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

      By Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Tillis):
  S. 2614. A bill to amend the Violent Crime Control and Law 
Enforcement Act of 1994, to reauthorize the Missing Alzheimer's Disease 
Patient Alert Program, and to promote initiatives that will reduce the 
risk of injury and death relating to the wandering characteristics of 
some children with autism; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today Senators Schumer, Tillis and I 
will introduce legislation to help America's families locate missing 
loved ones who have Alzheimer's disease, autism or related conditions 
that may cause them to wander. Our bill would extend existing programs 
designed to assist in locating Alzheimer's disease and dementia 
patients. It also adds new support for people with autism.
  We have named the legislation in honor of two boys with autism who 
perished because their condition caused them to wander. One of these 
children, nine-year-old Kevin Curtis Wills, slipped into Iowa's Raccoon 
River near a park and tragically drowned in 2008. The other, 14-year-
old Avonte Oquendo, wandered away from his school and drowned in New 
York City's East River several years ago.
  Theirs are not isolated cases. We have all read or heard the 
heartbreaking stories of families frantically trying to locate a 
missing loved one whose condition caused him or her to wander off.
  We have also seen benefits of notification systems to locate missing 
children and bring relief to families through community assistance. Our 
bill will use similar concepts and other technology to help locate 
people with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia as well as 
children with autism spectrum disorders who may be prone to wander away 
from their families or caregivers.
  My home State of Iowa has the fifth highest Alzheimer's death rate in 
America, according to the Alzheimer's Association. As further noted by 
the Alzheimer's Association, which we consulted on this bill's 
development, as many as one in three seniors will die with a form of 
dementia. About 63,000 Iowans are living with Alzheimer's disease.
  In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released 
information on the incidence of autism in this country. The CDC 
identified 1 in 68 children as having autism spectrum disorders. 
Experts tell us that, in Iowa alone, about 8,000 individuals have been 
diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, and we worked closely with 
the Autism Society of Iowa on the development of this bill.
  Because police often are the first people to respond when a child 
goes missing, the bill also will make resources available to equip 
first responders and other community officials with the training 
necessary to better prevent and respond to these cases. With better 
information sharing, communities can play a central role in reuniting 
these children with their families.
  Finally, the bill will ensure that grants from the U.S. Department of 
Justice also can be used by state and local law enforcement agencies 
and nonprofits for education and training programs to proactively 
prevent and locate missing individuals with these conditions. The 
grants will facilitate the development of training and emergency 
protocols for school personnel, supply first responders with additional 
information and resources, and make local tracking technology programs 
available for individuals who may wander from safety because of their 
condition. Grant funding may also be used to establish or enhance 
notification and communications systems for the recovery of missing 
children with autism.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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