[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16481-16486]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL AMBER ALERT NETWORK ACT OF 2002

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. MILLER). The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate 
immediately proceed to Calendar No. 566, S. 2896.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2896) to enhance the operation of the AMBER 
     Alert communications network in order to facilitate the 
     recovery of abducted children, to provide for enhanced 
     notification on highways of alerts and information on such 
     children, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with an 
amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu 
thereof the following:
  [Strike the part printed in black brackets and insert the part 
printed in italic.]
       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 ``National AMBER Alert 
     Network Act of 2002''.

[[Page 16482]]



     [SEC. 2. NATIONAL COORDINATION OF AMBER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS 
                   NETWORK.

       [(a) Coordination Within Department of Justice.--The 
     Attorney General shall assign an officer of the Department of 
     Justice to act as the national coordinator of the AMBER Alert 
     communications network regarding abducted children. The 
     officer so designated shall be known as the AMBER Alert 
     Coordinator of the Department of Justice.
       [(b) Duties.--In acting as the national coordinator of the 
     AMBER Alert communications network, the Coordinator shall--
       [(1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network, including gaps 
     in areas of interstate travel;
       [(2) work with States to encourage the development of 
     additional elements (known as local AMBER plans) in the 
     network;
       [(3) work with States to ensure appropriate regional 
     coordination of various elements of the network; and
       [(4) act as the nationwide point of contact for--
       [(A) the development of the network; and
       [(B) regional coordination of alerts on abducted children 
     through the network.
       [(c) Consultation with Federal Bureau of Investigation.--In 
     carrying out duties under subsection (b), the Coordinator 
     shall notify and consult with the Director of the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for 
     which an alert is issued through the AMBER Alert 
     communications network.
       [(d) Cooperation.--The Coordinator shall cooperate with the 
     Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Communications 
     Commission in carrying out activities under this section.

     [SEC. 3. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DISSEMINATION OF 
                   ALERTS THROUGH AMBER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS 
                   NETWORK.

       [(a) Establishment of Minimum Standards.--Subject to 
     subsection (b), the AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department 
     of Justice shall establish minimum standards for--
       [(1) the issuance of alerts through the AMBER Alert 
     communications network; and
       [(2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts issued 
     through the network.
       [(b) Limitations.--(1) The minimum standards established 
     under subsection (a) shall be adoptable on a voluntary basis 
     only.
       [(2) The minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in consultation 
     with State and local law enforcement agencies), provide that 
     the dissemination of an alert through the AMBER Alert 
     communications network be limited to the geographic areas 
     most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child 
     concerned.
       [(3) In carrying out activities under subsection (a), the 
     Coordinator may not interfere with the current system of 
     voluntary coordination between local broadcasters and State 
     and local law enforcement agencies for purposes of the AMBER 
     Alert communications network.
       [(c) Cooperation.--(1) The Coordinator shall cooperate with 
     the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal 
     Communications Commission in carrying out activities under 
     this section.
       [(2) The Coordinator shall also cooperate with local 
     broadcasters and State and local law enforcement agencies in 
     establishing minimum standards under this section.

     [SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM FOR NOTIFICATION AND COMMUNICATIONS 
                   SYSTEMS ALONG HIGHWAYS FOR RECOVERY OF ABDUCTED 
                   CHILDREN.

       [(a) Program Required.--The Secretary of Transportation 
     shall carry out a program to provide grants to States for the 
     development or enhancement of notification or communications 
     systems along highways for alerts and other information for 
     the recovery of abducted children.
       [(b) Activities.--Activities funded by grants under the 
     program under subsection (a) may include--
       [(1) the development or enhancement of electronic message 
     boards along highways and the placement of additional signage 
     along highways; and
       [(2) the development or enhancement of other means of 
     disseminating along highways alerts and other information for 
     the recovery of abducted children.
       [(c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of any 
     activities funded by a grant under the program under 
     subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent.
       [(d) Distribution of Grant Amounts on Geographic Basis.--
     The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
     ensure the distribution of grants under the program under 
     subsection (a) on an equitable basis throughout the various 
     regions of the United States.
       [(e) Administration.--The Secretary shall prescribe 
     requirements, including application requirements, for grants 
     under the program under subsection (a).
       [(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There is 
     authorized to be appropriated for the Department of 
     Transportation for fiscal year 2003 such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out this section.
         [(2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization 
     of appropriations in paragraph (1) shall remain available 
     until expended.

