[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 190 (Monday, December 3, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7252-S7254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AMY, VICKY, AND ANDY CHILD PORNOGRAPHY VICTIM ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2018

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I am pleased Congress recently passed my 
bipartisan bill, the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim 
Assistance Act of 2018. This legislation will help provide meaningful 
assistance for child pornography victims to support their recovery and 
allow them to reclaim their lives. This is a momentous day and many 
years in the making. I have introduced similar versions of this bill in 
the last three Congresses, and I look forward to the President signing 
it into law.
  Nearly 25 years ago, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act, 
which created a process for victims to seek restitution from 
defendants. For crimes that involve individual defendants who cause 
specific harm to particular victims, the restitution statute works in a 
straightforward way.
  Child pornography is unlike any other crime. The abuse involved in 
creating these images profoundly alters the lives of victims, while 
trafficking in the permanent record of that abuse

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perpetuates and expands the harm. As the Supreme Court noted in its 
2014 opinion in Paroline v. United States: ``Every viewing of child 
pornography is a repetition of the victim's abuse.'' Unfortunately, the 
internet has radically changed the nature of child pornography 
trafficking by drastically increasing the number of individuals who 
harm victims while simultaneously making it more difficult to identify 
the individuals from whom victims can seek restitution.
  In its decision in Paroline, the Supreme Court made clear that the 
current restitution statute cannot provide meaningful compensation for 
most child pornography victims. The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act changes 
that.
  The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act establishes more relevant and useful 
standards for child pornography victims who seek restitution from 
defendants, including improved criteria for judges to use when 
calculating victims' losses and provisions that ensure victims will 
receive meaningful restitution. Under this legislation, a victim of 
trafficking in child pornography may choose to seek restitution from 
defendants or to receive a one-time payment from the Child Pornography 
Victims Reserve within the federal Crime Victims Fund. The reserve will 
be supported by an assessment on all child pornography defendants.
  Congress understands the concern of the Supreme Court in Paroline 
that it is difficult to identify a discrete, readily definable 
incremental loss any one defendant caused any one victim, and so we 
have determined, after considering a range of options with the specific 
goal of fully compensating victims of child pornography in a swift and 
just manner, that it is reasonable, fair, and equitable to fix the 
minimum restitution amount for trafficking in child pornography at 
$3,000.
  Congress firmly believes that the amounts in the act are consistent 
with the principle in Hughey v. United States, 495 U.S. 411 (1990), 
that restitution should reflect the consequences of the defendant's own 
conduct. Congress finds that $3,000 is the minimum restitution that 
each individual defendant of trafficking in child pornography crimes 
should be assessed that comports with a defendant's relative role in 
the causal process that underlies a victim's general losses. This is 
fully in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision in Paroline. This 
amount also upholds Congress's longstanding goal of proportionality in 
sentencing because it reflects the amount of restitution currently 
being sought and ordered in district courts throughout the country.
  Criminals convicted of child pornography crimes--be they crimes of 
production, distribution, or possession--are part of a group of 
wrongdoers who collectively cause harm. Indeed, the profound suffering 
of victims of child pornography crimes is due in part to their 
knowledge that, each day, untold numbers of people across the country 
and around the world are viewing and distributing images of the 
victims' sexual abuse. Criminals who commit child pornography crimes 
cannot escape their responsibility to pay restitution by hiding in a 
crowd.
  Another important provision in the bill gives victims access to the 
images depicting them, which can be important for victim 
identification, expert testimony, forensic review, and treatment.
  The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act has been endorsed by the National 
Organization for Victim Assistance, National Association of Attorneys 
General, National Crime Victims Law Institute, National District 
Attorneys Association, National Center for Victims of Crime, National 
Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, National Crime Victims 
Bar Association, CHILD USA, RAINN, APSAC in partnership with The New 
York Foundling, Enough is Enough, Thorn, Academy on Violence and Abuse, 
DV LEAP, Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic, Utah Coalition against Sexual 
