[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 23846-23847]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 764, CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND 
                            ENFORCEMENT ACT

  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on 
Rules, I call up House Resolution 321 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 321

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 764) to reduce the incidence of child abuse 
     and neglect, and for other purposes. The first reading of the 
     bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against 
     consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be 
     confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally 
     divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on the Judiciary. After general 
     debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 
     five-minute rule. The bill shall be considered as read. 
     Points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to 
     comply with clause 4 of rule XXI are waived. During 
     consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman of the 
     Committee of the Whole may accord priority in recognition on 
     the basis of whether the Member offering an amendment has 
     caused it to be printed in the portion of the Congressional 
     Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. 
     Amendments so printed shall be considered as read. The 
     Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may: (1) postpone 
     until a time during further consideration in the Committee of 
     the Whole a request for a recorded vote on any amendment; and 
     (2) reduce to five minutes the minimum time for electronic 
     voting on any postponed question that follows another 
     electronic vote without intervening business, provided that 
     the minimum time for electronic voting on the first in any 
     series of questions shall be 15 minutes. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as 
     may have been adopted. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to 
     final passage without intervening motion except one motion to 
     recommit with or without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The gentlewoman from Ohio 
(Ms. Pryce) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. 
Slaughter), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
During consideration of the resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 321 is an open rule providing for the 
consideration of the Child Abuse Protection and Enforcement Act, also 
known as the CAPE Act. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate 
equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of 
the Committee on the Judiciary. And as the sponsor of this legislation, 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the 
Committee on the Judiciary, especially the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
McCollum), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, for all of their 
work on the bill and their efforts to move this legislation forward.
  The rule waives all points of order against consideration and against 
certain provisions of the bill. The bill will be open for amendment at 
any point, and under this open rule any Member who seeks to improve 
upon the legislation may offer any germane amendment. However, priority 
recognition will be given to those Members who have preprinted their 
amendments in the Congressional Record. Additionally, the rule offers 
an opportunity to change the bill through the customary motion to 
recommit with or without instructions.
  Finally, to ensure timely and orderly consideration of the bill, the 
rule allows the chairman of the Committee of the Whole to postpone 
votes and reduce voting time to 5 minutes as long as the vote follows a 
15-minute vote.
  As the sponsor of this legislation, I am pleased that the House will 
have the opportunity to fully debate this important issue surrounding 
the tragedy of child abuse under a fair and open process.
  It is hard for most of us to fathom a rage so blinding that it could 
compel an adult to attack a helpless child, much less their own child. 
It may shock my colleagues to realize that every 3 minutes a child will 
be reported abused or neglected. And, sadly, that is just in my own 
State of Ohio. Nationwide, the crisis of child abuse is even more 
staggering. An estimated one million violent crimes involving child 
victims are reported to police annually. And on top of that, another 
1.1 million cases of child abuse are substantiated by child protection 
agencies annually.
  This is a national crisis, and as leaders, we have the responsibility 
to take a stand and fight back against the cruelty that robs children 
of their innocence and produces troubled and violent adults.
  As a former prosecutor and judge, I have seen firsthand the 
manifestation of child abuse in the criminal behavior of adults. 
Breaking this cycle of violence in our society begins with child abuse 
prevention.
  But the most compelling case for child abuse prevention is not found 
in these troubled adults but in the eyes of children who live in 
constant fear. Children should be focused on school, little league, 
piano lessons, not reeling from punches or cowering from the adults who 
should be embracing them.
  The CAPE Act focuses on two critically important fronts: child abuse 
prevention and improved treatment of the victims of child abuse.
  The bill has a host of bipartisan cosponsors and has been endorsed by 
a wide variety of groups from every ideological background, including 
the National Child Abuse Coalition, Prevent Child Abuse America, 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Family 
Research Council.
  The CAPE Act would make three changes to current law: first, the bill 
expands a Department of Justice grant program that helps States provide 
equipment and personnel training for closed-circuit television and 
video taping of children's testimony in child abuse cases. Under the 
CAPE Act, these grants could be used to provide child protective 
workers and child welfare workers access to criminal conviction 
information and orders of protection based on claims of domestic or 
child abuse. Or the grants could be used to improve law enforcement 
access to custody orders, visitation orders, protective orders, or 
guardianship orders.
  Second, the CAPE Act expands the use of the Byrne law enforcement 
grants to improve the enforcement of child abuse and neglect laws, and, 
more importantly, child abuse prevention.
  Finally, the bill allows additional dollars from the Crime Victims 
Fund

[[Page 23847]]

to be used for child abuse assistance programs, increasing the earmark 
from $10 million to $20 million. This increase reflects a growth in 
contributions to the fund since the set-aside for victims of child 
abuse was first established.
  Mr. Speaker, all of these changes will funnel more resources to the 
State and local level, where the individuals who are on the front lines 
in the fight against child abuse are best equipped to help our 
children. And I know my colleagues will be pleased to know that the 
CAPE Act draws on existing resources instead of creating a new Federal 
program that requires more taxpayer financing.
  The CAPE Act has bipartisan support and was favorably reported by the 
Committee on the Judiciary without controversy or amendment. So while 
we do not expect numerous amendments to be offered today, this issue is 
simply far too important to deny a full and fair debate. That is why 
the Committee on Rules has reported this open rule, which I hope my 
colleagues will support.
  I look forward to today's debate, which I hope will not only be a 
prelude to the passage of legislation that gives hope to millions of 
children, but also an effort to raise awareness about the horrors of 
child abuse and the steps we can take to end it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce), for yielding me this time, and I yield 
myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the rule for H.R. 764 is an open rule, and I am pleased 
to support its consideration.
  Mr. Speaker, every year, millions of children are the victims of 
child abuse or are witnesses to terrible violence. The repercussions of 
this violence is often felt for the rest of that child's life. Study 
after study suggests that children who are victims of child abuse or 
neglect are far more likely to run afoul of the law either as 
adolescents or adults. Statistics show that most people who are abusers 
were abused as children themselves.
  Even as the crime in some areas is going down, experts tell us the 
number of crimes against children is going up. This bill is an 
important effort aimed at child abuse treatment and prevention. It was 
passed just a few days ago by a voice vote in the Committee on the 
Judiciary and is now here on the floor for consideration by the full 
House.

                              {time}  1430

  Several important amendments have been identified, and I look forward 
to the thoughtful debate concerning this most important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in 
participating in today's debate and strengthening the voice of millions 
of children who live each day with terror and in pain.
  Raising awareness is the first step toward ending the living 
nightmare of child abuse. The next step is providing the resources to 
eradicate this scourge on our society. Today, happily, we can do both.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this fair and open rule and the 
Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________