[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PREVENTING CHILD EXPLOITATION ACT OF 2018

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                               speech of

                    HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 25, 2018

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is 
considering H.R. 6847, the Preventing Child Exploitation Act, which 
includes a reauthorization of key provisions of the Adam Walsh Child 
Protection and Safety Act. As the original sponsor of the 2006 Adam 
Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, I have made a point to seek 
remedies to prevent the sexual exploitation of our nation's children. 
This law strengthened sex offender registry requirements and 
enforcement across the country, extended registry requirements to 
Indian tribes, increased penalties for child predators, and authorized 
funding for a number of programs to strengthen our defenses against 
child exploitation.
  A primary component of the law is the Sex Offender Registration and 
Notification Act (``SORNA''), which set minimum guidelines for state 
sex offender registries. SORNA also established the Dru Sjodin National 
Sex Offender Public Website, a comprehensive national system for the 
registration and notification to the public of sex offenders. 
Currently, this registry contains information on more than 600,000 
convicted sex offenders in the United States.
  But, as several widely-publicized scandals have shown, the fight 
against child exploitation is not over. The Justice Department reports 
that only 16 states, three territories, and 36 tribes have 
substantially implemented SORNA, despite a July 27, 2011 deadline for 
reaching substantial compliance. There are also an estimated 100,000 
fugitive sex offenders across the United States who are unregistered or 
otherwise noncompliant with their registry requirements.
  H.R. 6847 includes a five year reauthorization of the two primary 
programs of the Adam Walsh Act. These include the Sex Offender 
Management Assistance Program, which provides funding to the states, 
tribes and other jurisdictions to offset the costs of implementing and 
enhancing SORNA, and funding for the U.S. Marshals Service and other 
law enforcement agencies to assist jurisdictions in locating and 
apprehending sex offenders who violate registration requirements. The 
bill also reauthorizes grants for the treatment of juvenile sex 
offenders, as well as funding for the National Center for Missing & 
Exploited Children (``NCMEC''), a Congressionally-authorized not-for-
profit corporation that provides resources for families and law 
enforcement officials to assist in the recovery of missing children and 
prevent the victimization of children.
  By incorporating feedback from the states, the bill makes targeted 
changes to the SORNA requirements in order to facilitate the states' 
compliance with the Act. These changes include giving the States more 
flexibility in classifying sex offenders on their registry, lowering 
the period that certain juveniles must register to 25 years, and 
limiting public access to juvenile sex offender information.

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