[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5641]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH

  (Mr. SCHILLING asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCHILLING. Mr. Speaker, a few months ago I had the opportunity to 
visit the Children's Advocacy Center in my hometown of Rock Island, 
Illinois. The work that they do there to help children and their 
families that are victims of crimes is truly amazing, and I am grateful 
for their commitment to helping the children that need it the most.
  April is recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. 
Unfortunately, sexual abuse of children is still a serious problem in 
our country, and too many cases go unreported.
  My colleague from California and I have introduced H.R. 3486, the 
Speak Out to Stop Child Abuse Act, which would require States that 
receive Federal funding under their Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act to have a law on the books that makes it a criminal 
penalty for any adult who knowingly fails to report the sexual abuse of 
a child.
  H.R. 3486 simply asks States to help by requiring adults who witness 
the sexual abuse of a child to report it. I want to thank Congresswoman 
Bass for introducing this legislation, and I also recommend all of my 
colleagues help support this, also.

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