A bill to amend the Protect Act to clarify certain volunteer liability.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 10:00 a.m., in open session to consider the nominations of Thomas W. O'Connell to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for special operations and low intensity conflict; and Paul M. Longsworth to be Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, National Nuclear Security Administration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 10:00 a.m., to conduct a hearing on ``The Accuracy of Credit Report Information and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 10 at 10 a.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to discuss the reasons behind the high price of natural gas, its affect on the economy and to consider potential solutions.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in open Executive Session during the session on Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 2 p.m., to review and make recommendations on proposed legislation implementing the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judicary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. in SDG 226.

I. Continuation of S. 1125, Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2003 (``The FAIR Act'') markup.

II. Nominations: William H. Pryor, Jr., to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit; Allyson K. Duncan to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit; Robert C. Brack to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico; Samuel Der- Yeghiayan to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; Louise W. Flanagan to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina; Lonny R. Suko to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington; Earl Leroy Yeakel III to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas; Karen P. Tandy to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Department of Justice; Christopher A. Wray to be Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice; Michael J. Garcia to be Assistant Secretary, United States Department of Homeland Security; and Jack Landman Goldsmith III to be Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, United States Department of Justice.

III. Bills: S.J. Res. 1, A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution of the United States to protect the rights of crime victims [Kyl, Chambliss, Cornyn, Craig, DeWine, Feinstein, Graham, Grassley]; S. 1280, A bill to amend the Protect Act to clarify the liability of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [Hatch, Biden]; S. Res. 140, A resolution designating the week of August 10, 2003, as ``National Health Center Week'' [Campbell, Biden, Durbin, Grassley]; S. 764, The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2003; Proposed Free Trade Agreement with Chile; Proposed Free Trade Agreements with Singapore.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate for a Markup of the SBA Reauthorization Bill on Thursday, July 10, 2003, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 10, 2003, for a hearing to consider pending legislation regarding VA-provided benefits programs. The hearing will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building at 2:30 p.m.

Bills Relating to Veterans' Disability Compensation Benefits: S. 257, the proposed ``Veterans Benefits and Pensions

Protection Act of 2003''; S. 517, the proposed ``Francis W. Agnes Prisoner of War Benefits Act of 2003''; S. 1131, the proposed ``Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2003''. S. 1133, the proposed ``Veterans Programs Improvement Act of 2003''; S. 1188, the proposed ``Veterans' Survivor Benefits Act of 2003''; S. 1213, the proposed ``Filipino Veterans' Benefits Act of 2003''; S. 1239, the proposed ``Former Prisoners of War Special Compensation Act of 2003''; and S. 1281, the proposed ``Veterans Information and Benefits Enhancement Act of 2003''.

Bills Relating to Veterans' Benefits: S. 249, to provide that remarriage of the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran after age 55 shall not result in termination of dependency and indemnity compensation otherwise payable to that surviving spouse; S. 938, to provide for the payment of dependency and indemnity compensation to the survivors of former prisoners of war who died on or before September 30, 1999, under the same eligibility conditions as apply to payment of dependency and indemnity compensation to the survivors of former prisoners of war who die after that date; and S. 1132, the proposed ``Veterans' Survivors Benefits Enhancements Act of 2003''.

Bill Proposing to Amend The Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act; S. 792, the proposed ``Servicemembers Civil Relief Act''; S. 806, the proposed ``Deployed Service Members Financial Security and Education Act of 2003''; and S. 1136, the proposed ``Servicemembers Civil Relief Act''.

Bills Relating to Other Matters: S. 978, the proposed ``Veterans Housing Fairness Act of 2003''; S. 1124, the proposed ``Veterans Burial Benefits Improvement Act of 2003''; S. 1199, the proposed ``Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2003''; S. 1282, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish national cemeteries for geographically underserved populations of veterans; and S. 1630, to amend section 7105 of title 38, United States Code, to clarify the requirements for notices of disagreement for appellate review of Department of Veterans Affairs activities.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Children and Families be authorized to meet for a hearing on CSBG Reauthorization during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 3 p.m.

