[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 117 (Thursday, July 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H6121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMBER ALERT NATIONWIDE ACT
(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute.)
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce the AMBER Alert
Nationwide Act.
I thank my colleagues from the other U.S. territories for their
support as original cosponsors.
In 2003, Congress passed the PROTECT Act, establishing the national
AMBER Alert system to mobilize the American public in cases of missing,
abducted, and exploited children. However, this 2003 law did not
provide for all of the U.S. territories to implement the AMBER Alert
system. Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are
still not integrated into the national system.
Our AMBER Alert Nationwide Act would fix this by integrating Guam and
all U.S. territories into the next AMBER Alert system and providing
needed Federal support for local law enforcement.
This bipartisan bill would also optimize the system for the
territories by authorizing Federal funding for AMBER Alerts in major
transportation hubs such as airports, maritime ports, customs
checkpoints, and other ports of exits.
A truly nationwide AMBER Alert system must protect our missing,
abducted, or exploited children in the U.S. territories. I urge our
House colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this bill.
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