[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7477-S7478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Jenna Quinn Law

  Mr. President, one of those bills is the Jenna Quinn Law, which I 
have spoken on here on the Senate floor many times. The goal of this 
legislation is straightforward--to stop child sexual abuse. It will 
help us do that by building on the success of what is now known as 
Jenna's Law in Texas and other States, which requires training for 
teachers, caregivers, and other adults who work with children, who will 
receive specialized training on how to detect and report and thus 
prevent child sexual abuse.
  The signs of child sexual abuse are unique from other forms of child 
abuse and correctly identifying these signs is integral to bringing 
children out of sexually abusive situations. You might ask, If there is 
a Texas State law providing for this, why do we need a Federal law? 
Well, not every State has done what Texas has done, but also they need 
the funding to help pay for this specialized training. That is what the 
Jenna Quinn Law that is pending in Congress will do, and it will 
encourage other States without similar laws to implement innovative 
programs to address child sexual abuse. There should be few things more 
unifying than the war against child sexual abuse, which is why this 
bill passed the Senate unanimously earlier this year.
  But days have turned into weeks and weeks have turned into months, 
and the House still hasn't passed the Jenna Quinn Law. It is not 
because House Members oppose the bill. If it came up on the floor 
today, nearly every Member of the House of Representatives would vote 
for it.
  This bill hasn't been able to pass the House because one chairman--a 
Democratic chairman--won't even give the House a chance to vote on it. 
For months, Education and Labor Committee Chairman  Bobby Scott has 
refused to move the Jenna Quinn Law. Despite repeated requests from 
countless child advocacy groups and a bipartisan group of Senators and 
Congressmen, it continues in purgatory on the committee calendar
  Senators Hassan, Smith, and I sent a letter to Congressman Scott 
urging him to take action and to allow this lifesaving legislation to 
pass the House this year. He responded to our letter, saying he will 
continue to hold this legislation because he wants to add it to other 
more complicated legislative measures next year.
  So when it comes to detecting and preventing child sexual abuse, 
Chairman Scott thinks we can wait until next year.
  We can't wait until next year.
  In short, he admitted that this legislation is so important and so 
valuable that he can't let it pass on its own. It has to drag other, 
more controversial, more partisan pieces of legislation along with it. 
And just when you think things can't get any worse, they do.
  As I said, this legislation will provide funding to the States and 
will encourage States, like Congressman Scott's home State of Virginia, 
to implement it. You would think that Congressman Scott would care. If 
he didn't care for the bill that would benefit the rest of the country, 
you would think he would care about how it would benefit his 
constituents in his home district of Virginia. Virginia doesn't 
currently require this training for teachers, caregivers, and other 
adults who work with children, and this legislation would fix that.
  Making this matter even more urgent is the pandemic. Experts believe 
that the unique conditions created by COVID-19 have caused instances of 
child sexual abuse to go up, while the number of reports has gone down. 
Families are experiencing a range of new stressors, including 
everything from job losses to financial instability, to health anxiety, 
all while isolating at home with their children. And the children who 
aren't going to school each day are out of sight from the teachers, 
busdrivers, and other adults they would otherwise come in contact with 
who are most likely to identify and report child sexual abuse. Adults 
who work with children are the No. 1 reporters of that abuse.
  So there could not be a more urgent need for this legislation. This 
is not a partisan pet project. It is legislation that will save the 
lives of children across the country. Victims in my home State of Texas 
and Congressman Scott's home State of Virginia would experience the 
lifesaving benefits of the Jenna Quinn Law.
  A couple weeks ago, the Dallas Morning News published an editorial 
titled,

[[Page S7478]]

``If Congress can't even pass a law to help save kids from sex abuse, 
what can it get right?''
  Well, that is a fair question and a tough but necessary question. 
When you see what Chairman Scott is doing, it is easy to see why 
Congress's approval rating is so abysmal. If a high-ranking leader of a 
House committee will block commonsense legislation that is directed at 
stopping child sexual abuse, how can the American people have faith in 
Congress's ability to accomplish anything?
  Now is not the time to play politics or use child sexual abuse 
victims as leverage. This bill is one step away from going to the 
President's desk, and Congressman Scott is the only one standing in the 
way.
  It is time to quit playing games and allow the Jenna Quinn Law to 
pass.