[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16023-16029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 DELETING ONLINE PREDATORS ACT OF 2006

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 5319) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require 
recipients of universal service support for schools and libraries to 
protect minors from commercial social networking websites and chat 
rooms, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5319

       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 ``Deleting Online Predators 
     Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds that--
       (1) sexual predators approach minors on the Internet using 
     chat rooms and social networking websites, and, according to 
     the United States Attorney General, one in five children has 
     been approached sexually on the Internet;
       (2) sexual predators can use these chat rooms and websites 
     to locate, learn about, befriend, and eventually prey on 
     children by engaging them in sexually explicit conversations, 
     asking for photographs, and attempting to lure children into 
     a face to face meeting; and
       (3) with the explosive growth of trendy chat rooms and 
     social networking websites, it is becoming more and more 
     difficult to monitor and protect minors from those with 
     devious intentions, particularly when children are away from 
     parental supervision.

     SEC. 3. CERTIFICATIONS TO INCLUDE PROTECTIONS AGAINST 
                   COMMERCIAL SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES AND CHAT 
                   ROOMS.

       (a) Certification by Schools.--Section 254(h)(5)(B) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(5)(B)) is 
     amended by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:
       ``(i) is enforcing a policy of Internet safety for minors 
     that includes monitoring the online activities of minors and 
     the operation of a technology protection measure with respect 
     to any of its computers with Internet access that--

       ``(I) protects against access through such computers to 
     visual depictions that are--

       ``(aa) obscene;
       ``(bb) child pornography; or
       ``(cc) harmful to minors; and

       ``(II) protects against access to a commercial social 
     networking website or chat room unless used for an 
     educational purpose with adult supervision; and''.

       (b) Certification by Libraries.--Section 254(h)(6)(B) of 
     such Act (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(6)(B)) is amended by striking 
     clause (i) and inserting the following:
       ``(i) is enforcing a policy of Internet safety that 
     includes the operation of a technology protection measure 
     with respect to any of its computers with Internet access 
     that--

       ``(I) protects against access through such computers to 
     visual depictions that are--

       ``(aa) obscene;
       ``(bb) child pornography; or
       ``(cc) harmful to minors; and

       ``(II) protects against access by minors without parental 
     authorization to a commercial social networking website or 
     chat room, and informs parents that sexual predators can use 
     these websites and chat rooms to prey on children; and''.

       (c) Definitions.--Section 254(h)(7) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(J) Commercial social networking websites; chat rooms.--
     Within 120 days after the date of enactment of the Deleting 
     Online Predators Act of 2006, the Commission shall by rule 
     define the terms `social networking website' and `chat room' 
     for purposes of this subsection. In determining the 
     definition of a social networking website, the Commission 
     shall take into consideration the extent to which a website--
       ``(i) is offered by a commercial entity;
       ``(ii) permits registered users to create an on-line 
     profile that includes detailed personal information;
       ``(iii) permits registered users to create an on-line 
     journal and share such a journal with other users;
       ``(iv) elicits highly-personalized information from users; 
     and
       ``(v) enables communication among users.''.
       (d) Disabling During Adult or Educational Use.--Section 
     254(h)(5)(D) of such Act is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``or educational'' after ``during adult'' 
     in the heading; and
       (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 
     following: ``or during use by an adult or by minors with 
     adult supervision to enable access for educational purposes 
     pursuant to subparagraph (B)(i)(II)'' .

     SEC. 4. FTC CONSUMER ALERT ON INTERNET DANGERS TO CHILDREN.

       (a) Information Regarding Child Predators and the 
     Internet.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall--
       (1) issue a consumer alert regarding the potential dangers 
     to children of Internet child predators, including the 
     potential danger of commercial social networking websites and 
     chat rooms through which personal information about child 
     users of such websites may be accessed by child predators; 
     and
       (2) establish a website to serve as a resource for 
     information for parents, teachers and school administrators, 
     and others regarding the potential dangers posed by the use 
     of the Internet by children, including information about 
     commercial social networking websites and chat rooms through 
     which personal information about child users of such websites 
     may be accessed by child predators.
       (b) Commercial Social Networking Websites.--For purposes of 
     the requirements under subsection (a), the terms ``commercial 
     social networking website'' and ``chat room'' have the 
     meanings given such terms pursuant to section 254(h)(7)(J) of 
     the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(7)(J)), as 
     amended by this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material.

