[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[April 30, 2003]
[Pages 398-400]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the 
Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003
April 30, 2003

    Thanks a lot for the warm welcome, and welcome to the Rose Garden 
and the White House. What a beautiful day. I'm glad you all are here, 
and I'm pleased that you could join us on a day a vital piece of 
legislation becomes the law of the land.
    I appreciate the hard work of the Congress. I want to thank the 
Members of the Congress, the Senate, who are here and the Members of the 
House of Representatives who are here. I want to thank you all for your 
very hard work in getting this bill to my desk as quickly as you did.
    This law, the PROTECT Act of 2003, will greatly assist law 
enforcement in tracking criminals who would harm our children and will 
greatly help in rescuing the youngest victims of crime. With my 
signature, this new law will formally establish the Federal Government's 
role in the Amber Alert system and will make punishment for Federal 
crimes against children more severe. This law carries forward a 
fundamental responsibility of public officials at every level of 
government to do everything we can to protect the most vulnerable 
citizens from dangerous offenders who prey on them.
    I want to thank our Attorney General, John Ashcroft, for his leadership on this issue. He is strong. He is 
steady, and he

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will see to it that this law is executed in its fullest.
    I appreciate so very much Congressman Jim 
Sensenbrenner,  James, Jr. chairman of the 
House Judiciary Committee, who worked hard to make sure this bill 
encompassed a lot, that it fulfilled a lot, that it met the aspirations 
of those who are anxious to make sure our children are protected. 
Chairman, you did fine work. Thank you very much. I appreciate the 
members of your committee who are here today. And I appreciate the fact 
that chairman Senator Orrin Hatch is with us 
as well, who shepherded the bill through the United States Senate in 
record time. Mr. Chairman, thank you for your hard work as well.
    I appreciate my friend, the Governor of Connecticut, Johnny 
Rowland, being with us today. Johnny, thank 
you. Thank you for your concerns about the children of the State of 
Ohio--of Connecticut. The attorney general, Jerry Kilgore, is here from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Attorney 
General, thanks for coming. Of course it's always good to see the 
Mayor--the Mayor of Washington, DC, Anthony Williams. There are no potholes in front of the White House today. 
[Laughter] It's good to see you, Mr. Mayor.
    Also with us today are some families who understand better than most 
the need for this law. In your great suffering and loss, you have found 
the courage to come to the defense of all children. Because of you, this 
critical measure is now becoming law. Because of you, children and 
parents you may never meet will be spared from the harm and anguish your 
families have known. We are honored to have you all here today.
    When a child is reported missing, that case becomes the matter of 
the most intensive and focused efforts by law enforcement. Entire 
communities join in the search, and through unrelenting efforts, many 
children have been saved. Amber Alerts have become an increasingly 
important tool in rescuing kidnaped children, by quickly getting key 
information about the missing child and information about the suspect 
out into the public through radio broadcasts or highway signs or other 
means. An Amber Alert adds thousands of citizens to the search in the 
crucial early hours.
    At present, statewide Amber Alert systems exist in 41 States. The 
bill I will sign this afternoon authorizes matching grants to those and 
other States to help ensure that we have effective Amber Alerts wherever 
they are needed.
    Last year, at my direction, Attorney General John Ashcroft appointed an Amber Alert coordinator to oversee this 
nationwide effort. This new law formally establishes that position and 
empowers the coordinator to set clear and uniform voluntary standards 
for the use of Amber Alerts across our country.
    It is important to expand the Amber Alert systems so police and 
sheriffs' departments gain thousands or even millions of allies in the 
search for missing children. Every person who would think of abducting a 
child can know that a wide net will be cast. They may be found by a 
police cruiser or by the car right next to them on a highway. These 
criminals can know that any driver they pass could be the one that spots 
them and brings them to justice.
    This is exactly what happened last summer in California when several 
drivers heard an Amber Alert over the radio and soon passed a vehicle 
meeting the description they heard. Within hours, two teenage girls were 
rescued and their abductor cornered by the police. We're so happy these 
two young ladies are healthy and with us today, Tamara Brooks and Jacqueline Marris. 
    Tamara's brother is somewhere around here. 
He showed me--guess what happened to him today? One, he brings his 
little sister to the White House, and secondly, today he was accepted to 
West Point. He's following in the footsteps of two older sisters.

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    The new law also confronts an evil that is too often a cause of 
child abuse and abduction in America, the evil of child pornography. In 
the past, prosecutors have been hindered by not having all the tools 
needed to prosecute criminals who create child pornography. Under the 
PROTECT Act, we've seen images of children, even those created with 
computer technology, will now be illegal, giving prosecutors an 
important new tool. Obscene images of children, no matter how they are 
made, incite abuse, raise the dangers to children, and will not be 
tolerated in America.
    The new law will also strengthen Federal penalties for child 
kidnaping and other crimes against the young. Judges will now have the 
authority to require longer supervision of sex offenders who are 
released from prison. And certain repeat sex offenders in our society 
will now face life behind bars, so they can never do harm again.
    In addition, this law creates important pilot programs to help 
nonprofit organizations which deal with children to obtain quick and 
complete criminal background information on volunteers. Listen, 
mentoring programs are essential for our country, and we must make sure 
they are safe for the children they serve.
    Amber Hagerman, whose mom is with us 
today--a good Texan, I might add--was 9 years old when she was taken 
away from her parents. We are acting today in her memory and in the 
memory of so many other girls and boys who lost their lives and 
innocence in acts of cruelty.
    No child should ever have to experience the terror of abduction or 
worse. No family should ever have to endure the nightmare of losing a 
child. Our Nation grieves with every family that has suffered unbearable 
loss. And our Nation will fight threats against our children.
    This law marks important progress in the protection of America's 
children. And now it is my honor to sign the PROTECT Act of 2003.

Note: The President spoke at 2 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Marcus Brooks, brother of Tamara 
Brooks; and Donna Norris, mother of Amber Hagerman. S. 151, approved 
April 30, was assigned Public Law No. 108-21. The Office of the Press 
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.