[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15427-15430]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDING RESOURCES, OFFICERS, AND TECHNOLOGY TO ERADICATE CYBER 
                  THREATS TO OUR CHILDREN ACT OF 2017

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 782) to reauthorize the National Internet Crimes Against 
Children Task Force Program, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 782

       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 ``Providing Resources, 
     Officers, and Technology To Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our 
     Children Act of 2017'' or the ``PROTECT Our Children Act of 
     2017''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL INTERNET CRIMES 
                   AGAINST CHILDREN TASK FORCE PROGRAM.

       Title I of the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 
     17601 et seq.) is amended in section 107(a)(10) (42 U.S.C. 
     17617(a)(10)), by striking ``fiscal year 2018'' and inserting 
     ``each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson 
Lee) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on S. 782, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today that we are voting to reauthorize the 
Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of 
Children Today Act of 2003, or the PROTECT Act.
  The PROTECT Act authorizes local law enforcement task forces to 
combat crimes against children online. These internet crimes against 
children, or ICAC, task forces have been absolutely crucial in the 
prevention, investigation, and prosecution of internet crimes against 
children. The program was developed in response to the increasing 
number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation 
of child sexual abuse images available electronically, and heightened 
online activity by predators seeking unsupervised contact with 
potential underage victims.
  Since the ICAC program's inception in 1998, more than 589,000 law 
enforcement officers, prosecutors, and other professionals have been 
trained on techniques to investigate and prosecute ICAC-related cases. 
More than 709,000 complaints of alleged child sexual victimization have 
been reviewed resulting in the arrest of more than 73,000 individuals. 
There are now 61 coordinated task forces representing over 4,500 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies.
  The need for these ICAC task forces has never been greater. The use 
of the internet by children is only increasing, and so are the crimes 
committed against them. Law enforcement officers are encountering new 
types of crimes such as sextortion, that create new complexities in 
their investigations.
  I would like to take a moment to commend Ms. Wasserman Schultz from 
Florida and Mr. Smith from Texas for introducing the companion bill in 
this House. During his tenure as Judiciary Committee chairman, my 
friend, Lamar Smith, was a tireless advocate on behalf of our Nation's 
children.
  Children are our must precious resource, and we must be vigilant in 
ensuring their protection. As a father and grandfather, I can think of 
no more important role we can play than protecting our children.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first, before I start, I would like to congratulate the 
gentlewoman from Florida for her consistent work on this legislation. 
For those of us who have served, we certainly are well aware of the 
work that has been done, and I have been very privileged on the 
Judiciary Committee to join with her work, and I just want to 
congratulate her on that.
  As we begin, let me also take just a moment to acknowledge, again, 
the massacre that occurred on Sunday night in Las Vegas, Nevada. As I 
was pondering the actions of this body last evening with a moment of 
silence, I wondered whether that--although it is of much reverence--
whether that, in fact, will heal the wounds of those who lost their 
loved ones or those who are still mending--the 500-plus who were in the 
hospital and have been in the hospital.
  So before I speak to S. 782, I want to make it clear that I think it 
is crucial that the letter that both Mr. Conyers and I signed regarding 
asserting jurisdiction on the silencer bill is crucial. And as well it 
is crucial that this body does more than this, in essence, a moment of 
silence to heal the wounds of those who are now speechless about the 
loss of their loved ones. And as well it might be time to take a knee 
or to kneel, but it is time to pass legislation.
  I would hope that we would pass legislation that has been offered, 
the King-Thompson bill, and a number of other legislative initiatives 
that many of us have.
  With that, I rise in support of S. 782, the Providing Resources, 
Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act 
of 2017.
  This legislation will reauthorize the National Internet Crimes 
Against Children Task Force Program by amending the language in section 
105(h) of the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, introduced by then-
Senator Joe Biden.
  This bill authorizes appropriations for this program in the amount of 
$60 million for each fiscal year from 2018 through 2022. These figures 
are consistent with current appropriated levels.
  We have a special responsibility to protect our young people. For 
that reason, I support S. 782, a bill that will provide adequate 
resources to help eradicate the cyber threats that continue to threaten 
the lives of our children.
  I support this important bipartisan measure for several reasons. 
First, it will facilitate more comprehensive investigation into violent 
acts perpetrated against innocent children.