[[Page 16024]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would yield myself 5 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5319, the Deleting 
Online Predators Act of 2006, which was introduced by Representatives 
Fitzpatrick and Kirk, along with Representatives Miller of Michigan, 
Weldon of Pennsylvania, English of Pennsylvania, Davis of Kentucky, and 
Castle.
  I would note that under the leadership of Chairman Whitfield and 
Chairman Barton, the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee has held 
multiple hearings exposing the appalling sexual exploitation of 
children on the Internet. This includes the dark underside of social 
networking Web sites, which have been stalking grounds for sexual 
predators who are preying on children all across the Nation; and we 
have had many and such cases in my home State of Michigan, way too 
many.
  Federal law enforcement officials have described the sexual abuse and 
exploitation of our Nation's youth as an epidemic propagated by the 
unlimited access of the Internet. The statistics are alarming. The FBI 
has seen better than a 2,000 percent increase in its caseload of online 
sexual predators the last 10 years. And of the estimated 24 million 
child Internet users, one in five kids has received unwanted sexual 
solicitations. It is estimated that, at any given moment, 50,000 
predators are prowling for children online, many of whom are lurking 
within social networks.
  At a minimum, what our hearings have taught us is that both kids and 
parents need to be better educated about the dangers of social 
networking Web sites, and parents need to police their children's 
online use at home to guard against sexual predators.
  However, to the extent that children are using the Internet outside 
the home, particularly at school or at a public library, parents have 
not been able to monitor their child's online use, and that is the 
situation that H.R. 5319 is designed to address.
  Earlier this month, the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee 
held a legislative hearing on this bill; and as a result of many 
constructive suggestions that we heard from our witnesses and Members 
alike, particularly those representing schools and libraries, the 
legislation before us today I think reflects much improvement.
  At its heart, the bill before us today would require schools which 
receive e-rate funding, and I would note that I am a strong supporter 
of e-rate funding, to enforce a policy of Internet safety for minors 
that includes monitoring their online activities and the protection 
measures to protect against access to commercial social networking Web 
sites or chat rooms, unless used for an educational purpose with adult 
supervision.
  Additionally, this bill would require libraries which receive e-rate 
funding to enforce a policy of Internet safety that includes the 
operation of a technology protection measure that protects against 
access by minors to commercial social networking Web sites or chat 
rooms unless they have parental authorization and the library informs 
parents that sexual predators can use those Web sites and chat rooms to 
prey on kids.
  The approach taken by this legislation is not dissimilar to the 
approach taken by the Children's Internet Protection Act through which 
Congress requires schools and libraries that receive e-rate funding to 
impose filtering technology to protect kids from online visual 
depictions of an inappropriate sexual nature.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the e-rate. I continue to do so. I often visit 
a school, virtually every week. I have seen the tremendous educational 
value which the Internet has brought to students throughout our 
district, and I recognize the importance of the e-rate in making that a 
reality.
  However, as with all technologies, the Internet is a double-edged 
sword, and Congress does have the responsibility to ensure that, to the 
extent that a Federal program is involved, like the e-rate, it is doing 
all that it can to ensure that children are protected from online 
dangers. This bill represents another step in making sure that online 
experiences at school and the library are safe.
  I want to congratulate Mr. Kirk, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Ms. Bean for 
their leadership on this issue. I urge all of my colleagues to support 
this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume; 
and I rise in support of this legislation. I do so simply to move this 
process along and to indicate to families across the country that 
protecting children from online exploitation and from child predators 
is a serious issue that warrants attention.
  This is an issue upon which Democrats and Republicans agree, because 
these issues affect families regardless of party affiliation. I do not, 
however, believe that this legislation will actually adequately address 
these issues, nor do I support the way in which this bill was brought 
to the floor today.
  The hearing that we had on this bill highlighted several serious 
deficiencies and won't be effective in combating online predators. The 
Attorney General from Texas, for example, testified that just going 
after schools and libraries wouldn't achieve a whole lot. The initial 
bill would have had the Federal Government create a blacklist of 
forbidden Web sites. A law enforcement official and an Internet 
security expert testified that the bill would do little to protect 
children.
  So how did the majority react to problems highlighted in the hearing? 
They decided to skip a subcommittee and a full committee markup. They 
opted to rewrite this bill without public input or consultation with 
the Democratic side, and they decided to rush it to the floor today.
  Not surprisingly, the bill continues to have several flaws. It 
remains overbroad and ambiguous. I continue to have reservations about 
utilizing the e-rate funding mechanism as the legislative hook for 
Federal involvement in this area. That is because the e-rate program 
was not designed to be a cop on the beat in the front lines battling 
child predators. Rather, it was designed to enhance Internet access and 
bridge the digital divide.

                              {time}  1445

  As a result, it is a program which may not help us assist all K-12 
schools at any time or individual schools in every funding cycle. In 
other words, if the goal is protecting children and combating child 
exploitation, why should these requirements only apply in schools 
receiving e-rate funding?
  And this bill does nothing for families when the kids online are at 
home. If the goal is to address the issue of online predators, this 
bill proposes an ineffectual remedy.
  Moreover, the whole process by which this bill was brought to the 
floor today puts in jeopardy the prospects of legislating successfully 
on a serious issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that parents need and deserve better education 
and tools to protect their children, and the Democrats stand ready to 
work with our colleagues when they feel they are ready to truly address 
this issue with proposals that are meaningful and enforceable.
  In that spirit, I intend to vote for this bill in order to move the 
process forward, but ultimately, I think that we will need to explore 
other additional solutions and further revisions.
  Mr. Dingell, the ranking member of the full Energy and Commerce 
Committee, will be here in a few moments in order to speak to these 
issues of concern as well. I thank you for your attention.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the 
good State of Texas (Mr. Poe).
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Upton for his work on this 
bill.
  As co-founder of the Victims Rights Caucus, I strongly support this 
bill.