     [SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUPPORT OF AMBER ALERT 
                   COMMUNICATIONS PLANS.

       [(a) Program Required.--The Attorney General shall carry 
     out a program to provide grants to States for the development 
     or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of 
     AMBER Alert communications plans.
       [(b) Activities.--Activities funded by grants under the 
     program under subsection (a) may include--
       [(1) the development and implementation of education and 
     training programs, and associated materials, relating to 
     AMBER Alert communications plans;
       [(2) the development and implementation of law enforcement 
     programs, and associated equipment, relating to AMBER Alert 
     communications plans; and
       [(3) such other activities as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate for supporting the AMBER Alert communications 
     program.
       [(c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of any 
     activities funded by a grant under the program under 
     subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent.
       [(d) Distribution of Grant Amounts on Geographic Basis.--
     The Attorney General shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, ensure the distribution of grants under the 
     program under subsection (a) on an equitable basis throughout 
     the various regions of the United States.
       [(e) Administration.--The Attorney General shall prescribe 
     requirements, including application requirements, for grants 
     under the program under subsection (a).
       [(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There is 
     authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Justice 
     for fiscal year 2003 such sums as may be necessary to carry 
     out this section.
       [(2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
     appropriations in paragraph (1) shall remain available until 
     expended.]

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National AMBER Alert Network 
     Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL COORDINATION OF AMBER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS 
                   NETWORK.

       (a) Coordination Within Department of Justice.--The 
     Attorney General shall assign an officer of the Department of 
     Justice to act as the national coordinator of the AMBER Alert 
     communications network regarding abducted children. The 
     officer so designated shall be known as the AMBER Alert 
     Coordinator of the Department of Justice.
       (b) Duties.--In acting as the national coordinator of the 
     AMBER Alert communications network, the Coordinator shall--
       (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network, including gaps 
     in areas of interstate travel;
       (2) work with States to encourage the development of 
     additional elements (known as local AMBER plans) in the 
     network;
       (3) work with States to ensure appropriate regional 
     coordination of various elements of the network; and
       (4) act as the nationwide point of contact for--
       (A) the development of the network; and
       (B) regional coordination of alerts on abducted children 
     through the network.
       (c) Consultation and Cooperation.--(1) In carrying out 
     duties under subsection (b), the Coordinator shall notify and 
     consult with the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an 
     alert is issued through the AMBER Alert communications 
     network.
       (2) The Coordinator shall cooperate with the Secretary of 
     Transportation and the Federal Communications Commission in 
     carrying out activities under this section.
       (3) In preparation for carrying out duties under subsection 
     (b), the Coordinator shall consult with the National Center 
     for Missing and Exploited Children and other private sector 
     entities and organizations (including non-profit 
     organizations) having expertise in matters relating to such 
     duties.

     SEC. 3. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DISSEMINATION OF 
                   ALERTS THROUGH AMBER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS 
                   NETWORK.

       (a) Establishment of Minimum Standards.--Subject to 
     subsection (b), the AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department 
     of Justice shall establish minimum standards for--
       (1) the issuance of alerts through the AMBER Alert 
     communications network; and
       (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts issued 
     through the network.
       (b) Limitations.--(1) The minimum standards established 
     under subsection (a) shall be adoptable on a voluntary basis 
     only.
       (2) The minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in consultation 
     with State and local law enforcement agencies), provide that 
     the dissemination of an alert through the AMBER Alert 
     communications network be limited to the geographic areas 
     most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child 
     concerned.
       (3) In carrying out activities under subsection (a), the 
     Coordinator may not interfere with the current system of 
     voluntary coordination between local broadcasters and State 
     and local law enforcement agencies for purposes of the AMBER 
     Alert communications network.
       (c) Cooperation and Consultation.--(1) The Coordinator 
     shall cooperate with the Secretary of Transportation and the 
     Federal Communications Commission in carrying out activities 
     under this section.
       (2) The Coordinator shall also cooperate with local 
     broadcasters and State and local law enforcement agencies in 
     establishing minimum standards under this section.

