[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 21 (Monday, May 26, 2003)]
[Pages 653-654]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7682--National Missing Children's Day, 2003

 May 23, 2003

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    On National Missing Children's Day, we join with families, law 
enforcement officials, and child advocates to highlight our commitment 
to stopping the abduction and exploitation of children. During this 
year's observance, we celebrate the progress we have made in 
safeguarding children, and we renew our dedication to protecting our 
most vulnerable citizens and our most valuable resources.
    The Department of Justice estimates that more than 50,000 children 
will be victims of nonfamily abductions each year. While the rate of 
recovery in such kidnappings is approximately 99 percent, the trauma of 
abduction affects far too many. No young person in America should ever 
know the terror of abduction, and no family should ever have to 
experience the nightmare of having a loved one suddenly taken.
    The safety and well-being of our children is a shared responsibility 
for all Americans and for Federal, State, and local authorities. My 
Administration is making the prevention and investigation of child 
abductions a top

[[Page 654]]

priority. We are working to use available resources to educate our 
citizens about how to prevent child abductions. We are also creating new 
lines of communication between authorities and the public to help find 
and safely return missing children to their families. We will continue 
to vigorously prosecute and severely punish those who would harm our 
children.
    To further these efforts, in August 2002, my Administration released 
a new guidebook, ``Personal Safety for Children: A Guide for Parents'' 
to teach parents steps to improve their children's safety. Since then, 
copies have been distributed to public and private schools and public 
libraries throughout the country, in both English and Spanish. In 
October 2002, I convened the first White House Conference on Missing, 
Exploited, and Runaway Children to promote public awareness of the 
issues and to generate recommendations and best practices from experts. 
And in December 2002, I signed legislation creating the Dot Kids domain, 
a child-friendly zone on the Internet. The sites on this domain are 
monitored for content and safety, offering parents peace of mind knowing 
that their children can learn in a safe and healthy environment.
    Last month I signed the PROTECT Act, an important law that provides 
valuable new ways to deter, investigate, prosecute, and punish crimes 
against America's children. The PROTECT Act also builds on my 
Administration's ongoing efforts to expand and improve the AMBER Alert 
program, which has become an increasingly important tool to help rescue 
kidnapped children by quickly getting key information about the missing 
child and the suspect to the public. This law formally establishes the 
Federal Government's role in the AMBER Alert system and equips the 
Department of Justice to help State and local officials develop, 
enhance, and coordinate AMBER plans across America.
    Our Nation has come to know the names and faces of far too many 
children because they have been the victims of acts of cruelty and 
violence. These crimes break our hearts and stir our anger. Our Nation 
shares the joy of the parents who are reunited with their children, and 
prays with those who are still hoping and waiting. We grieve with every 
family that has suffered the loss of or injury to a child. We will 
continue the fight against the threats that our children face.
     Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States 
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 25, 2003, as 
National Missing Children's Day. I call upon Americans to join me in 
commemorating this observance by celebrating those children who have 
been returned to their loved ones, remembering those young people who 
are missing, and continuing to work together on every front to protect 
our children from those who would seek to harm them.
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third 
day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
seventh.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 28, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on May 
29.