[[Page 16025]]

Our Attorney General Gonzales says that one out of every five children 
in America is approached sexually on the Internet. In recent months, 
Congress and the national news media have put intense focus on the 
problem of Internet predators. Parents obviously have a responsibility 
to monitor what their kids see at home, but they leave home. They go to 
school, they go to libraries, and this bill helps parents parent 
better.
  Social networking sites such as MySpace and chat rooms have allowed 
sexual predators to sneak into homes and solicit kids, and this bill 
requires schools and libraries to establish those protections to 
prevent children from accessing MySpace and chat rooms while in school 
and libraries unless parents are there or unless there is supervision.
  The bill also requires the Federal Trade Commission to issue consumer 
alerts and establish a Web site alerting and educating parents and 
teachers about Internet sexual predators. Those people live among us. 
They prey on our youngest, our children, and they will do anything in 
their power to solicit those children.
  So this raises the awareness and the protection of our children, and 
I strongly support this bill.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Stupak), a member of the committee.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, for the second straight day I come to the 
floor objecting strongly to the process by which bills are being 
brought to the floor on suspension without proper consideration.
  Today, the House is considering two bills that were not properly 
considered by the Energy and Commerce Committee. Both the U.S.-Israel 
Energy Cooperation Act and the Deleting Online Predators Act were 
rewritten behind closed doors by the majority and were not marked up 
before going to the floor.
  On the other hand, our committee marked up a bill today, and this is 
not a joke, but to protect consumers from misleading thread counts for 
wool suits. We mark up a bill to protect people from wool suits but not 
from online child predators.
  Mr. Speaker, I take a back seat to no one when it comes to my 
dedication to tracking down, prosecuting and locking up child 
predators. I have helped lead the child predator investigation in the 
House, and I have participated in six hearings on this issue.
  Unfortunately, child predators are not the target of today's bill. 
This bill will not delete online predators. Rather, it will delete 
legitimate Web content from schools and libraries. Schools and 
libraries that serve students are the target of this legislation.
  The bill is an attempt to protect children in schools and libraries 
from online predators. It is important to note that during the six 
oversight hearings we had, hearing from 38 witnesses on the issue, 
there was not one mention of online child exploitation being a problem 
at schools or libraries. Perhaps this is because there is already a law 
on the books that requires schools and libraries who receive e-rate 
funding to monitor children's Internet use and to employ technology 
blocking children or preventing children from viewing obscene and 
harmful content.
  Many schools and libraries already block Web sites such as MySpace. 
This legislation is largely redundant and raises many constitutional 
concerns.
  The National School Boards Association opposes this bill saying, 
``NSBA is concerned that the bill would not substantially improve 
safety of students, and would place an added and unnecessary burden on 
schools. Furthermore, the legislation does not address the real issue 
of educating children about the dangers of the Internet and how to use 
it responsibly and wisely.''
  The American Library Association also opposes this bill, saying the 
bill ``denies access to constitutionally protected speech.''
  This bill will not tackle the real threat to our children. Our 
committee learned from teens, experts and law enforcement that the real 
threat lies in children using these sites in their rooms without adult 
supervision.
  This legislation will actually drive children to go to unsupervised 
places, unsupervised sites to go online, where they will become more 
vulnerable to child predators.
  Finally, and importantly, legislation before us today does nothing to 
hold Internet service providers accountable. We learned from our 
hearings that ISPs vary widely in what they do to empower children and 
parents, how they report online predators to authorities, and actively 
seek and block illegal content from their networks.
  The bottom line is that Members can vote for this bill, but we should 
not give parents the false hope that this bill will keep their children 
safe. This bill will increase the risk to children as we drive children 
away from supervised sites to unsupervised sites.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I am profoundly disappointed that this issue 
that should not be a partisan issue is becoming one.
  I will enter into the Record at this point the letter of opposition 
from the American Library Association.

                                 American Library Association,

                                    Washington, DC, July 26, 2006.
     To: United States House of Representatives.
     Re opposition to H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act 
         (DOPA).