[[Page 16483]]

       (3) The Coordinator shall also consult with the National 
     Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other private 
     sector entities and organizations (including non-profit 
     organizations) having an expertise in matters relating to the 
     minimum standards to be established under this section in 
     establishing the minimum standards.

     SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM FOR NOTIFICATION AND COMMUNICATIONS 
                   SYSTEMS ALONG HIGHWAYS FOR RECOVERY OF ABDUCTED 
                   CHILDREN.

       (a) Program Required.--The Secretary of Transportation 
     shall carry out a program to provide grants to States for the 
     development or enhancement of notification or communications 
     systems along highways for alerts and other information for 
     the recovery of abducted children.
       (b) Activities.--Activities funded by grants under the 
     program under subsection (a) may include--
       (1) the development or enhancement of electronic message 
     boards along highways and the placement of additional signage 
     along highways; and
       (2) the development or enhancement of other means of 
     disseminating along highways alerts and other information for 
     the recovery of abducted children.
       (c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of any 
     activities funded by a grant under the program under 
     subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent.
       (d) Distribution of Grant Amounts on Geographic Basis.--The 
     Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure 
     the distribution of grants under the program under subsection 
     (a) on an equitable basis throughout the various regions of 
     the United States.
       (e) Administration.--The Secretary shall prescribe 
     requirements, including application requirements, for grants 
     under the program under subsection (a).
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There is 
     authorized to be appropriated for the Department of 
     Transportation for fiscal year 2003 such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out this section.
       (2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
     appropriations in paragraph (1) shall remain available until 
     expended.

     SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUPPORT OF AMBER ALERT 
                   COMMUNICATIONS PLANS.

       (a) Program Required.--The Attorney General shall carry out 
     a program to provide grants to States for the development or 
     enhancement of programs and activities for the support of 
     AMBER Alert communications plans.
       (b) Activities.--Activities funded by grants under the 
     program under subsection (a) may include--
       (1) the development and implementation of education and 
     training programs, and associated materials, relating to 
     AMBER Alert communications plans;
       (2) the development and implementation of law enforcement 
     programs, and associated equipment, relating to AMBER Alert 
     communications plans; and
       (3) such other activities as the Attorney General considers 
     appropriate for supporting the AMBER Alert communications 
     program.
       (c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of any 
     activities funded by a grant under the program under 
     subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent.
       (d) Distribution of Grant Amounts on Geographic Basis.--The 
     Attorney General shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
     ensure the distribution of grants under the program under 
     subsection (a) on an equitable basis throughout the various 
     regions of the United States.
       (e) Administration.--The Attorney General shall prescribe 
     requirements, including application requirements, for grants 
     under the program under subsection (a).
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There is 
     authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Justice 
     for fiscal year 2003 such sums as may be necessary to carry 
     out this section.
       (2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
     appropriations in paragraph (1) shall remain available until 
     expended.