Mr. President, I rise to commend the other body for its prompt action on S. 1280, legislation introduced by Chairman Hatch and myself and passed unanimously by the Senate on July 14. Enactment of S. 1280 will clear the way for the commencement of the Child Safety Pilot Program created by the Protect Act, a program designed to keep our kids safe from pedophiles and other criminals.

S. 1280 builds upon language included in the Protect Act at section 108 which authorized a pilot program to study the feasibility of national criminal history background checks for volunteers with organizations that work with children. In section 108, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is authorized to assist child-serving organizations in evaluating criminal history records to determine whether potential volunteers are fit to work with children.

We need to do all that we can to keep pedophiles and other convicted felons away from our kids. That was the intent of the background check provisions Senator Hatch, Chairman Sensenbrenner, and I worked to include in the Protect Act. Instead of giving volunteer organizations raw criminal history data, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, ``NCMEC'', agreed to review the FBI's data to determine whether it reveals a criminal history rendering someone unfit to work with children.

Under section 108 of the Protect Act, NCMEC will evaluate FBI- provided criminal history records, make a determination whether these records render a potential volunteer unfit to work with children, and pass this resulting fitness determination on to the requesting volunteer organization. Unfortunately, the Protect Act did not limit NCMEC's civil liability in this area. NCMEC volunteered to take on this task, but they indicated they would be unable to make fitness determinations if they are subject to civil suits by aggrieved volunteers. And while the Protect Act provided NCMEC with a shield from civil liability for operating its cyber tip line, so long as NCMEC does so consistent with the purpose of the tip line, no similar protection was provided with respect to NCMEC's activities under the pilot background check program.

S. 1280 extends NCMEC's immunity from civil liability to actions they take pursuant to the pilot program. NCMEC will still be subject to suit for any criminal actions they take, and liable civilly if a plaintiff can show actual malice or intentional misconduct on NCMEC's part. Specifically, S. 1280 immunizes NCMEC for decisions it makes based on the criminal records provided to them by the FBI in any of the following instances: 1. When NCMEC provides a volunteer organization with a fitness determination indicating that a volunteer is not fit to work with children; 2. When NCMEC provides a volunteer organization with a fitness determination that an individual is fit to serve as a volunteer based on incomplete or inaccurate criminal history records provided by the FBI; or 3. When NCMEC provides a volunteer organization with a fitness determination that an individual is fit to serve as a volunteer based on a lack of criminal history records from the FBI. As an author of S. 1280, I understand my interpretation of the legislation is consistent with that of Chairmen Hatch and Sensenbrenner.

Enactment of S. 1280 will permit the pilot programs authorized in the Protect Act to begin on the date called for in the legislation, July 29, 2003. I thank my colleagues in the other body for taking prompt action on S. 1280. I thank Chairman Hatch for his continued devotion to child safety issues, and I look forward to the commencement of the Child Safety Pilot Program next week.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1280) to amend the PROTECT Act to clarify certain volunteer liability.

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. 1280.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, when the House passed S. 151, the PROTECT Act, which was signed into law by President Bush on April 30, 2003, we directed the Attorney General to establish a pilot program to perform background checks on individuals that volunteered to work with children.

The pilot project, among other things, requires the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to act as a liaison between several volunteer organizations that work with children in the FBI. Under the pilot project, the Center will receive from the FBI background check information on individuals seeking to volunteer with children and make a determination as to the suitability of those individuals for volunteer organizations.

This legislation seeks to correct an oversight in that pilot project, which is scheduled to begin next week, a week from tomorrow on July 29, 2003. This legislation clarifies the Center's liability in connection with the pilot program in three specific situations and protects the Center from lawsuits in any one of three different situations except in cases where there is intentional misconduct or actions taken with actual malice.

