[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8467-8469]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
                    NATIONAL MISSING CHILDREN'S DAY

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1325) recognizing National Missing 
Children's Day, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1325

       Whereas, May 25, 2010, will be the 28th National Missing 
     Children's Day;
       Whereas National Missing Children's Day honors the 
     obligation of the United States to locate and recover missing 
     children by prompting parents, guardians, and other trusted 
     adult role models to make child safety an utmost priority;
       Whereas in the United States nearly 800,000 children are 
     reported missing a year, more than 58,000 children are 
     abducted by nonfamily members, and more than 2,000 children 
     are reported missing every day;
       Whereas efforts of Congress to provide resources, training, 
     and technical assistance have increased the capabilities of 
     State and local law enforcement to find children and to 
     return them home safely;
       Whereas the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz 
     served as the impetus for the creation of National Missing 
     Children's Day, first proclaimed in 1983; and
       Whereas Etan's photograph was distributed throughout the 
     United States and appeared in media globally, and the 
     powerful image came to represent the anguish of thousands of 
     searching families: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes National Missing Children's Day and 
     encourages all people in the United States to join together 
     to plan events in communities across the United States to 
     raise public awareness of law enforcement and the issue of 
     missing children and the need to address the national problem 
     of missing children;
       (2) recognizes that one of the most important tools for law 
     enforcement to use in the case of a missing child is an up-
     to-date, good quality photograph of the child and urges all 
     parents and guardians to follow the important precaution of 
     maintaining such a photograph;
       (3) recognizes the vital role of law enforcement and the 
     criminal justice system in preventing kidnappings and 
     abduction of children while also leading efforts to locate 
     missing children; and
       (4) acknowledges that National Missing Children's Day 
     should remind people in the United States not to forget the 
     children who are still missing and not to waver in the 
     efforts of law enforcement to reunite such children with 
     their families.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution recognizes Tuesday, May 25, as National 
Missing Children's Day. We hope this resolution will continue to raise 
public awareness about the problem of missing and abducted children. I 
therefore thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney) and his 
colleague from Florida (Mr. Hastings) for introducing this resolution.
  May 25, 1979, was the day that 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared from 
New York City while he was on his way to school. The media attention 
and massive search efforts that followed his disappearance focused the 
Nation's attention on the problem of child abduction.
  Two years later, in July 1981, 6-year-old Adam Walsh disappeared from 
a Florida shopping mall. His parents, John and Reve Walsh, turned to 
law enforcement to find their son. They quickly realized that there was 
no coordinated effort between Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
agencies in the search for their son. And to make the situation even 
more difficult, in 1981, there were no organizations to assist them in 
their search.
  The momentum for a national movement to keep children safe from 
predators and coordinate efforts by law enforcement to search for 
missing children began with the disappearance of these two children. As 
a result of this movement, the National Center for Missing & Exploited 
Children was established in 1984. Over the past 25 years, the National 
Center has assisted law enforcement with more than 165,000 missing 
child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 151,000 children.
  Although the National Center has done a remarkable job in helping to 
find missing children and raising public awareness about the problem of 
child abduction and exploitation, the Department of Justice reports 
that far too many children still go missing every year. We hope that on 
May 25, the National Missing Children's Day, we hope that on that date 
everyone's thoughts will be with the families who have missing children 
and that we will rededicate our efforts to protecting our children from 
predators.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution and reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I support House Resolution 1325, which I sponsored to 
recognize National Missing Children's Day. This simple but important 
resolution recognizes May 25, 2010, as the 28th National Missing 
Children's Day. The Federal Government first recognized this day in 
1983, when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National 
Missing Children's Day.
  The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tells us that 
the proclamation followed a series of high-profile missing children 
cases that drew newspaper headlines across the country. The first 
involved the disappearance of Etan Patz from a New York City street on 
his way to school on May 25, 1979. Etan's father, a professional 
photographer, disseminated black-and-white photographs of Etan in an 
effort to find him. The massive search and media attention that 
followed focused the Nation's attention on the problem of child 
abduction and the lack of coordinated plans to address it.

