[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 21 (Thursday, February 4, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E113-E114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 INTERNATIONAL MEGAN'S LAW TO PREVENT DEMAND FOR CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 1, 2016

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, for years, the parents of the 
children who have been preyed upon by pedophiles--and advocacy groups 
like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the 
Megan Kanka Foundation--have been very supportive of legislation to 
better protect our children. Through their consistent, selfless work 
they have helped victims of abuse and have been an important part of 
the bipartisan, bicameral coalition supporting this important 
legislation. I urge my colleagues to read their statements submitted 
for the record, in support of passage of H.R. 515 The International 
Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking.

                                                 January 20, 2016.
     Hon. Paul D. Ryan,
     Speaker of the House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Democratic Leader, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker and Madam Leader: On behalf of ECPAT-USA, 
     a policy and advocacy organization that has been at the 
     forefront of the fight to end the commercial sexual 
     exploitation of children for the past two decades, I would 
     like to respectfully ask you consider supporting 
     International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation 
     Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders 
     (H.R. 515). When ECPAT-USA first began our work, we focused 
     on fighting sex tourism and holding Americans who traveled 
     abroad to buy sex with minors accountable in the US for 
     sexually exploiting children overseas. H.R. 515 or 
     International Megan's Law protects children from this exact 
     form of exploitation by establishing a notification system to 
     provide advance notice of travel by registered sex offenders 
     to destination countries. We strongly support this 
     legislation and urge not only its swift passage but also a 
     commitment to supporting this effort financially.
       The Department of Homeland Security has a proven track 
     record of working cooperatively with foreign governments, 
     having made 99 arrests of traveling child sexual offenders 
     since 2003. International Megan's Law will establish the 
     Angel Watch Center at the Department of Homeland Security to 
     ensure that all destination countries receive a notification 
     that a convicted child sex predator is traveling to their 
     country. It also formalizes the process for the U.S. 
     Marshal's Service Sex Offender Targeting Center to provide 
     advanced notice of travel by all registered sex offenders to 
     destination countries using Interpol notification system. 
     International Megan's Law also coordinates communication 
     between Angel Watch Center and U.S. Marshal's Service Sex 
     Offender Targeting center and streamlines the international 
     notification system. We believe that these provisions are 
     necessary to strengthen and protect vulnerable children from 
     potential predators.
       ECPAT-USA is part of a global network of over 80 ECPAT's in 
     77 countries all dedicated to protecting children from 
     commercial sexual exploitation. Headquartered in Thailand, we 
     are acutely familiar with the harm caused by sex offenders 
     who travel overseas and continuously exploit children. As a 
     member of the ECPAT network, we are committed to eradicating 
     the practice of child sex tourism. For this reason, we were 
     so pleased to see the Senate pass this bill late last year, 
     and we applaud the efforts and dedication of the bill's 
     original sponsor in the House Representative Chris Smith (R-
     NJ). We strongly urge the House to swiftly pass International 
     Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation Through Advanced 
     Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders (H.R. 515).
           Sincerely,
                                                  Carol Smolenski,
                                    Executive Director, ECPAT-USA.
                                  ____
                                  


                                      Family Research Council,

                                  Washington, DC, January 8, 2016.
     Representative,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: On behalf of Family Research Council 
     (FRC) and the families we represent, I urge you to vote for 
     International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and 
     Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of 
     Traveling Sex Offenders (``Megan's Law,'' H.R. 515), to 
     establish a system that prevents predators from traveling 
     under the radar internationally.
       Megan's Law would expand and codify Immigration and Customs 
     Enforcement's ability to effectively alert countries about 
     the travel of registered child-sex offenders, require 
     convicted child-sex predators to have a unique passport 
     identifier to ensure they can be identified at the border as 
     they travel internationally, and ensure collaboration between 
     the U.S. Marshal's Service and the Immigration and Customs 
     Enforcement, making government work more effectively. The 
     bill would also provide an appeals process for persons who 
     want their record and notification status reconsidered and 
     make it a crime for registered sex offenders to fail to 
     report intended international travel with less than twenty-
     one days of notice. Ultimately, the law would facilitate a 
     network to reduce child-sex tourism and reduce recidivism of 
     child-sex offenders.
       Family Research Council recognizes that it is important to 
     protect families from child-sex abusers, supports passage of 
     International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and 
     Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of 
     Traveling Sex Offenders (H.R. 515), and encourages you to 
     vote for this important legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                David Christensen,
                             Vice President of Government Affairs.
                                  ____
                                  