       Dear Representative: On behalf of the American Library 
     Association (ALA), I write to indicate our continued 
     opposition to H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act 
     (DOPA). We understand this bill may come to the House floor 
     this afternoon and ask that you oppose this bill as it 
     presently reads.
       No profession or community is more concerned about the 
     safety of children than our Nation's librarians. Librarians 
     in public libraries and school library media centers work 
     continuously to assure that children have appropriate and 
     safe access to the materials and information services they 
     need so that each young person can become literate and 
     educated with the skills and knowledge to succeed in the 
     digital and online world.
       ALA had hoped following the July 11th hearing on H.R. 5319 
     before the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on 
     Telecommunications and the Internet, that an amended version 
     would seek to resolve some of the problems we expressed in 
     ALA's testimony. Unfortunately, the revised language we 
     received only last night does not make the necessary changes 
     that we believe would better serve the public interest and 
     contribute to true online safety for young people. We urge 
     opposition to H.R. 5319 for several reasons:
       1. The terminology used in DOPA is still overly broad and 
     unclear. As written, this legislation would block access to 
     many valuable websites that utilize this type of 
     communication, websites whose benefits outweigh their 
     detriments.
       2. DOPA still ignores the value of Interactive Web 
     applications. New Internet-based applications for 
     collaboration, business and learning are becoming 
     increasingly important, and young people must be prepared to 
     thrive in a work atmosphere where meetings take place online, 
     where online networks are essential communication tools.
       3. Education, not laws blocking access, is the key to safe 
     use of the Internet. Libraries and schools are where kids 
     learn essential information literacy skills that go far 
     beyond computer instruction and web searching. Indeed, DOPA 
     would block usage of these sites in the very environments 
     where librarians and teachers can instruct students about how 
     to use all kinds of applications safely and effectively and 
     where kids can learn how to report and avoid unsafe sites.
       4. Local decision-making--not federal law--is the way to 
     solve the problems addressed by DOPA. Such decisions are 
     already being made locally, in part due to the requirements 
     of the Children's Online Protection Act (CIPA) for E-rate 
     recipients. This additional requirement is not necessary.
       5. DOPA would restrict access to technology in the 
     communities that need public access most. H.R. 5319 still, as 
     presently drafted, would require libraries and schools 
     receiving E-rate discounts through the Universal Service 
     Program to block computer users from accessing Interactive 
     Web applications of all kinds, thereby limiting opportunities 
     for those who do not have Internet access at home. This 
     unfairly denies the students and library users in schools and 
     libraries in the poorest communities from accessing 
     appropriate content and from learning how best to safely 
     manage their own Internet access in consultation with 
     librarians and teachers.
       It should also be noted that key witnesses at the July 11th 
     hearing testified that limiting access to social networking 
     sites in E-rate schools and libraries will have little impact 
     on the overall problem since young people access these 
     collaborative sites from many locations and over a period of 
     time.

[[Page 16026]]

       If you have any questions, please call our office at 202-
     628-8410. Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,

                                             Lynne E. Bradley,

                         Director, Office of Government Relations,
                                 American Library Association--WO.

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick), the sponsor of the legislation.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank 
Chairman Joe Barton and Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton for their 
leadership in shepherding this legislation, the Deleting Online 
Predators Act, from the Energy and Commerce Committee to the floor 
today. I want to especially thank Congressman Mark Kirk and all of the 
members of the Suburban Caucus for the commitment they have shown in 
addressing the needs of American families in the suburbs.
  Monitoring our children's use of emerging technologies is a huge task 
for parents across the Nation, and the Internet remains the focus of 
many parents' concerns. The growth of the Internet has opened the door 
to many new applications that tear down the walls that once prevented 
communication across vast distances. One set of applications in 
particular has created a huge following online, but have also created 
an equal amount of danger, and they are social networking sites.
  Social networking sites, best known by the popular examples of 
MySpace, Friendster and Facebook, have literally exploded in popularity 
in just a few short years. MySpace alone has over 90 million users and 
it is growing every day. While these sites were designed to allow their 
users to share virtual profiles of themselves to friends and like-