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to speak on the bill. My 
colleague, Senator Feinstein, will speak, and then I would like to have 
the bill passed following those remarks.
  Mr. President, I am so proud that the Senate Judiciary Committee has 
already passed the AMBER Alert bill on which Senator Feinstein and I 
worked during the recess, after the tragic happening in California with 
the teenage girls who were lost but then found because of AMBER Alert, 
and the tragic kidnapping in Texas of a baby who was also found because 
of the AMBER Alert.
  Although in numbers the child abductions through the summer weren't 
any more than previous years, they seemed so much more because we knew 
about them and we were able to do something about them. Not all of them 
have had a happy ending, but more than ever before have had a happy 
ending.
  The realization that their child has been abducted must be the most 
terrifying nightmare a parent can endure. But that is what has happened 
to parent after parent in our country.
  The AMBER Alert bill is named for Amber Hagerman, who was abducted 
when she was 9 years old, riding her bicycle near her home in 
Arlington, TX, in 1996. Amber was murdered. But her mother and law 
enforcement personnel in the Arlington-Dallas-Fort Worth area believed 
so strongly there should be some way to do something that would find 
these children that they created the AMBER Alert on a local level.
  Today, cities, regions, and States have established AMBER Alerts and 
30 abducted children have been found and rescued because of the AMBER 
Alert.
  Most of the credit for this remarkable record goes to the National 
Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which provides technical 
guidance to communities and coordination among widely separated AMBER 
networks. And the Center could not be effective without the willing 
cooperation of the National Association of Broadcasters and local 
television and radio stations across the nation.
  As we have witnessed this summer, AMBER Alert plans in different 
communities have been effective in bringing children home safely. 
Recently, an AMBER Alert was sent out to search for 10-year-old Nichole 
Timmons of Riverside, California. The Alert was not only delivered 
throughout California but contacts also were made in neighboring 
States, and Nichole was found in Nevada. Nichole and her family were 
extremely lucky because dedicated people at the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children made the effort to notify every possible 
jurisdiction, and local broadcasters devoted previous air time to the 
Alert. The vast majority of States, however, do not yet have 
comprehensive, statewide coverage and lack the ability to effectively 
communicate between plans. This is a critical issue particularly when 
an abducted child is taken across State lines.
  Nichole's case clearly illustrates the need for a national AMBER 
network. My bill, the National AMBER Alert Network Act, prepared with 
the help of my friend, Dianne Feinstein of California, will fill the 
gaps that exist in the current patchwork of AMBER systems. We will 
provide resources for States and communities to build their AMBER Alert 
systems and spread information to surrounding jurisdictions.
  Our bill establishes an AMBER Alert Coordinator within the Department 
of Justice to assist States with their AMBER Alert plans. The AMBER 
Alert Coordinator will set minimum, voluntary standards to help States 
coordinate when necessary. The AMBER Alert Coordinator will help to 
reconcile the different standards for what constitutes an AMBER alert. 
In doing so, the Coordinator will work with existing participants, 
including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, local 
and state law enforcement and broadcasters to define minimum standards. 
Overall, the AMBER Alert Coordinator's efforts will set safeguards to 
make sure the AMBER system is used to meet its intended purpose.
  In addition, the bill provides for matching grant programs at the 
Department of Transportation and the Department of Justice. The grant 
programs will help localities and States build or further enhance their 
efforts to disseminate AMBER Alerts. To this end, the matching grant 
programs will fund road signage and electronic message boards along 
highways, dissemination of information on abducted children, education 
and training, and related equipment.
  When a child is lost, the whole community grieves along with the 
family. An AMBER Alert channels this energy to a positive purpose. Tips 
from average citizens have resulted in the safe and rapid recovery of 
many children. We can spread the word about abducted children across 
county and state lines quickly, before the kidnappers have the chance 
to cover their tracks and get too far away.
  I was very touched, when Senator Feinstein and I decided we were 
going to introduce this National AMBER Alert bill, that Mr. Ed Smart, 
the father of Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted from her home in Utah 
and who

[[Page 16484]]