                                Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation,

                                      Trenton, NJ, September 2015.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     Russell Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     Hart Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators: This past August marked the twenty-first 
     anniversary of the violent rape and murder of our seven year 
     old daughter Megan at the hands of a twice-convicted 
     pedophile. As a result of our pain, determination and the 
     support of the public and representatives like you we have 
     Megan's Law throughout the United States. However, children 
     abroad are still unprotected from U.S. sex offenders.
       We are grateful that the Congress is advancing the 
     International Megan's Law (H.R. 515/S. 1867) to stop sex 
     offenders from exploiting children internationally--we 
     eagerly await a Senate vote on the bill so that it will 
     become law before the end of the year.
       When do we as a society truly stand behind our vows to 
     protect the children of this world? Unfortunately for us, it 
     took the murder of our seven year old daughter Megan for us 
     to get involved.
       This law has been eight years in the making. We urgently 
     need your help and support now to prevent new tragedies.
           Sincerely,
                                          Maureen & Richard Kanka.
                                  ____
                                  
                                               National Center for


                                 Missing & Exploited Children,

                                 Alexandria, VA, January 12, 2016.
     Hon. Christopher H. Smith,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Smith: On behalf of the National Center 
     for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the families and 
     children we serve, I am writing to express our support for 
     your legislation, International Megan's Law to Prevent Child 
     Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advance 
     Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders (IML) (H.R. 515). 
     NCMEC supports the goals of IML to help ensure the effective 
     monitoring and compliance of sex offenders who have harmed 
     children and pose a continuing risk to children in the United 
     States and abroad.
       NCMEC's Sex Offender Tracking Team (SOTT) assists federal, 
     state, and local law enforcement in their efforts to locate 
     and apprehend noncompliant, convicted sex offenders and 
     determine if there is a possible link to unresolved cases of 
     missing and sexually exploited children. Today, our SOTT 
     analysts provide assistance to various law enforcement 
     agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service in the National 
     Sex Offender Targeting Center.
       Through our SOTT work, we have learned the difficulties law 
     enforcement can face when monitoring sex offenders as well as 
     the potential danger to children when noncompliant, convicted 
     sex offenders travel within the United States or abroad, 
     including the possibility that they will commit additional 
     crimes against children. We believe the legislation you have 
     sponsored--International Megan's Law--will enhance law 
     enforcement's ability to monitor sex offenders when traveling 
     abroad.
       As you know, NCMEC also supported the companion bill 
     sponsored in the Senate by

[[Page E114]]

     Senators Richard Shelby and Barbara Mikulski. Provisions of 
     their legislation were incorporated into H.R. 515 and then 
     passed unanimously by the Senate in December. We now look 
     forward to the House of Representatives prompt consideration 
     of H.R. 515.
       NCMEC is proud to lend our support to this important 
     legislation, and we are grateful for your dedication to the 
     safety of our nation's children.
           Sincerely,
                                                    John F. Clark,
                                                President and CEO.
                                  ____
                                  
                                          International Centre for


                                 Missing & Exploited Children,

                                 Alexandria, VA, January 12, 2016.
     Re H.R. 515.

     Hon. Kevin McCarthy,
     Majority Leader, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Democratic Leader, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative McCarthy and Representative Pelosi: On 
     behalf of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited 
     Children (ICMEC), I am writing in reference to H.R. 515, 
     International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and 
     Other Sexual Crimes Through Advance Notification of Traveling 
     Sex Offenders.
       For almost two decades, ICMEC has been working around the 
     world to advance child protection and safeguard children from 
     abduction, sexual abuse and exploitation. ICMEC responds to 
     requests for assistance from all over the world through 
     advocacy, training and collaboration. We strive to inform and 
     work with policy makers, law enforcement and others in an 
     effort to enhance and enrich frontline child protection 
     practices.
       We strongly believe that all children have the right to 
     live without fear of abduction and free from sexual abuse and 
     exploitation. We believe every child deserves a safe 
     childhood, where they are able to grow into healthy and 
     successful adults.
       We thank you for your efforts to protect children from 
     exploitation, to keep known sex offenders from harming 
     children again, and to promote and facilitate enhanced 
     cooperation and information sharing within the global law 
     enforcement community.
           Sincerely,
                                      Ambassador Maura Harty, ret.
     President & CEO.

                          ____________________