minded users, the sites at most have become a haven for online sexual 
predators who have made these corners of the Web their own virtual 
hunting ground.
  The dangers our children are exposed to by these sites is clear and 
compelling. According to a study conducted by the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children, in 1998, there were 3,267 tips 
reporting child pornography. Since then, the number has risen by over 
3,000 percent to an outstanding 106,119 tips in 2004.
  The Department of Justice recognizes child pornography as a precursor 
for pedophiles and is often linked to online predators. According to 
Attorney General Gonzales, one in five children has been approached 
sexually on the Internet. Mr. Speaker, one in five. Worse still, a 
survey conducted by the Crimes Against Children Research Center found 
that less than one in four children told their parents about the sexual 
solicitation they received.
  On their face, these numbers are startling. Even more startling, 
however, has been the visual evidence offered to millions of Americans 
through the news outlets like NBS Dateline's ``To Catch a Predator'' 
series. Throughout his investigations, Chris Hansen proved time and 
again with disturbing regularity that child predators are ready and 
willing and able to approach the prey they stalk online.
  What would have happened in these circumstances if the children these 
predators were to meet were not decoys and Chris Hansen was not there? 
How many assaults, rapes and ruined lives would have resulted in these 
encounters?
  Mr. Speaker, the fact, however disturbing it may be, is that child 
predators have harnessed the power and anonymity that social networking 
sites provide to hunt their prey.
  I want to make the intention very clear about my legislation. This 
legislation is directed at limiting the access of minors to chat rooms 
and social networking sites in public schools and libraries receiving 
Federal universal service funding. My legislation is not designed to 
limit speech or infringe on the rights of law-abiding adults.
  Under H.R. 5319, schools may disable protection measures in order to 
allow use by students with adult supervision for educational purposes. 
In addition, libraries may disable protection measures to allow use by 
children with parental authorization. Nothing will ever prevent adults 
from using these sites in schools and libraries. Most importantly, 
children would remain able to use these sites at home under the 
supervision of their parents.
  This legislation is not a substitute for parental supervision, which 
remains the first line of defense for our children's safety. That is 
why H.R. 5319 would require the Federal Trade Commission to create a 
Web site and issue consumer alerts to inform parents, teachers and 
school officials about the potential dangers on the Internet, 
specifically online sexual predators and their ability to contact 
children through social networking sites and chat rooms.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is only part of the solution. I fear that no 
one law can stop the threat from sexual predators. Instead, it will 
take the combined commitment of the Congress, the Department of 
Justice, as well as State and local law enforcement to track, 
investigate and prosecute these offenders. Congress must stand with law 
enforcement to provide them with the tools that they need to accomplish 
this goal.
  Finally, I stood with Representative Nancy Johnson to add $3.3 
million for the FBI's Innocent Images Program, the FBI's anchor program 
for its effort to stop online sexual predators. I wrote to Chairman 
Wolf to increase funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task 
Force and for the addition of 26 new U.S. Attorney positions to 
increase the rate of child exploitation prosecutions. I am committed to 
combating this growing threat, and I call on my colleagues to help me 
in this fight, and to do so now before the start of a new school year.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Watson).
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 5319, the 
Deleting Online Predators Act, because it sends the wrong message to 
our children, our parents, teachers and librarians. The bill would curb 
Internet usage as a means to protect children, a counterproductive 
method to achieving such an important goal.
  Rather than restricting Internet usage, parents, teachers and 
librarians need to teach children how to use our ever changing 
technology. The information age in which we live offers so much 
potential to our children, if they know how to use it.
  Last month, I met with Sister Elizabeth Thoman, one of my 
constituents, who founded the Center for Media Literacy. It is an 
organization that creates and implements innovative tools to educate 
children on the art of media literacy. Just like students need to know 
how to differentiate between good research and bad research on Web 
sites, they need to know how to utilize chat rooms and other media so 
they will not become victims of online predators. Her ``Media Lit Kit/A 
Framework for Learning and Teaching in a Media Age'' is offered in the 
Los Angeles Unified School District with much success. It is also 
available on her Web site free of charge.
  Rather than adding an extra administrative task to already overworked 
teachers and librarians, we should be providing grant moneys to 
implement programs like Sister Thoman's so our children can learn right 
from wrong and good information from bad information.
  Yes, safeguards for our children need to be in place.