has not been found, had a press conference with Senator Bennett from 
Utah to say: Please enact this national system. Maybe it could have 
helped if we had had that in place.
  Senator Hatch from Utah was so helpful in making sure the Judiciary 
Committee did expedite the passage of this bill. We could not have done 
it without Senator Leahy, who allowed us to go forward, really, in 
miracle record time. Senator Clinton came forward immediately to offer 
her help. So we have had a lot of people working on this issue. I do 
not think the Senate has ever come together so uniformly and so quickly 
to enact a piece of legislation as this AMBER Alert bill.
  It is important that we enact this bill and that the President be 
able to sign it before we leave for a 3-month recess because there is 
no telling how many children could be helped if we had this in place 
and ready to go.
  In memory of Amber Hagerman and for every family ravaged by the 
tragedy of child abduction, I urge my colleagues to pass the National 
AMBER Alert Network Act to safeguard America's children.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California is recognized.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I would like to begin by thanking the 
distinguished Senator from Texas for her leadership, for her 
perspicacity, for her work on this bill. We have to remember this bill 
was introduced exactly 1 week ago. We had hearings. It is on the floor. 
It is going to be passed today.
  I hope it sends a message to the Nation. I hope that message is, if 
yours is a State that doesn't have an AMBER Alert, let us get one. Let 
me tell you why.
  Seventy-four percent of the children who are abducted are lost within 
the first day. Therefore, if you can identify the abductor, if you can 
identify a license plate, you may well save the life of a child.
  I think that came in loudly and clearly to both Senator Hutchison and 
me in the Judiciary Committee.
  The Senator mentioned Nichole Timmons and her mother Sharon. It was 
interesting. Nichole was kidnapped by the gardener who worked at their 
home. She was taken across the State line from Riverside County into 
Nevada. Within 24 hours, a tribal officer in Nevada recognized the 
license plate of the vehicle, and that went out on an AMBER Alert. 
There was duct tape in that car. There was a metal rod in that car. If 
the license had not been run, Nichole never would have come home. The 
AMBER Alert worked.
  In my State of California, we have only had the AMBER Alert for about 
a month. There have been 13 AMBER Alerts. One was a misstep. Eight were 
stranger abductions. Four were family-related abductions. All 12 of 
those children were returned. Never before have I seen a statistic such 
as that.
  We know the AMBER Alert works. Now we have an opportunity to get this 
nationwide.
  I think the bill is thoughtful. I think it is well set out.
  Since 1996, when the AMBER Alert went into being, it has been 
credited with the return of 30 children to their families, including 
one case in which the abductor, interestingly enough, released the 
child himself after hearing the alert. In other words, it can act as a 
deterrent as well.
  What is more important than our children, other than war and peace? I 
don't think anything. This is really important because it means you can 
avoid a child being murdered simply by issuing this AMBER Alert.
  The Senator has indicated the various points of the bill. But I want 
to say this. The AMBER Alert is typically issued only when a law 
enforcement agency confirms that a predatory child abduction has 
occurred. When the child is in imminent danger and there is information 
available that is disseminated to the public, they can assist in the 
safe recovery of the child.
  In the bill, we have provided that the Attorney General would set 
these minimum standards. So the same standards would be used across 
every State, probably close to what I have read, and therefore avoid a 
plethora of unnecessary AMBER Alerts. We can have a system which really 
functions well in those cases where the likelihood is that something 
grievous could in fact happen to that child.
  I am hopeful that we will shortly have a national system with 15 
AMBER Alerts. We are very proud that the National Association of 
Broadcasters is strongly supportive. As you know, when an AMBER Alert 
goes out, it interrupts the television program or radio program. It is 
on the highway. That is what gives the broad knowledge to people.
  Interestingly enough, at the hearing, Marc Klaas was also there. His 
daughter Polly several years ago--in the mid-1990s--was taken from her 
bedroom when she had a sleepover with a number of girls in her home. 
Someone came into her home and took her. He truly believes that had 
AMBER Alert been in place, Polly might have been saved.
  At that hearing, we had Nichole and her mother. She was saved. And we 
had Marc Klaas, who lost his daughter because there was not an AMBER 
Alert. For many of us, it was a real juxtaposition.
  I thank the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I thank my 
colleague, Senator Hutchison. I particularly thank the chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee. Without Senator Leahy, this bill couldn't have 
been put on the calendar, it couldn't have been marked up, and it 
couldn't have been moved in the very short time in which it was.
  I think it has accomplished something for our children today. It will 
pass unanimously. Only 15 States have it. And hopefully other States 
are going to move very rapidly. Hopefully one day Senator Hutchison and 
I will be able to come before you, Mr. President, and the rest of this 
body, and say that every State in the United States today has an AMBER 
Alert. Here are the statistics, ladies and gentlemen. We have saved a 
lot of children and had them returned to their parents.
  I only say to the Senator, my friend, good work. I am delighted to be 
here today.
  I thank my colleagues for voting for this bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from California 
for jumping right in after the tragic abduction of the teenage girls. 
Those lives were probably saved 5 minutes before they would have been 
murdered. That is what the testimony was. It was the result of the 
AMBER Alert, which is a statewide system in California. Senator 
Feinstein, as the Senator from the home State, has an emotional tie to 
this issue. I just hope we can prevent in other States other parents 
from having this kind of scare in their lives. At least, if they have 
the scare, we will be able to help them and save the lives of the most 
innocent in our society. Of course, that is our children.
  I send a list of cosponsors--we have 38--to the desk and ask that 
they be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the list of cosponsors was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

         S. 2896--Hutchison-Feinstein AMBER Alert Bill of 2002


                            co-sponsors (38)

       Democrats: Senators Biden, Carnahan, Cleland, Clinton, 
     Dayton, Dodd, Durbin, Edwards, Feingold, Feinstein, Harkin, 
     Johnson, Landrieu, Leahy, Bill Nelson, Rockefeller, Stabenow, 
     and Wyden.
       Republicans: Senators Allard, Bennett, Collins, Crapo, 
     Ensign, Fitzgerald, Hatch, Helms, Hutchinson, Inhofe, Kyl, 
     Lott, Lugar, Santorum, Sessions, Gordon Smith, Snowe, 
     Thurmond, Voinovich, and McConnell.