[[Page 8468]]

  The second incident was the missing and murdered child tragedy in 
Atlanta, Georgia. During this episode, the bodies of 29 young boys and 
girls were discovered over a 3-year period in the late 1970s and early 
1980s. A suspect was identified and convicted in 1981, and now he is 
serving a life sentence in prison.
  Also in 1981, in my home State of Florida, 6-year-old Adam Walsh 
disappeared from a local shopping mall. His parents, John and Reve 
Walsh, turned to law enforcement agencies to help find their son. To 
their disappointment, there was little coordinated effort among law 
enforcement officials to search for Adam on a State or national level.
  These tragedies led to the recognition of the dearth of coordination 
among Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, and the lack 
of a national response system to help our families search for missing 
children. Since that time, our country has made great strides in this 
area.
  National Missing Children's Day serves as an annual reminder to the 
Nation to renew efforts to reunite missing children and their families 
and make child protection a national priority. As the resolution notes, 
National Missing Children's Day is a reminder to all parents and 
guardians to take and keep high-quality photographs of their children 
for use in case of emergency. We should also use this day to remind all 
Americans of the importance of paying close attention to the posters 
and photographs of missing children.
  The resolution also recognizes the vital role of law enforcement 
officials in preventing kidnappings and abductions of children, while 
also leading efforts to locate the missing. This resolution should 
remind people across the country not to forget the children that are 
still missing and not to waver in the efforts to reunite these children 
with their families.
  I support this resolution and urge my colleagues to adopt it.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), a member of the Judiciary 
Committee.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as a former prosecutor and a judge in 
Texas, and now the founder and cochair, along with my friend Jim Costa 
from California, of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, I rise in 
strong support of this resolution which seeks to honor May 25 as 
National Missing Children's Day.
  This day is the anniversary of the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan 
Patz. The momentum that began with the disappearance of Etan and many 
children that followed him ultimately led to the national movement that 
we now have today.
  As my friend from Florida mentioned, the other notorious case was the 
disappearance of Adam Walsh when he was 6, when he was with his mother 
at a shopping mall and then kidnapped, and later he was found in the 
Gulf of Mexico. His father, John Walsh, because of the incident that 
happened against his son, started the program ``America's Most Wanted'' 
on television that sought to capture criminals throughout the United 
States, a program that has been very successful.
  In 1983, President Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National Missing 
Children's Day. This day serves as a reminder to parents to have high-
quality photographs of their kids handy, and a reminder to us in 
Congress that the safety of those children should be a national 
priority of all Members of Congress.
  Every year thousands of children are reported missing. While progress 
has been made in linking Federal and State law enforcement efforts, 
these numbers remind us that we must always be vigilant in our efforts 
to reunite missing children with their families and, of course, to step 
up our prosecution of those that harm them and to make child protection 
a national priority.
  I am thankful for the work of the National Center for Missing & 
Exploited Children. The Center provides a national hub and 
clearinghouse of information about missing children, and their efforts 
have been great, leading to the capture and prosecution of hundreds of 
predators and also the recovery of numerous children.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution in honor of National Missing Children's 
Day is also a timely one. In 2005, we had a string of notorious 
kidnappings of children throughout the country that were sexually 
assaulted and then murdered. One of those young victims was Jessica 
Lunsford, another child from Florida, who at the age of 9 was asleep in 
her own bed in her own room, and she was kidnapped in the middle of the 
night by an individual by the name of John Couey, a sexual predator 
from the State of Georgia. He committed several crimes against her and 
eventually buried that young lady alive.
  Because of her and other children that year, the Adam Walsh Child 
Safety Act was passed by this Congress and signed into law, an effort 
to help track sexual predators when they cross State lines. Just 
yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a provision of 
the Adam Walsh Child Safety Act when the Supreme Court ruled that sex 
offenders can be held behind bars indefinitely if officials determine 
them to be sexually dangerous to the community.
  Mr. Speaker, sexual predators are among the most dangerous people on 
Earth to our children. And by upholding this ruling, the Supreme Court 
has reinforced the role of the Federal Government in protecting 
children from those who wish to constantly do them harm.
  I want to thank my friend from Florida (Mr. Rooney) for bringing this 
legislation to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to give it their 
full-hearted support.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.
  Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield as much time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from my State of Florida (Mr. Mica).
  Mr. MICA. Might I first inquire as to the remaining time?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida has 13\1/2\ 
minutes.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank Mr. Rooney for 
introducing this resolution. I urge my colleagues to support the 
resolution. I thank you for remembering today the missing children's 
law that was passed some 28 years ago.
  It's hard to believe time passes by, and sometimes some of the 
details of how laws or important changes in our legal system and our 
approach to issues like missing children, how things happen. I thought 
it would be good to come out to the floor this afternoon, and I again 
thank you for paying attention to the missing children law. Again, hard 
to believe that it's almost three decades since it's passed. I heard 
some of the speakers speak about the law, and I think it's important as 
we remember today, as we recognize the missing children's law and this 
anniversary, how it all came about.
  If you are here long enough in Congress, you find that certain people 
get dedicated to a proposition or to an effort or a cause and they 
spearhead that cause. In 1981, I had the great honor to be selected as 
chief of staff for United States Senator Paula Hawkins. She was 
probably the first woman elected to the United States Senate in her own 
right. She had no husband or family ties. She was just popularly 
elected to the U.S. Senate. She had a different set of agendas, and it 
was wonderful to work with her and learn from her. I knew her as a very 
determined woman who shook up the Public Service Commission. Everything 
she got ahold of she went after sort of like one of those pit bull 
dogs.
  As chief of staff, I remember calls from a gentleman by the name of 
John Walsh, who had lost his son, and he and his wife Reve were very 
distraught trying to find that child. Senator Hawkins became aware of 
their plight, and she took ahold of that issue and their search for 
their lost missing son, Adam, and she never stopped. I heard other 
references to children that were lost or murdered before that, but I 
can tell you, there would not be today or not have been in 1982 a law 
passed relating to missing children if it weren't for Senator Hawkins.
  I distinctly remember one policy meeting we had with the newly 
elected