First, the bill stipulates that the Center shall not be held liable for any act or communication that results in a decision that an individual is unfit to serve as a volunteer for any volunteer organization. The purpose of this program is to keep individuals who are potentially dangerous away from our children, and it needs to be clear that the Center will not be sued as a result of making this determination.

Second, this legislation also addresses the unfortunate situation where an individual with a criminal history may be cleared by the Center due to inaccurate or incomplete records and subsequently commits a crime in their capacity as a volunteer.

The hope is that this program will be 100 percent successful in keeping criminals away from our children. However, we must also acknowledge that the effectiveness of these background checks are predicated on the accuracy and completeness of the records the FBI relies upon. Unless the Center willfully ignores information indicating that an individual might be a potential danger, they should not be responsible for subsequent crimes committed by that individual.

The third and final section of this bill addresses the situation where a decision is made to clear an individual based on the absence of criminal history information. In this case, were the individual to subsequently commit a crime, the Center would be protected unless they knew that criminal history records existed and have not been furnished.

I urge my colleagues to expeditiously vote in favor of this legislation to ensure the smooth operation of this pilot project and the protection of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and would point out that unless this bill is enacted into law by a week from Tuesday, the pilot project will be delayed.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 26, 2003, at 9:15 a.m. to hold a Business Meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 26, 2003, at 2 p.m. to hold a hearing on The Department of State's Office of Children's Issues--Responding to International Parental Abduction.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, June 26, 2003, at a time and location to be determined to consider the nominations of Joshua B. Bolten to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Fern Flanagan Saddler to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and Judith Nan Macaluso to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Agenda

Nominations: Joshua B. Bolten to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Fern Flanagan Saddler to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia; and Judith Nan Macaluso to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, June 26, 2003, at 11 a.m., in room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a business meeting on pending committee matters.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, June 26, 2003, at 9:30 a.m., in SDG 50.

I. Continuation of S. 1125, Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2003 (``The FAIR Act'') mark-up.

II. Nominations: William H. Pryor, Jr., to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit; Diane M. Stuart to be Director, Violence Against Women Office, United States Department of Justice; and Thomas M. Hardiman to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

III. Bills: S.J. Res. 1, a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution of the United States to protect the rights of crime victims [Kyl, Chambliss, Cornyn, Craig, DeWine, Feinstein, Graham, Grassley]; S. 1280, a bill to amend the Protect Act to clarify the liability of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [Hatch, Biden]; S. 174, a resolution designating Thursday, November 20, 2003, as ``Feed America Thursday'' [Hatch]; and S. 175, a resolution designating the month of October 2003, as ``Family History Month'' [Hatch].

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Terrorism: Growing Wahhabi Influence in the United States'' on Thursday, June 26, 2003 at 2 p.m., in Dirksen 226.

Panel I: David Aufhauser, General Counsel, U.S. Treasury Department, Washington, DC; and Larry A. Mefford, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington,

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this is a technical amendment, it seems to me, to the PROTECT Act signed into law, as the chairman said, on April 30, and it merely clarifies the legal liability of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children when it conducts background checks on volunteers that work with children.

The PROTECT Act, which I and 400 other Members of the House supported, creates this pilot project which the chairman has described; and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has been selected to conduct these checks on volunteers who work with children.

I think it is important that the pilot program will provide safeguards that ensure the volunteer consents to the background check and allows the volunteer to correct erroneous information in the criminal history database because we want accurate information and that is part of accuracy. But we also need to establish clear criteria for the circumstances in which an individual could be deemed unfit to volunteer to work with children.

This amendment simply clarifies that absent proof of knowing malicious or intentional conduct, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and its employees will not be liable for the actions they take in conducting these background checks in deciding whether an individual is fit to volunteer to work with children.

The other body passed this bill by unanimous consent, and I believe this

is a noncontroversial bill. I support the bill.

Since this is a pilot project, we will know in 18 months' time how things have worked, and we will have an opportunity to make further adjustments should they be warranted. I think it is important that we all support this act today so that we do not disrupt the beginning of the pilot project.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.