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, it is my understanding that other 
Senator's wish to speak. I was not sure if Senator Nelson wanted to 
speak before we passed the bill. I want to make sure we pass the bill. 
I don't know if we need to wait for other Senators before we do that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida is recognized.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, if the Senator from Texas would 
be amenable, while we are waiting for Senators, I have remarks with 
regard to another matter. It is my understanding that we are in morning 
business. I can accommodate you all in

[[Page 16485]]

whatever way you would like. Senators could insert their remarks in the 
Record after the fact.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I think that is probably what we would like to do. I 
would like to then go forward.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, over the last few months the American 
people have awakened to the tragic reality that our children face the 
very real threat of predatory criminals each and every day.
  The airwaves have been filled with story after story of children who 
have been abducted, sometimes to be found alive later thanks to an 
AMBER alert or good law enforcement work; sometimes to be found, 
tragically, dead; and sometimes never to be found at all.
  This is not a new problem, but the increased attention to the problem 
gives us a real opportunity to make some much-needed changes in the law 
to prevent some of these horrible crimes and to better protect the 
children of this Nation.
  The bill Senator Hatch and I introduce today will help ensure that 
law enforcement officers have the tools and resources they need to 
find, prosecute, and severely punish those who commit crimes against 
innocent children.
  Specifically, the Hatch-Feinstein Child Crime Bill would do the 
following:
  First, the legislation directs the FBI to establish a National Crimes 
Against Children Response Center. This Center would have as its primary 
mission the development of a comprehensive, rapid response plan to 
reported crimes involving the victimization of children. Working 
undoubtedly in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children, the AMBER Alert systems nationwide, and other 
agencies and private entities as well, this Center would be the focal 
point for seeing that the victimization of children does not go 
unsolved, or unpunished.
  Second, the legislation will create a new Crimes Against Children 
Section at the Department of Justice, tasked with prosecuting crimes 
against children; providing guidance and assistance to Federal, State, 
and local law enforcement agencies and personnel who handle such cases; 
coordinating efforts with international law enforcement agencies to 
combat crimes against children; and acting as a liaison with the 
legislative and judicial branches of government.
  The bill also directs this new office in DOJ to create a national 
Internet site that will consolidate sex offender information which 
States currently release under the federal reporting act.
  The bill also directs States that have not developed Internet sites 
to do so. Currently, all 50 States have registration statutes that 
require sex offenders to register and to share information with the 
United States Attorney General through the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, and over 30 States make offender information available 
to the public on the Internet. But not all States include all available 
information, and there is no single place to easily acquire this 
information about local sex offenders. The national database will be 
such a place.
  The legislation also prevents the use of the so-called ``Marital 
Privilege'' to allow one spouse to protect another in cases where a 
parent, guardian or supervising adult has abused a child in the home. 
If an adult is abusing a child in his or her own home, it is vital to 
put a stop to the situation. Allowing a spouse to refuse to testify 
about the abuse by asserting an outdated ``marital privilege'' puts the 
child at continuing risk. This makes no sense.
  In order to assist law enforcement track and punish child predators 
and other violent criminals, this legislation also expands the class of 
