[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12507]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION ACT

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to give my strong support to 
2423, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, introduced by 
my good friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley).
  This bill will help protect our children by requiring sex offenders 
to register in person twice a year and calling on States to maintain 
searchable sex offender databases.
  While the gentleman from Florida's (Mr. Foley) bill will provide a 
deterrent to the monsters who prey on our children, I hope we can pass 
provisions similar to those that the Nevada State legislature recently 
passed. The Nevada bill adds an extra level of protection by requiring 
sex offenders to renew their driver's licenses every year, a step made 
necessary by the fact that so many of these predators failed to 
register at all.
  I want to close by expressing my sincere thanks to Donna Coleman, 
president of the Children's Advocacy Alliance. Ms. Coleman and her 
organization have been outspoken advocates of the most innocent among 
us, those who cannot speak out for themselves, the children. Their 
motto is, ``Putting the health and safety of children first''; and they 
have done that by tirelessly working in Nevada to ensure that laws are 
passed to support and defend their children.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley), Ms. 
Coleman and the Children's Advocacy Alliance and look forward to 
working with them to protect our children.

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