.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of precious Kilah Davenport, a sweet
little girl at the age of 3 years old, who was taken by her caregiver
and bashed her head against the wall. As a result, Kilah has suffered
irreparable damage to the extent that at this point she is immobile,
she is paralyzed and has suffered severe brain damage.
You can see pictures right here of Kilah, a young girl, and then the
next day the condition that she is in. She has made some progress. Her
family is encouraged. They assist her 24/7. It has changed their lives.
But to the credit of the Davenport family, they wanted what occurred
to their child to make sure that that never happened again. They
focused their intention and their efforts, their commitment, to passing
a law in North Carolina where I live. Now we have a statute that gives
a minimum sentence of 10 years to anyone who is convicted of this type
of egregious child abuse. Prior to this time, the minimum sentence for
such an abuse was 4 years, maximum 6 years. This type of severe cruelty
warrants a measure of sentencing commensurate with what has been
enacted.
So I congratulate my colleagues, whom I served with at one time in
the North Carolina Senate and the House--Senator Tarte, Senator Tucker,
and Senator Curtis; and House members Horn and Arp--for the leadership
that they gave in North Carolina and provided what will be, I truly
believe, a role model for the rest of the country because, Mr. Speaker,
the purpose of the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act is to give a
basis for other States, appealing to them through their attorney
generals, to issue these reports, the first one in 6 months, the next
one 3 years following, of their current statutes on child abuse in
their sentencing.
We have found in many States that there are very minimum and lax
sentences. In the South, there is one State that a year and a day could
be the maximum sentence; one State in the Northeast is 7 years; one
State out west, 5 years is the max sentence. This shouldn't be. We feel
like there are many States who once they understand how limited the
scope is of their sentencing that they would want to change it.
And yes, Mr. Speaker, I do believe that these types of bills are
better addressed in our States. I believe that other States will take
the proper action as North Carolina did. As I consulted with law
enforcement and with judges who handle child abuse daily, that is why I
introduced H.R. 3627, which is bipartisan legislation that will address
this severe need to make sure that children in the future are not
harmed in the same way.
This bill will ensure that those who suffer serious bodily injury,
mental and emotional disparity and function, would be addressed with
the types of sentencing that would warrant the type of crime committed.
I believe, Mr. Speaker, as we enact this bill, that we will see a
tremendous impact throughout the country to prevent this type of
scourge from occurring again. So I commit it to our Congress--I thank
the great support of the Members--to make sure that this bill is
enacted, and I thank Senator Burr for his leadership in the Senate.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers and am
prepared to close.
Let me just simply say, I commend the gentleman from North Carolina
for putting forth this measure in the House and helping to shepherd it
hopefully into swift passage and then into law. I also commend the
Davenport family for their courage, their strength, and their
perseverance, and I wish them Godspeed as it relates to the recovery of
their child moving forward.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, just in closing, again, it is
good to be with my friend down here. Also, the bill that Mr. Pittenger
is bringing forward is also commonsense legislation I think that
strengthens their home, strengthens their family, and addresses an
issue such as child abuse and the real consequences the Davenport
family are finding, but not just them, but many across our country.
With that, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3627.
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.
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