[House Report 110-753]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-753

======================================================================



 
            A CHILD IS MISSING ALERT AND RECOVERY CENTER ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 10, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Conyers, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5464]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 5464) to direct the Attorney General to make an annual 
grant to the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center to 
assist law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of 
missing children, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend 
that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     5
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     7

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 5464, the ``A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery 
Center Act,'' authorizes $5 million for each of fiscal years 
2009 through 2014 to the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery 
Center, a national non-profit organization, to operate and 
expand the program and technologies necessary to assist law 
enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing 
individuals.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    More than 1.3 million children went missing in 1999.\1\ The 
successful recovery of missing children often requires a quick 
response. Sherry Friedlander, the founder of A Child is Missing 
Alert and Recovery Center (ACIM), saw the need for a rapid-
response program to help quickly find persons who go missing, 
especially in situations that do not involve abductions. In 
response to this need, she established ACIM, a national non-
profit organization that offers free assistance to law 
enforcement agencies, 365 days of the year, 24 hours per day. 
The program is not limited to children, but extends to elderly 
persons, perhaps suffering from senility or Alzheimer's, to 
mentally challenged or disabled individuals, and to college 
students.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\See Andrea J. Sedlak, David Finkelhor, Heather Hammer & Dana J. 
Schultz, National Estimates of Missing children: An Overview, National 
Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway 
Children (NISMART), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Dept. of Justice (Oct. 
2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    When law enforcement receives a call regarding a missing 
person, the first responder can immediately call ACIM for help. 
The officer provides critical information to ACIM, such as the 
individual's age and description, and information regarding 
when he or she was last seen and the location. ACIM uses that 
information to record a message that, within minutes, is sent 
via phone to thousands of locations within a radius of the last 
sighting of the person. Through its computer mapping system, 
ACIM also can identify ``hot spots,'' such as water or wooded 
areas.
    ACIM complements the Amber Alert program by providing 
different services. While Amber Alert focuses on children who 
are abducted, ACIM covers all ``persons'' who go missing, 
including situations where criminal intent may not be at issue. 
Amber Alert uses television and highway signs to broadcast 
information about the abducted child and the related vehicle, 
while ACIM uses a rapid response telephone alert system and 
covers cases where there is no vehicle involved.
    ACIM would use the authorized funding to operate and expand 
the existing ACIM office in Florida, to develop Regional 
Centers for on-site training and communication with local law 
enforcement, to maintain and expand their computer and phone 
technologies, and to assist the National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children, the AMBER Alert Coordinator, and 
appropriate law enforcement agencies with training.

                                Hearings

    The Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, 
and Homeland Security held 1 day of hearings on H.R. 5464, on 
April 17, 2008. Testimony was received from Representative Ron 
Klein (D-FL); Sherry Friedlander, founder and CEO, A Child is 
Missing Alert and Recovery Center; and Vernon Keenan, Director, 
Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

                        Committee Consideration

    On May 13, 2008, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and 
Homeland Security met in open session and ordered the bill H.R. 
5464 favorably reported, without amendment, by voice vote, a 
quorum being present. On May 14, 2008, the Committee met in 
open session and ordered the bill H.R. 5464 favorably reported, 
without amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there 
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of 
H.R. 5464.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does 
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax 
expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 5464, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 16, 2008.
Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5464, the ``A 
Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act.''
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                           Peter R. Orszag,
                                                  Director.

Enclosure.

cc:
        Honorable Lamar S. Smith,
        Ranking Member.
H.R. 5464--A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act

                                SUMMARY

    H.R. 5464 would authorize the appropriation of $5 million 
for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2014 for the 
Department of Justice to make grants to a nonprofit agency (A 
Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center) to assist law 
enforcement agencies in locating missing persons. CBO estimates 
that implementing H.R. 5464 would cost about $15 million over 
the 2009-2013 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized 
amounts. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or 
revenues.
    H.R. 5464 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal 
governments.

                ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

    The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 5464 is shown in the 
following table. For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
amounts authorized by H.R. 5464 will be appropriated by the 
beginning of each fiscal year and that outlays will follow the 
historical spending rates for those activities. The cost of 
this legislation falls within budget function 750 
(administration of justice).

                 By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        2009   2010   2011   2012   2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level                        5      5      5      5      5
Estimated Outlays                          1      2      3      4      5
------------------------------------------------------------------------

              INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

    H.R. 5464 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on State, 
local, or tribal governments.

                         ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:

Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz (226-2860)
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell 
    (225-3220)
Impact on the Private Sector: MarDestinee C. Perez (226-2940)

                         ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:

Peter H. Fontaine,
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
5464 will authorize an annual grant to the A Child Is Missing 
Alert and Recovery Center to assist law enforcement in the 
rapid recovery of missing persons.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in article I, section 8 of the Constitution.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 5464 does not contain any 
limited tax benefits or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(e) or 9(f). The Committee is treating the bill, which 
authorizes a grant in a specific amount to a specific entity, 
as an earmark, as defined in clause 9(d), and is treating the 
sponsor of the bill, Ron Klein, as the requester, the A Child 
Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as 
the recipient, and the authorization, $5 million per year for 
each of fiscal years 2009-2014, as the requested amount.


                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Sec. 1. Short Title. Section 1 sets forth the short title 
of the bill as the ``A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery 
Center Act.''
    Sec. 2. Directing the Attorney General to Make Annual 
Grants to a Child is Missing Alert and Recovery Center to 
Assist Law Enforcement Agencies in Recovering Missing Children. 
Section 2 directs the Attorney General through the 
Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention to annually make a grant to ACIM. The funds must be 
used to:

        (1) Loperate and expand the ACIM center to provide 
        services to Federal, State and local law enforcement by 
        using rapid alert telephone calls, text messaging, and 
        satellite mapping technology;

        (2) Lmaintain and expand technologies and techniques;

        (3) Lestablish and maintain regional centers to train 
        and distribute information to law enforcement;

        (4) Lshare information with the National Center for 
        Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the AMBER Alert 
        Coordinator, and law enforcement agencies; and

        (5) Lassist NCMEC, AMBER, and law enforcement agencies 
        with education programs.

    Section 3. Definition of Missing Child. Section 3 provides 
that for purposes of this Act, the term ``missing child'' means 
an individual whose whereabouts are unknown to a Federal, 
State, or local law enforcement agency.
    Sec. 4. Authorization of Appropriations. Section 4 
authorizes $5 million to be appropriated to the Attorney 
General for grants under section 2 for each of fiscal years 
2009 through 2014.

                                  