                              {time}  1500

  MySpace.com is working to create tougher controls for adults to e-
mail children. Yes, we need to fully fund police departments across the 
Nation to monitor online predators; and, yes, consumer alerts and 
learning tools need to be offered to parents and teachers alike to 
inform students of the dangers of the Internet; and, yes, parents and 
teachers and librarians need to take an active role in monitoring 
students; but a law aimed at universal service-run schools is not the 
answer. It is parents and teachers and librarians who should decide 
where children in their care should be able to access.
  As another constituent in my district pointed out in a recent e-mail, 
school districts and libraries already have the power to block access 
to social networking sites and chat rooms, and

[[Page 16027]]

many of them have done so already. I worry that a bill of this 
magnitude will send us down the slippery slope of legislating even more 
Web sites and infringing on our right to information.
  We live in busy times, and I know many homes in my district and 
across the Nation are single-parent households, with some parents 
working two or even three jobs. I understand parents can't be with 
their children all the time, but it is the responsibility of parents 
and teachers and librarians to impose rules in their own homes and 
schools. Just like teaching children how to cross the street to avoid 
hazards, parents need to be able to teach their children how to cross 
an Internet Web site without getting hit.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  I just want to say that as I learn more and more about this 
legislation, part of it was because of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Kirk) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Bean). We share a media 
market together, me in southwest Michigan, they, of course, in Chicago, 
and the concern by so many in talk radio and the news is really 
something else.
  I have to say that just a couple years no one knew about the online 
predators like we do today, and that is why we have had a number of 
hearings in the Oversight Subcommittee chaired by Mr. Whitfield.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to one of the coauthors of the bill, 
along with Mr. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kirk of Illinois.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, to respond to my Democratic colleague, I agree 
with her that parents cannot be with their children all of the time, 
but sexual predators should not be with the children at any time, and 
that is the principle by which this legislation stands. Americans have 
a right to send their children to safe schools and libraries.
  In Lake County, Illinois, we have seen what can happen when Internet 
predators make contact with children. Last October, Joseph Caprigno 
molested a 14-year-old boy that he met on the Internet. Caprigno, a 40-
year-old man, arranged to meet the boy in a 7-11 parking lot through an 
Internet chat room.
  In January, a 20-year-old man, Michael Zbonski, molested a 16-year-
old he met on MySpace.com. Frighteningly, he not only communicated with 
this girl for 2 years via MySpace, he also admitted to sexual 
relationships with one of the victim's underage friends.
  The Deleting Online Predators Act is a commonsense piece of 
legislation that empowers parents to play a more active role in their 
children's activities online. This bill calls on the Federal Trade 
Commission to issue consumer alerts and to establish a unique Web site 
to better educate parents as to the dangers posed from Internet 
predators. Parents are the first and most important line of defense 
against these predators, but it is imperative to arm them with timely 
and accurate information to protect their children.
  This bill also requires schools to prevent children from accessing 
social networking sites and chat rooms unless they are doing so for 
legitimate educational purposes under adult supervision. We have 
invested hundreds of millions of dollars across America in locking 
school doors and controlling the access to children. This bill takes 
the commonsense step to make sure that predators cannot sneak in 
through the library computer.
  Our legislation also requires public libraries to provide the same 
levels of protection to children. I believe this is an entirely 
appropriate action to help parents determine where their children go 
and what they do online. It seems foolish for the taxpayer to subsidize 
what amounts to a loophole that sexual predators can exploit.
  Mr. Speaker, Lake County offers one other case that plainly 
demonstrates the need for this legislation. The Lake County State's 
Attorney recently filed aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges 
against two teachers who were accused of soliciting and arranging to 
molest underage students at a school where they were taught. Jason 
Glick and James Lobitz didn't just molest two underage students, they 
arranged to do so using school-owned computer equipment and resources 
during school hours. The cases against Jason Glick and James Lobitz are 
still pending, but by passing this bill today we send a message to 
parents that we will close every loophole sexual predators will use to 
roam the virtual halls at school.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the second suburban agenda bill to pass the 
House. Tomorrow, Representative Jon Porter's bill will become law, 
allowing schools to check national felon databases before hiring a 
coach or a teacher. Tomorrow, we will take up a third suburban agenda 
item, accelerating the deployment of fully electronic medical records 
for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, by tomorrow night, half of the suburban agenda 
legislation will have passed the House of Representatives. But today I 
want to thank Chairman Barton, Chairman Upton, and Congresswoman 
Melissa Bean for their help on a bipartisan basis in supporting this 
legislation. I also want to thank Howard Waltzman of the committee 
staff for his invaluable assistance. But, most importantly, I want to 
thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) for becoming an 
outstanding leader of protecting American children from online 
predators.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rehberg). Without objection, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) will control the time of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on the two sides?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) 
has 9\1/2\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Upton) has 5 minutes remaining.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished 
friend from Washington (Mr. Inslee).
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I hate to spoil this garden party, but this 
is not, in truth, suburban legislation, it is substandard legislation. 
And the reason for that is that it is, in effect, a good press release, 
but it is not effective legislation addressing a huge problem 
threatening our children.
  The reason I say that is, after sitting through many hearings in the 
Commerce Committee about this enormous problem, I reached one 
conclusion. After listening to those thousands of children who are 
being abused on these horrendous occasions across this country, I 
concluded that this legislation would not save one single child one 
single time.
  What we learned is that the problem is not in our schools. These kids 
are not hanging in the library with these sexual predators. They are 
hanging around in their dens, in their basements, in their living 
rooms, and in their upstairs bedrooms. That is where we have to get to 
the problem.
  If you look at the problem here on this chart, only 10 percent of the 
abused kids are online and hardly any of them from schools. A tiny, 
tiny, infinitesimal portion. This will not solve the problem.
  Now, there are things we can do, but, unfortunately, this legislation 
doesn't do a single one of them. I used to prosecute cases, so I know a 
little bit about law enforcement. I raised three kids, so I know a 
little bit about the terror of worrying about your children. But what 
this legislation does not do is the three things we need to do.
  Number one, we have to give resources to law enforcement to prosecute 
these horrendous monsters. We had detective after detective come to our 
hearings and say, give us some money; we can prosecute these people. 
This doesn't give them a penny.
  Number two, we need to protect the data. What the detectives told us 
is that this data, once it disappears, they can't find the culprits. 
Now we could require the data to be maintained for a year or two, like 
we are trying to do. This bill doesn't do that.
  Third, what this bill could do is provide some real meaningful tools 
for our schools to educate our children on how to avoid these monsters 
on the Internet. This doesn't do that.
  The three effective things that we could do to really save our kids 
is not done in this legislation.

[[Page 16028]]