                              {time}  1530

  The task force program creates a coordinated group of investigative 
task forces representing 3,500 Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement and prosecutorial agencies.
  Second, this bill will provide support to officers that will allow 
them to better identify these threats, conduct investigation and 
training, and enforce the laws.
  The task force is particularly important because it becomes a 
specialty entity that deals with saving our children.
  The task forces aid local and State law enforcement in creating and 
implementing effective responses to technologically facilitated child 
sexual exploitation and internet crimes against children.
  As the internet becomes more sophisticated and there are those who 
would want to be bad actors and utilize this

[[Page 15428]]

very important national/international asset, this task force is 
crucial. They provide law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies with 
guidance on victim support, forensic investigations, training and 
technical assistance, prevention, and community education--all crucial 
elements to a holistic approach to stopping the attack on our children, 
stopping the sexual exploitation on our children, and stopping the 
internet crimes against our children.
  In the Judiciary Committee today, we were dealing with another aspect 
of this issue, which is sex trafficking and human trafficking.
  This is an important component, again, to giving our children back 
their innocence and letting them be strong in the knowledge of the love 
and affection the Nation has for them and protecting them as they grow 
and thrive.
  Finally, this bill will provide the technological resources to detect 
online threats in real time and provide a platform on which law 
enforcement can operate in order to bring these perpetrators to 
justice.
  Just this morning, the Judiciary Committee, as I indicated, held a 
hearing regarding online sex trafficking. We are all in agreement that 
we must eradicate this threat to our young people and that we must take 
action against other victimization of children that can occur online. 
This legislation is, in fact, a key element of that. Although we still 
have work to do to address these problems, this bill is a good start.
  For the foregoing reasons, I ask my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 782, the ``Providing Resources, 
Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act 
of 2017.''
  This legislation will reauthorize the National Internet Crimes 
Against Children Task Force Program by amending the language in section 
105(h) of the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, introduced by then-
Senator Joe Biden.
  This bill authorizes appropriations for this program in the amount of 
$60,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2018 through 2022. These figures 
are consistent with current appropriated levels.
  We have a special responsibility to protect our young people.
  For that reason, I support S. 782, a bill that would provide adequate 
resources to help eradicate the cyber threats that continue to threaten 
the lives of our children.
  I support this important bipartisan measure for several reasons.
  First, it will facilitate more comprehensive investigation into 
violent acts perpetrated against innocent children.
  The Task Force Program creates a coordinated group of investigative 
task forces representing 3,500 federal, state and local law enforcement 
and prosecutorial agencies.
  Second, this bill will provide support to officers that will allow 
them to better identify these threats, conduct investigation and 
training, and enforce the laws.
  The Task Forces aid local and state law enforcement in creating and 
implementing effective responses to technologically facilitated child 
sexual exploitation and internet crimes against children.
  They provide law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies with guidance 
on victim support, forensic investigations, training and technical 
assistance, prevention and community education.
  And finally, this bill will provide the technological resources 
needed to detect online threats in real-time and provide a platform on 
which law enforcement can operate in order to bring these perpetrators 
to justice.
  Just this morning, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing regarding 
