[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 159 (Friday, October 4, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AMBER ALERT NATIONWIDE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                  HON. GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN

                    of the northern mariana islands

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 4, 2019

  Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the AMBER Alert 
Nationwide Act, so that all families and first responders in our 
country have access to this critical tool to save children who are 
victims of abduction and exploitation.
  Since its creation in 1996, the AMBER Alert system has saved the 
lives of nearly a thousand children through its network of instant 
alerts sent through radio, television and text messages. However, the 
system is not available nationwide. Funding Congress initially 
authorized under the PROTECT Act to expand the reach of AMBER Alerts 
was only available to states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 
Rico. This has left families and first responders in tribal communities 
as well as the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Guam to 
search for missing children without the help of this life-saving 
technology. Last year, Congress recognized the need to include Indian 
tribes in the system by passing the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian 
Country Act. The AMBER Alert Nationwide Act includes all U.S. 
territories so our first responders can access the federal resources 
their counterparts receive to make the necessary infrastructure 
upgrades to help keep our children safe.
  The gentlelady from American Samoa, Mrs. Radewagen, is an original 
cosponsor of the bill. And the National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children has endorsed the legislation. I urge my colleagues 
to support this bipartisan bill to help reunite all our nation's 
missing children with their families no matter where they live.

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