[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8754-S8755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENHANCING NECESSARY FEDERAL OFFENSES REGARDING CHILD EXPLOITATION ACT
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I have long been, like many of us, an
advocate for protecting the victims of child sexual abuse, and I have
long believed that anybody who commits such a heinous crime must be
held accountable.
As technology has evolved over the last several decades, so have the
methods being used by those who would exploit our children. Starting in
2023, child safety researchers noticed a rise in the use of visual
generative machine learning models to create highly realistic child
sexual abuse material, otherwise known as CSAM, as well as other
obscene visual depictions of minors.
While there are many good and practical uses for artificial
intelligence, this is not one of them. Anyone who uses this kind of
technology to harm children deserves to receive the most severe
penalties our laws provide for, but our Criminal Code has not kept up
with the advanced methods used by some of these offenders.
Under current law, those who use AI to create explicit images of
minors do not receive the same penalties as similarly situated
offenders who created other forms of child pornography. My legislation
called the ENFORCE Act addresses this discrepancy by amending two
provisions of the United States Code that deal with child obscenity.
Our legislation clarifies the confusing and duplicative definition of
modified or computer-generated child sexual abuse material and makes
persons who create or distribute Gen-AI CSAM subject to the same
penalties as those who create or distribute other forms of child
pornography. I shudder to think that our society will be judged based
on how we prioritize the protection of our most vulnerable, and it is
hard to think of anyone more vulnerable than a child victim of sexual
assault.
Our bipartisan legislation ensures that anyone who participates in
the sexual exploitation of children is held accountable, and I hope it
will advance out of the Chamber today.
Mr. President, in that regard, notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask
unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged
from further consideration of S. 3021 and that the Senate proceed to
its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The senior assistant executive clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 3021) to amend title 18, United States Code, to
enhance enforcement with respect to material depicting
obscene child sexual abuse or constituting child pornography,
and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the committee was discharged and the Senate
proceeded to consider the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
the bill be considered and read a third time and passed and that the
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read
the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 3021
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing Necessary Federal
Offenses Regarding Child Exploitation Act'' or the ``ENFORCE
Act''.
SEC. 2. CLARIFYING PRODUCTION WITH RESPECT TO MATERIAL
CONSTITUTING OR CONTAINING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.
Section 2252A of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (7) and
inserting the following:
``(7) knowingly produces child pornography, as defined in
section 2256(8)(C), that--
``(A) the person knows, or has reason to know, will be
mailed, shipped, or transported using any means or facility
of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce;
``(B) was produced using materials that have been mailed,
shipped, or transported in or affecting interstate or foreign
commerce; or
``(C) has been mailed, shipped, or transported using any
means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or
affecting interstate or foreign commerce,''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or (6)'' and inserting
``(6), or (7)''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (3).
SEC. 3. ENHANCING ENFORCEMENT WITH RESPECT TO OBSCENE VISUAL
REPRESENTATIONS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE.
(a) Removing the Statute of Limitations for Obscene Visual
Representations of Child Sexual Abuse.--Section 3299 of title
18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``1466A or''
before ``1591''.
(b) Including Crimes of Obscene Visual Representations of
Child Sexual Abuse in Sex Offender Registration.--Section
111(5)(A)(iii) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety
Act of 2006 (34 U.S.C. 20911(5)(A)(iii)) is amended by
inserting ``1466A or'' before ``1591''.
(c) Prohibition on Reproduction of Obscene Visual
Representations of Child Sexual Abuse in Discovery.--Section
1466A of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Prohibition on Reproduction of Obscene Visual
Depictions of Child Sexual Abuse.--In any criminal proceeding
brought under this section--
``(1) any visual depiction involved in a violation of this
section shall remain in the care, custody, and control of
either the Government or the court in the same manner
specified for child pornography in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
section 3509(m); and
[[Page S8755]]
``(2) any identifiable minor, as that term is defined in
section 2256(9), depicted in any visual depiction involved in
a violation of this section may have access to such depiction
in the same manner specified for a victim, with respect to
child pornography depicting the victim, in section
3509(m)(3).''.
(d) Presumption of Detention for Violations of Section
1466A Pending Trial.--Section 3142 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(1)(B), in the undesignated matter
following clause (xiv), by striking ``that involves'' and all
that follows through ``2425 of this title'' and inserting
``that involves an offense described in subsection
(e)(3)(E)''; and
(2) in subsection (e)(3), by striking subparagraph (E) and
inserting the following:
``(E) an offense--
``(i) involving a minor victim under section 1201, 1591,
2241(a), 2241(b), 2242, 2244(a)(1), 2245, 2421, or 2422(a) of
this title; or
``(ii) under section 1466A(a), 2241(c), 2251A, 2252(a)(1),
2252(a)(2), 2252(a)(3), 2252A(a)(1), 2252A(a)(2),
2252A(a)(3), 2252A(a)(4), 2260, 2422(b), 2423, or 2425 of
this title.''.
(e) Supervised Release for Violations of Section 1466A
After Imprisonment.--Section 3583(k) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting
``1466A,'' before ``1591,''.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________