[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 1, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1138-S1139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Hatch, and Mrs. 
        Feinstein):
  S. 2613. A bill to reauthorize certain programs established by the 
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006; to the Committee on 
the Judiciary.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, we have all heard accounts of innocent 
children being victimized and abused by predators. Today I will 
introduce legislation to extend two of the key programs that Congress 
established under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 
2006. With today's legislation, I hope to send a strong message to all 
Americans about Congress' continued commitment to keeping our Nation's 
children safe.
  Many of us here in the Senate worked very hard on the original 
version of the Adam Walsh Act, which is named for a six year-old who 
was tragically murdered in 1981. President George W. Bush signed that 
legislation on the 25th anniversary of Adam Walsh's abduction from a 
Florida shopping mall. I am pleased that Senators Hatch, Schumer, and 
Feinstein--who cosponsored the Senate version of that legislation when 
it was first introduced in the 109th Congress--have joined me as 
original cosponsors of today's legislation.
  John Walsh, the father of Adam Walsh, worked closely with us on the 
development of the 2006 Adam Walsh Act, and we worked with him on the 
development of today's legislation as well. Reauthorization of the Adam 
Walsh Act is a priority for him and has the support of the National 
Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
  The Adam Walsh Act was enacted in response to multiple, notorious 
cases involving children who had been targeted by adult criminals, many 
of them repeat sex offenders. Its passage became a national priority 
after Congress discovered that criminals were taking advantage of gaps 
and loopholes in some States' laws to circumvent sex offender 
registration requirements--with tragic results for some of the nation's 
children.
  Who can forget Jetseta Gage--a beautiful 10-year-old girl from Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa who was sexually assaulted and murdered by a registered 
sex offender in 2005? As a cosponsor of the Senate version of the Adam 
Walsh Act, I championed the inclusion in the 2006 law of language 
imposing mandatory minimum penalties for those who murder, kidnap, or 
inflict serious bodily harm to children like Jetseta.
  Of course, the centerpiece of the Adam Walsh Act is the Sex Offender 
Registration and Notification Act, or SORNA. SORNA divides sex 
offenders into three categories, or tiers, depending on the seriousness 
of their crimes. It encourages States to set minimum criteria for the 
registration of sex offenders in each tier, with the aim of 
discouraging ``forum shopping'' by offenders who prey on children.
  The Adam Walsh Act also established several programs that are key to 
its successful implementation. One such program, known as SOMA, or the 
Sex Offender Management Assistance Program, makes federal grant 
resources available to states to offset the costs of Walsh Act 
implementation. Today's legislation would extend the authorization for 
that program, which expired 8 years ago.
  The federal government, through the U.S. Marshals Service, also 
supports States and localities in tracking down sex offenders who fail 
to register or re-register. Those fugitive apprehension activities were 
authorized under the 2006 Adam Walsh Act, and today's legislation would 
extend the authorization for those U.S. Marshals Service activities at 
$60 million annually for each of the next 2 years.
  Nothing can bring back Adam Walsh, Jetseta Gage, Dru Sjodin, Megan 
Kanka, or the other innocents for whom the Adam Walsh Act was passed. 
But it is important that we continue to not only honor their memories 
but also protect America's future children from harm by extending the 
key programs that were authorized under the original Adam Walsh Act. 
The authorization for these programs expired at least 7 years ago.
  According to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, 
there are about a hundred thousand

[[Page S1139]]

people convicted of sexual violence offenses in state prisons, and 
hundreds of thousands more who currently reside in neighborhoods across 
the United States. As a father of five and the grandfather of 9, I 
believe we should continue to make sex offender registration and 
notification a priority.
  Mr. President, July 27 of this year will mark the 35th anniversary of 
Adam Walsh's abduction. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting 
the passage of this important legislation before that date elapses.
                                 ______