  Now, why is this such a pathetic wave at trying to do something? Why 
has Congress failed so miserably here? There is a reason for that. The 
reason is we want press releases, without having to do the hard work to 
do legislation. That is why we didn't go through the Commerce Committee 
to have a markup on this bill so they could rush this thing to the 
floor and have their suburban agenda.
  Well, speaking as a parent who represents 650,000 people, and 
probably 200,000 parents in suburbia, I think suburban parents, urban 
parents, rural parents, big-city parents and little-city parents 
deserve real legislation to stomp out the monstrosity that is going on 
on the Internet and not these little press releases. We can't go home 
and just say that we are heroes without having really done something.
  When I go home, I am going to tell my constituents that, yes, maybe 
there are some headlines, but there wasn't real relief. And I look 
forward to the day when this Congress gets down to the nitty-gritty and 
really does something about this terrible problem.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 6 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I oppose these Internet predators. My good friend, for 
whom I have great respect, the chairman of this subcommittee from 
Michigan, opposes them. Everybody else in the Chamber opposes them. 
Every right-thinking and decent American opposes this practice. What we 
need, however, is good legislation which will address the problem. What 
we need is legislation which will be effective.
  The Committee on Energy and Commerce had a number of hearings on 
these matters. It is interesting to note that, in the process of that, 
you can't find anything about there being a problem at schools and 
libraries. Now, this legislation has attracted both the strong 
opposition of the schools and the libraries and the Chamber of 
Commerce, which points out to us that this bill needs more work. In 
other words, Mr. Speaker, this bill is not ready for prime time.
  The unfortunate thing about this legislation is that, rather than 
dealing with the real problem, which is kids and young people who are 
making these communications with sexual predators from their own home 
or their own den or from their own basement or from their own room, it 
deals with schools and libraries. Now, that is very fine if we had some 
record which would show that this is a real problem or that there is 
not a better cure somewhere else, which in fact there is.
  The regrettable thing about this legislation is its rush to the 
floor. I can't tell whether it is a bunch of Republicans who are 
panicky about the next election or whether it is a situation in which 
everybody is trying to rush to get out of town to go on an August 
vacation. But the simple fact of the matter is this legislation is not 
going to do anything to stop the abuses about which there is a very 
legitimate complaint.
  So here we are passing legislation, I suspect, to help some of my 
panicky Republican colleagues save themselves in a difficult election, 
or which will let people go home and say, oh, look what we did. But 
this process has not only been flawed, it has guaranteed that the 
matters that we discuss now do not really address the situation which 
confronts us.

                              {time}  1515

  And worse than that, we are going to be right back here at some 
future time, after the folks at home tell us what a sorry job we did in 
dealing with this matter. Because the problem of sexual predators 
continuing to work the young people is going to continue under this 
legislation, unabated; and we are going to come back here with red 
faces and say how we have made a mistake and we have to do more.
  The simple fact of the matter is this legislation was sprung on us. I 
am told that it was written last night. We barely saw it before the 
process on the floor started. And the committee process, which enables 
us to look at legislation in a sound and responsible way, and the 
committee process, which enables us to work together to put good 
legislation on the floor, legislation which is carefully thought out 
and which the wisdom of all of the Members is brought to bear on the 
question, is not something which we find in the process in which we are 
now engaged.
  So now we are on the floor with a piece of legislation poorly thought 
out, with an abundance of surprises, which carries with it that curious 
smell of partisanship and panic, but which is not going to address the 
problems.
  We have a piece of legislation on which we have less than an hour to 
talk, and we have no opportunity whatsoever to amend the proposal. We 
can vote ``yes'' or we can vote ``no.'' Well, most Members, I suspect, 
will do the politically wise thing, and I will join them in it, and 
that is, I am going to hold my nose and vote for this legislation in 
the full awareness that it is not going to address the problem at all 
and that it is a political placebo for a very, very, serious problem.
  This is, essentially, a shin plaster on a cancer. This is a piece of 
legislation which is going to be notorious for its ineffectiveness and, 
of course, for its political benefits to some of the Members hereabout.
  It is, in a nutshell, Mr. Speaker, going to be as useful as side 
pockets on a cow in addressing the problem about which we are all 
deeply concerned, where we have a duty to our constituents to legislate 
strongly and well and where we have a duty to have an open process to 
hear the comments of our people, those that we serve, about what the 
legislation does to find out how we do the best job of serving the 
American people. Those events are absolutely not to be found in the 
history of this legislation.
  I really regret that my colleagues on the other side have chosen to 
behave this way, but it seems to be a characteristic of this House 
under the leadership with which we are afflicted. Good legislation is 
withheld, poor legislation is written, and the opportunity for the 
people to be heard or for the legislation to be protected is totally 
unavailable.
  The process stinks. The legislation is weak. The legislation will be 
ineffective, it will accomplish nothing, and we will all share red 
faces about this bumbling endeavor.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say to the gentleman from the great 
State of Michigan, and my good friend, Mr. Markey, as well, that I know 
that both Chairman Barton and myself look forward to working with both 
gentlemen on strengthening this legislation down the road and looking 
to close as many loopholes as we can to protect our children. Because 
the bottom line is this, better than a 2,000 percent increase in the 
FBI caseload of online predators.
  This is not the end-all. We know that. But we know that sexual 
predators should not have the ability to use our schools or our 
libraries; and we should take away that avenue, if we can, for their 
evil deeds. And that is precisely what this legislation is intended to 
do.
  And I would note that even though this was introduced some 2 months 
or so ago, we have nearly 40 cosponsors of the legislation. Melissa 
Bean has been a great leader from the Democratic side of the aisle, as 
well as the Republicans that have been mentioned earlier during the 
debate and that have participated. And I know that in the oversight and 
investigation hearings that we have had, not only as well as in New 
Jersey but the legislative hearing that we had with many witnesses, 
including the Attorney General from Texas, who did a marvelous job of 
explaining what was going on in Texas, they all strongly endorsed the 
intent and the legislation as it was introduced.
  I think we have a better bill today than perhaps was introduced by 
taking into consideration the many constructive comments that were made 
by my friend, Mr. Markey, Mr. Dingell, and others on the committee.
  With school starting for many as early as next month, August, knowing 
that the Congress, at least the House, is likely to adjourn this week, 
the Senate still has another week, I would like