offenses that are included in the Combined DNA Index System, CODIS, by 
adding to the system all Federal felonies and additional offenses that 
subject Federal offenders to sex registration requirements. Currently, 
only select Federal offenses are entered in CODIS.
  The bill makes two modifications to Rule 414 of the Federal Rules of 
Evidence, which already allows evidence of a defendant's prior acts of 
child molestation to be admitted in a criminal child molestation case.
  Unfortunately, the definition of prior acts of child abuse includes 
only children under 14, so acts against 15 or 16-year olds, for 
instance, are inadmissable. This legislation extends the definition of 
``child'' contained in Rule 414 to include any person below the age of 
18--rather than age 14.
  And the amendment also makes clear that where a defendant previously 
possessed what may have been virtual, as opposed to actual, child 
pornography, such evidence is admissible under Rule 414.
  We have also included language to expand the Federal Wiretap Act by 
adding as predicate offenses to the statute, sex trafficking, sex 
exploitation, and other interstate sex offenses. Currently, the wiretap 
statute authorizes the interception of wire, oral, or electronic 
communications in the investigation of just two sexual exploitation of 
children crimes.
  To obtain a wiretap, law enforcement authorities will still need to 
meet the strict statutory guidelines of the wiretap statute and obtain 
authorization from a court.
  The legislation would also extend the maximum supervised release 
period that applies to sexual offenders, by granting Federal judges the 
discretion to impose up to lifetime periods of supervised release for 
individuals who are convicted of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, 
transportation for illegal sexual activity, or sex trafficking 
offenses.
  Under current law, a judge can impose no more than 5 years of 
supervised release for a serious felony, and no more than 3 years for a 
lesser categorized offense. This amendment will not require judges to 
impose a period of supervised release longer than 5 years; it simply 
authorizes them to do so where the judge sees fit based on the nature 
and circumstances of the particular case. Some sexual offenders may 
pose a potential risk to their communities for longer than 5 years, and 
discretion to supervise those offenders past an artificial time limit 
is simply common sense.
  The legislation also increases the maximum penalties that apply to 
certain sexual offenses, by doubling the maximum penalties for sex 
offenses involving the trafficking of children and other interstate 
elements. This will allow the Sentencing Commission, and federal 
judges, greater latitude in determining sentences for the worst of 
offenders. No changes are made to mandatory minimums.
  Finally, we direct the Sentencing Commission to review the guidelines 
that apply to child abuse and exploitation offenses to determine 
whether they are sufficiently severe.
  Earlier this month Senator Hutchinson and I introduced legislation to 
help establish a national AMBER alert system. These systems have been 
proven effective in finding abducted children quickly, and most 
certainly saving some lives. That bill, which will pass tonight is one 
step in protecting our children from dangerous predators.
  The bill I introduce today with my good friend Senator Hatch is 
simply another piece of the anti-predator puzzle. I hope my colleagues 
will join us in this effort.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate agree to the committee substitute amendment, that the bill, as 
amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment in the nature of substitute was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 2896) was read the third time and passed.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President. I thank the Senator from 
Florida.
  I do not know if a bill has ever gone through the Senate any faster. 
It couldn't have happened without Senator Leahy. I think passing this 
kind of bill before we leave for 3 months could be responsible for 
saving lives.
  I am just so appreciative that we can go forward and that every 
single Senator on both sides of the aisle will give their consent to 
this bill passing.