Online Sex Trafficking. We were all in agreement that we must eradicate 
this threat to our young people, as we must take action against other 
victimization of children that can occur online.
  Although we still have work to do to address these problems, this 
bill is a good start, and for the foregoing reasons, I ask my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the ranking member of the 
full committee.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 782, the Providing 
Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our 
Children Act of 2017, and thank my colleague from Texas (Ms. Jackson 
Lee), who has worked so diligently on this matter.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes appropriations for this program in 
the amount of $60 million for each fiscal year from 2018 through 2022. 
These figures are consistent with current appropriated levels.
  We must continue to protect our children from the daily threats that 
permeate the electronic platform and endanger the well-being of our 
children.
  Earlier this morning, as has been said, the House Judiciary 
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations 
held a hearing addressing these very problems. As ranking member of 
that committee, I vow to continue my commitment toward eradicating this 
infectious poison that has claimed the innocence of so many of our 
youths.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues and others on these very 
important issues. That is why I support the measures put forth in this 
bill.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), who has been a key supporter and 
advocate for this important legislation.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Texas for her commitment, for her work, and for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I spent 5 years as a proud member of the Judiciary 
Committee. I miss it and I hope to return one day to add on to my 
responsibilities as a member of the Appropriations Committee.
  I also thank Mr. Goodlatte for his leadership and solid, consistent 
support for this program over the last decade.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 782, Providing 
Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our 
Children Act--or the PROTECT Our Children Act--because at this very 
moment there are thousands of children out there waiting to be saved.
  Our children deserve, as we all agree, a future that is healthy, 
prosperous, bright, secure, and, most of all, safe. That is, of course, 
what every parent cares about the most: the safety of their children. 
But, sadly, our children are vulnerable when they are online.
  With the proliferation of the internet and wireless technology, 
online child pornography has become an epidemic, and I don't use that 
term lightly. The ever-increasing reach of the modern internet has 
facilitated an exploding, multibillion-dollar market for child 
pornography.
  Tragically, the demand for this criminal market can only be supplied 
by graphic new images, and these images can only be supplied through 
the sexual assault of more children. Let's not forget that these are 
not just heinous photos or images. They are, simply put, crime scene 
photos created by a thriving industry that uses children as sexual 
commodities.
  Ten years ago, I introduced H.R. 3845, the Providing Resources, 
Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act 
of 2007--or PROTECT Our Children Act of 2007.
  At a House Judiciary hearing on that bill, my colleagues will 
remember we heard from a very brave young woman, Alicia Kozakiewicz. 
She had been abducted by an internet predator when she was just 13 
years old. She was held captive in his dungeon basement and sexually 
tortured for 4 days.
  The FBI found Alicia because the Virginia Internet Crimes Against 
Children Task Force--or ICAC--had the technology to lift the digital 
fingerprints of this perpetrator's crimes. They were able to discover 
the location where he held her captive, chained to the floor, connected 
to a collar around her neck. Internet crimes officers tracked the IP 
address back to his door and literally rescued Alicia from death.
  I remember Alicia's testimony like it was yesterday because it moved 
many of the members of that committee, including myself, to tears. Over 
the course of that next year, we learned a lot about these types of 
offenders: who they are, how they operate, and, most importantly, where 
they are.