[[Page 8469]]

Senator, and she had some interesting advisers. One is well known, a 
national adviser, Charlie Black, a good friend of mine. Another one is 
a friend and political consultant many of you have heard of, Dick 
Morris. We were in a meeting room in her Senate office in the district 
in Winter Park, Florida, after Adam was missing, and John and Mrs. 
Walsh had asked the Senator to help find their son.
  And they sat in this policy meeting, and at the time they talked 
about national issues, Social Security, national defense, and what the 
Senator's priorities should be. And I will never forget at that 
meeting, Senator Hawkins interjected after each national issue at that 
time was brought up, ``And we have to do something about missing 
children.'' Time and time again she brought it up, and she never 
stopped after that until she passed the law. She guided it through the 
Senate, through this body, and made it become law because of her 
determination to make certain, and I remember her saying this, and I 
want this in the Record, ``If we can find a missing refrigerator or we 
can find a missing automobile, why shouldn't we be able to have a law 
that helped us find missing children?''
  And so it was her determination that made this law possible some 28 
years ago. It was her determination that helped to create the Center 
for Missing & Exploited Children.

                              {time}  1515

  She doesn't hear this praise because she passed away last December. 
And during her many testimonials and obituaries, it was written she was 
the author of the Missing Children's Law in 1982 that President Reagan 
signed into law. And that, my friends, my colleagues, is the rest of 
the story.
  This law from three decades, nearly three decades later, is a result 
of a very determined woman who thought children should be a national 
priority and we should have a law that assisted when a child is lost 
and a national center to carry on that work. They've done a great job.
  John Walsh and his wife have turned unbelievable human tragedy into 
something positive in their effort. The loss of Adam, a great, great 
loss. You can't imagine parents losing their child. And I was with the 
Walshes in New York City when they were notified of their child's 
remains being found. It's something you cannot even possibly imagine as 
a parent.
  But, again, out of that tragedy came a law that's helped us find, 
reclaim, and account for thousands, literally thousands of missing 
children.
  So, as you pass this resolution today, I commend you. I urge my 
colleagues to adopt it and just wanted to provide a little background 
for the history and Congressional Record of how this law came about.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I reserve my time.
  Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am 
prepared to close.
  I support this important resolution to recognize National Missing 
Children's Day. I want to thank Mr. Scott, our chairman Mr. Conyers 
who's here today, Mr. Mica, Mr. Poe. And I urge the rest of my 
colleagues to support this resolution.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of our 
colleagues who've made comments today, particularly the gentleman from 
Florida for his leadership on this legislation and the leadership of 
the Judiciary Committee. I thank them for their concern and leadership 
on the issue of missing children.
  I urge my colleagues to support the resolution, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1325, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. 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 motion will be 
postponed.

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