Assault, and the Children's Justice Fund. I appreciate all of their 
support.
  Developing and passing this important legislation has truly been a 
collaborative and years-long effort. There are a number of people I 
would like to thank who have been vital in this process.
  First and foremost, I wish to recognize and thank Amy, Vicky, and 
Andy, the brave individuals for whom this bill is named. As victims in 
some of the most widely distributed child pornography series in the 
world, they represent so many child pornography victims. Amy, Vicky, 
and Andy strongly support this bill.
  Second, I want to thank Amy's lawyer, James Marsh; Vicky's lawyer, 
Carol Hepburn; Andy's advocates at the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic; 
and Professor Paul Cassell at the University of Utah, who took Amy's 
case all the way to the Supreme Court. Their assistance with this bill, 
drawn from their tireless advocacy for victims, has been truly 
invaluable and much appreciated. Likewise, I must thank the dedicated 
attorneys at the Department of Justice for their important 
contributions to this legislation. I would particularly like to thank 
Alexandra Gelber of the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and 
Obscenity Section.
  Third, I wish to thank the Senators on both sides of the aisle who 
supported this important legislation, especially the 26 colleagues who 
co-sponsored this legislation with me. In particular, I wish to thank 
Ranking Member Feinstein, who joined me in introducing this bill. We 
have served together for many years, and she has long been a champion 
for crime victims. I likewise want to express my gratitude to Chairman 
Chuck Grassley, who also joined me in introducing the bill and who was 
crucial to getting this important legislation across the finish line. 
Throughout our Senate service, I have worked with Chairman Grassley and 
Ranking Member Feinstein on several bills to protect children, and I 
thank them for their commitment to ensuring that child victims have the 
support they need. I must thank members of their staff as well for 
their outstanding work: Senator Feinstein's counsel, Nicholas Xenakis, 
her former chief counsel for crime, Peter Hyun, and her former 
detailee, Sunjeet Randhawa; and Senator Grassley's chief Constitution 
counsel and crime counsel, Aaron Cummings, and his chief counsel for 
justice programs, juvenile justice, and violence against women, Evelyn 
Fortier.
  Fourth, I wish to recognize some colleagues in the House of 
Representatives. I would like to thank Congressman Trey Gowdy, the 
House sponsor of the bill. He has been a tireless advocate for child 
pornography victims, and I appreciate his dedicated service. Anna 
Bartlett in his office was a terrific help. Congressman Matt 
Cartwright, who represents Amy in the House, has been a champion on 
this issue and has introduced similar legislation in the last three 
Congresses.
  I would also like to recognize House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob 
Goodlatte. I have been fortunate to work with him on several 
initiatives throughout the years that were enacted into law, most 
recently the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. I 
was pleased to collaborate with him again on the Amy, Vicky, and Andy 
Act. I would like to thank his chief of staff, Shelley Husband, and his 
deputy chief of staff and chief counsel, Branden Ritchie, for their 
excellent job in shepherding this bill through the House. I also need 
to thank staff on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland 
Security, and Investigations for their great work, chief counsel Robert 
Parmiter and former counsel Chris Grieco. I would like to give a 
special shout-out to Crime Subcommittee counsel Margaret Barr, who was 
an outstanding partner in this effort. They all deserve tremendous 
credit for this victory.
  I would be remiss if I did not thank staff in the cloakroom and 
Senate legislative counsel for their assistance. Our work in the Senate 
would not be possible without their dedicated service.
  Lastly, I would like to thank those on my staff who assisted me with 
this bill. Firstly, I would like to thank my former chief counsel and 
senior nominations counsel, Thomas Jipping, who spearheaded this effort 
while he was a member of my staff. Next, I need to recognize Matt 
Sandgren, my chief of staff His tenacity and expertise was invaluable 
in getting this legislation passed. I am also grateful to my 
legislative director, Matt Jensen, for his dedicated work on this bill 
through each step of the legislative process. Finally, I would like to 
thank Kristin

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McLintock, my senior legislative aide, who worked diligently with House 
staff and stakeholders over the last several months to refine this bill 
and get it across the finish line. They all deserve immense credit for 
their work to get this bill enacted into law.
  Child pornography is a truly evil crime that has lasting impacts on 
its victims. The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim 
Assistance Act will help provide victims the assistance they need to 
put their lives back together. I am honored and extremely pleased this 
legislation will soon be signed into law.

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