[[Page 15429]]

  We saw detailed law enforcement maps that showed the locations of 
hundreds of thousands of sexual predators, over half of whom had actual 
child victims waiting to be rescued.
  That number might lend people to think: Come on, that has to be an 
exaggeration. It is not. I have seen the evidence before my eyes: 
hundreds of thousands of sexual predators, each on a computer uploading 
pictures of child victims that they are sexually assaulting. Those maps 
described the truly harrowing environment.
  Congress did what it was supposed to do. We acted. We passed H.R. 
3845 and, the following year, passed its companion, S. 1738. This 
legislation established the National Internet Crimes Against Children--
or ICAC--Task Force Program, a specialized group of law enforcement 
officials dedicated to the protection of our children.
  In 2009 and 2010, Congress funded the ICAC Task Force at close to 
their full authorization levels of $50 million per year. The task 
forces grew from 42 to 61, and arrests and child rescues doubled.
  Literally thousands more predators were apprehended and children 
rescued. An untold number of sexual assaults were prevented by virtue 
of the fact that the most dangerous offenders were sitting behind bars, 
where they could no longer harm our children.
  In 2011, however, the ICAC Task Force budget was slashed, cut from 
$50 million to where it is today at $27 million. So, with all due 
respect, I have to correct my colleagues. We are not funding the ICAC 
Task Force at authorized levels.
  This cut remains intact, despite the fact that, as of August 2017, 
law enforcement has seen nearly a half million unique IP addresses 
trafficking in sexual abuse images in the U.S. That is hundreds of 
thousands of separate online sexual predators, and that number is only 
from January 2017 to August 31, 2017.
  Even more heartbreaking, law enforcement officials tell us that the 
victims are getting younger, most under the age of 10, and the abuse is 
getting more sadistic. According to the National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children, 44 percent of the images, Mr. Speaker, they viewed 
in 2016 depicted sexual torture.
  Law enforcement also tells us that only 7 percent of the top 100 
traders on peer-to-peer networks trading these types of images are even 
under investigation.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not just unacceptable; it is tragic. We owe our 
children much better than that. They deserve our help and a Congress 
that will do whatever it can to ensure their health and safety.
  S. 782, the Senate version of a bill that I introduced in March of 
this year with my colleague and friend, Lamar Smith, as the chairman 
kindly thanked us, reauthorizes the National Internet Crimes Against 
Children Task Force.
  According to estimates, half of the arrests made by ICAC teams lead 
us to the door of a hands-on offender and, thus, a child waiting to be 
rescued.
  The PROTECT Our Children reauthorization before us today will help us 
continue to provide the safety net we so desperately need by allowing 
these highly successful ICAC Task Forces to continue to support State 
and local law enforcement agencies.
  While I applaud House leadership for making sure this crucial child 
rescue program and funding is not allowed to expire, I beseech my 
colleagues to also make sure that the ICAC Task Forces are fully 
funded. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I press for that 
every year.
  We have to do better. We have to get as close to the authorization 
level as we can, because we actually rescue children with the more 
resources we put into this.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, we must give the protection of 
these children our full focus and efforts. Please think about these 
precious babies being victimized. If you are a parent--and many of us 
are--God forbid if it was your own child. It could be any of our 
children, because of the prevalence of our children being online.
  Let's give these ICAC teams the resources they need to rescue as many 
children as possible. If we do that, thousands more innocent children 
will be protected from these unspeakable crimes. There, but for the 
grace of God, go our families and children.
  I thank my Republican lead cosponsor, Congressman Lamar Smith, for 
teaming up with me again to reauthorize this for yet another 5 years 
for this critical issue. I urge my colleagues to support the PROTECT 
Our Children Act reauthorization.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member of the full committee and Ms. 
Wasserman Schultz for very instructive and important statements, 
particularly the plea that Ms. Wasserman Schultz made that we must 
reauthorize and, more importantly, fund these task forces, because they 
do, in fact, save lives.
  Let me acknowledge the chairman of this committee for the 
collaboration on this bill, and let me again emphasize that we must 
make sure that it is authorized at the amount of money needed.
  If there is ever an unfortunate and tragic example, it is that of the 
story of Alicia. She represents the Johnnys and Marys and Tommys and 
Shirleys and Quamis and Lateshas and others across the Nation who fall 
victim to this kind of cruel and almost inhuman attack on our children, 
innocent as they are, smart as they are, using the internet as they do 
online for any number of reasons, but then wooed by a dastardly person 
who wants to do them harm.
  The task forces that are now based upon knowledge, expertise, 
commitment, passion, and with number of staffing that they need, can 
really be for not only prevention, but the intervention to stop our 
children from falling victim.
  So I ask my colleagues to support S. 782, the Providing Resources, 
Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act 
of 2017--or the PROTECT Our Children Act--as quickly as possible so 
that it can move to the President's desk and, as well, that we continue 
the pathway not only of intervention and prevention, but completely 
ceasing the online violence against our children because we have been 
able to ensure that these individuals, in large numbers, are brought to 
justice. By that very point, they cease to survive and thrive on the 
internet.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask for support of S. 782, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for 
their strong bipartisan support and our staff on both sides of the 
aisle for their outstanding work on this very important legislation to 
reauthorize a program that I am very, very familiar with.
  The sheriff of Bedford County, Virginia, has been a leading advocate 
for this program and has provided services in his sheriff's department 
that have protected thousands of children not just in our immediate 
region in southwest Virginia, but all across the country.
  I am very, very familiar with the work that goes on, day in and day 
out, of training law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and others, as 
well as the detection and prosecution of individuals who would commit 
these heinous crimes. This bill has done as much as any I know to keep 
children safe on the internet.
  This law and this bill are important to reauthorize for another 5 
years. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  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 Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 782, as amended.

[[Page 15430]]

  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. GOODLATTE. 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, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________