[[Page 16486]]

  So, Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Vermont for his 
leadership and for helping us work through what could have been a 
delay, but it was not because of his leadership.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I thank my good friend from Texas for her 
kind remarks, but I was simply able to expedite the very good work that 
she and the distinguished Senator from California have done.
  I note that what has happened here is an idea which has come from the 
Senator from Texas and the Senator from California, who have worked 
together in a bipartisan fashion. Actually, this is a nonpartisan 
issue. They are both parents. The Senator from Texas knows how much I 
admire her work as a parent, as I do the Senator from California.
  Whether or not you are a parent, the most terrifying experience is 
for a child to be suddenly missing, especially if foul play is 
involved. I am not talking about a child getting lost on the way home 
from school who is going to show up an hour later because all the 
neighbors are out looking for that child or a child who stayed too long 
at a friend's house and forgot to call and then calls a frantic parent 
45 minutes or an hour later and says, ``Gee, I forgot to tell you I was 
at Johnny's or Susie's house,'' or something like that. This comes into 
play in a case where, much as you hate to suspect there may be foul 
play, there may well be.
  If you can return one child--one child--to the parents, look at what 
you have done. If you can return hundreds, which is the potential with 
this legislation, look how much more you have done.
  It is the case where you have big States, such as those of the 
Senator from Texas and the Senator from California. They come from very 
large States: large graphically, large in population. I come from a 
very small State: small in geography, small in population. But if you 
can tie in my part of the country--the northeastern part--we go from 
very small States, such as mine, to the bordering States of New York 
and Massachusetts, which are much larger States in population. It is 
the whole northeastern corridor, but somebody can drive through those 
States in half the time it takes to drive, for example, across the 
State of Texas or the length of the State of California. So we have to 
be able to coordinate.
  I think that is why so many came together on this: Senators Hatch, 
Biden, Durbin, Edwards, Feingold, Kyl, Sessions--and I think you have 
34 cosponsors.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thirty-eight.
  Mr. LEAHY. Thirty-eight. I thank the Senator from Texas.
  The Senator from Florida represents a State the length of which, if 
it went in the other direction, it would go across time zones.
  Incidentally, people may see the success stories on one or two 
television programs, where there might have been one last year or last 
month or last week, but the Department of Justice estimates the number 
of children taken by strangers annually is between 3,000 and 4,000. 
That is terrible.
  This plan originated in Arlington, TX, after the murder of 9-year-old 
Amber Hagerman. We will help coordinate. We will make sure the local, 
State, and Federal officials can work together.
  But not only that, private citizens will be involved because they 
will hear from State broadcasters or from law enforcement people. I 
don't know of anybody who hears of a missing child who would not want 
to help. And this will make that possible.
  So it will help kidnap victims. It will also preserve the flexibility 
of the States because States are different in how they want to 
implement it.
  It is disturbing to see on TV or in the newspapers photo after photo 
of missing children from every corner of the Nation. As the father of 
three children, as well as a grandfather of one grandson, with another 
grandchild on the way, I know that an abducted child is a parent's or 
grandparent's worst nightmare.
  Unfortunately, it appears this nightmare is happening all too often. 
Indeed, the Justice Department estimates that the number of children 
taken by strangers annually is between 3,000 and 4,000. These parents 
and grandparents, as well as the precious children, deserve the 
assistance of the American people and helping hand of the Congress.
  By coordinating their efforts, law enforcement emergency management 
and transportation agencies, radio and television stations, and cable 
systems have worked to develop an innovative early warning system to 
help find abducted children by broadcasting information--including 
descriptions and pictures of the missing child, the suspected abductor, 
a suspected vehicle, and any other information available and valuable 
to identifying the child and suspect--to the public as speedily as 
possible.
  The AMBER Alert system's popularity has raced across the United 
States. Since the original AMBER Plan was established in 1996, 55 
modified versions have been adopted at local, regional, and statewide 
levels. Eighteen States have already implemented statewide plans. It is 
also a proven success--to date the AMBER Plan has been credited with 
recovering 30 children.
  This bipartisan legislation will authorize the Attorney General, in 
cooperation with the Secretary of Transportation and the Chairman of 
the Federal Communications Commission to appoint a Justice Department 
National AMBER Alert coordinator to oversee the Alert's communication 
network for abducted children. The AMBER Alert Coordinator will work 
with the States, broadcasters, and law enforcement agencies to set up 
AMBER plans, serve as a point of contact to supplement existing AMBER 
plans, and facilitate regional coordination of AMBER alerts.
  It also directs the AMBER Alert coordinator, in conjunction with the 
FCC, local broadcasters, and local law enforcement agencies, to 
establish voluntary guidelines for minimum standards in determining the 
criteria for AMBER alerts and for the dissemination of those alerts. As 
a result, our bipartisan bill helps kidnap victors while preserving 
flexibility for States in implementing the alert system.
  Because developing and enhancing the AMBER alert system is a costly 
endeavor for States to take on alone, our bipartisan bill establishes 
two Federal grant programs to share the burden. First, the bill creates 
a Federal grant program, under the direction of the Secretary of 
Transportation for statewide notification and communications systems, 
including electronic message boards and road signs, along highways for 
the recovery of abducted children. Second, the bill establishes a grant 
program managed by the Attorney General for the support of AMBER alert 
communications plans with law enforcement agencies and others in the 
community.
  Our Nation's children, parents and grandchildren deserve our help to 
stop the disturbing trend of children abductions. I am gratified the 
Senate has passed the AMBER Alert National Network Act, and I hope the 
House and the President will act expeditiously on this important piece 
of legislation to ensure that our communications systems help rescue 
abducted children from their kidnapers and return them safely to their 
families.
  Mr. President, I thank the Senators who have joined on this measure.
  I yield the floor and thank the distinguished Senator from Florida 
for his courtesy in allowing me to speak. But I hope he will note, in 
honoring that, I tried to wear a suit as close in color to his as 
possible.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida is recognized.

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