[[Page 16029]]

to think that with a strong vote this afternoon the Senate may take up 
this legislation perhaps next week, perhaps, and we actually may get 
the bill to the President's desk so that it will be in place for kids 
as they start school.
  So that is one of the reasons, I think, why this legislation was, 
indeed, rushed to the floor. But, again, I know that we took in many 
good comments by those at the legislative hearing that we had, and I 
think that the proof will be in the pudding.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield, for a brief minute, to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Kirk).
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I will just say, also, this legislation 
responds to a rapidly growing phenomenon in America. Over 25 million 
American children have their personal data on these sites. These sites 
are now the number one sites on the Internet, and we are applying a 
tried and true principle of our jurisprudence, now 800 years old, that 
when you make money off of children, as these sites do, we have always 
recognized a higher duty of care in the protection of children, and 
that is the principle that this legislation stands for.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would say, too, I believe it was over the 
Fourth of July week break that ``Dateline'' had the big expose; and I 
know our office was flooded with calls and letters, as I was home in 
Michigan. There were a good number of parents and others that expressed 
their concern about some of these different online services that were 
there; and if we can close the loophole on schools and libraries, I 
think that it is a good thing.
  I think that, because of that, I would hope that most Members, when 
we vote on this later this afternoon, in all likelihood would vote 
``yes'' on the bill. Again, it is bipartisan, and that is why it is 
here before us this afternoon
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of H.R. 5319, 
the Deleting Online Predators Act.
  As a mother of four and a grandmother of six, the safety of our 
children is a priority of mine. When most of us were children, our 
parents told us to never talk to strangers. Now as parents and 
grandparents, our message must change with technology to include 
strangers on the Internet.
  We all were horrified by the story of the teenage girl from Michigan 
who traveled across the world to the West Bank town of Jericho to meet 
a man she had been communicating with on the networking Web site, 
MySpace.com. Even worse are stories that involve internet pedophiles 
preying on children from all over the Nation, including my district.
  Naperville, a city that has twice been voted by Money Magazine as the 
Top City in the Nation to Raise Children, has witnessed two high 
profile cases in the last three months involving young teenagers and 
men they have met on MySpace.com.
  It is easy to see why networking Web sites are popular among teens. A 
recent poll by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that 87 
percent of those aged 12 to 17 use the Internet on a regular basis. Of 
this 87 percent, approximately 61 percent report having personal 
profiles on networking Web sites like MySpace, Facebook or Xanga. These 
profiles contain photographs, e-mail addresses, hobbies as well as 
other personal information that would be easy for a child predator to 
manipulate.
  With more than 90 million users, MySpace.com and other networking Web 
sites have become new hunting grounds for child predators. Something 
clearly has to be done. This bill is a good start. At least let's give 
parents some comfort that their children won't fall prey while using 
the Internet at schools and libraries that receive Federal funding for 
Internet services. That is why I urge all Members to support H.R. 5319, 
the Deleting Online Predators Act.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5319, the 
Deleting Online Predators Act.
  I am a cosponsor of this legislation, which requires schools and 
libraries to monitor the internet activities and implement technology 
to protect children from accessing commercial social networking sites 
like MySpace.com and chat rooms that provide an avenue for dangerous 
individuals to make personal contact with unsuspecting underage 
children.
  The popularity of social network sites have soared, especially among 
our children, in recent years. These sites allow users to post photos, 
chat and interact with other users online.
  However, the popularity of these sites have also become a haven for 
child predators. A recent Department of Justice study found that one in 
five children received an unwanted solicitation online.
  This legislation takes an important step towards protecting our 
children from these online predators. The bill will still allow teens 
to access social networking sites under their parent's supervision, and 
yet protects them when they are online alone. The rise in online 
solicitations by child predators must be countered by a strong 
response, and H.R. 5319 takes such action.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 5319, a bill that would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to 
require schools and libraries that receive universal service support to 
prohibit and block access to social networking websites and chat rooms. 
In doing so, H.R. 5319 will protect adolescents from communicating with 
potentially harmful strangers. The bill will prevent adolescents from 
accessing obscene or indecent material and also from illegal, online 
sexual advances from strangers. Thus, the bill will help to safeguard 
our children, and put simply, will prevent them from accessing any 
material that is potentially harmful.
  As many of you may know from watching ``Dateline'' NBC's ``To Catch a 
Predator,'' the United States has a countless number of sexual 
predators. It is very hard to profile a sexual predator, and it is also 
very hard to cure one. This is why H.R. 5319 is a necessity; it will 
tackle this mammoth issue by preventing any kind of potentially harmful 
communication with strangers in school networking sites and chat rooms. 
I believe that it is hard to keep sexual predators away from our 
children, but with this bill, it will be easy to keep our children away 
from sexual predators.
  I strongly support H.R. 5319, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting it.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5319, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the 
yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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