[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 11926-11927]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING JACOB WETTERLING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember and honor Jacob 
Wetterling and offer my deepest prayers to his family.
  Over the weekend, we learned of the tragic details and reached the 
awful end of this 27-year-long saga filled with grief, with hope, and 
with pain that moved Minnesota and the entire Nation. It was 27 years 
ago, Mr. Speaker, that Jacob was taken, kidnapped from a small rural 
Minnesota community, and went missing.
  As a community, we extend our deepest sympathies to Jacob's parents, 
Patty and Jerry Wetterling. Throughout these 27 trying years, they have 
remained strong and became tireless advocates for children's safety. 
Their efforts have resulted in widespread awareness of effective 
measures to protect children, Federal legislation to monitor known and 
potential predators, and the founding of the Jacob Wetterling Resource 
Center to inform and prevent similar tragedies from impacting other 
families. They channeled their heartbreak to activism for the good of 
children and their families all across this country even as they 
grieved themselves. Because of their efforts, countless children have 
been saved from various forms of exploitation.
  Mr. Speaker, while this is not the ending that we had hoped for after 
all these years, Jacob will never be forgotten, nor will his family's 
undying love

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and commitment to protecting our precious sons and daughters.
  Jacob, may you rest in peace.

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