To encourage, enhance, and integrate Silver Alert plans throughout the United States, to authorize grants for the assistance of organizations to find missing adults, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I support the National Silver Alert Act. I also urge my colleagues to support this bill. It is necessary.

Thousands of vulnerable older adults go missing each year as a result of dementia, diminished capacity, foul play or other unusual circumstances. The Alzheimer's Foundation of America estimates that over five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and that 60 percent of these are likely to wander from their homes. Alzheimer's disease and other dementia related illnesses often leave their victims disoriented and confused and unable to find their way home. According to the Alzheimer's Association, up to 50 percent of wanderers risk serious illness, injury or death if not found within 24 hours. The problem can be exacerbated greatly by national disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, that can, in a matter of hours, increase the number of missing persons by the thousands.

At least eight States, along with non-profit organizations such as the National Center for Missing Adults, Project Lifesaver International and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, have developed programs to address various aspects of the problem of missing adults, but the need for a coordinated national approach, similar to the Amber Alert Program for children, still exists. In addition, financial support is needed for existing and new local and State programs.

The Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program, administered by the Department of Justice, is the only Federal program that currently provides grant funding to locate vulnerable elderly individuals who go missing. Authorization for this program ceased in 1998, but Congress has continued to appropriate some monies for it through fiscal year 2008, when it appropriated $940,000. Another Federal law, Kristen's Act, had authorized annual grants in the amount of $1 million for fiscal years 2001 through 2004 to assist law enforcement agencies in locating missing adults and for other purposes. Between fiscal years 2002 through 2006, Kristen's Act grants were made through the Edward Byrne Discretionary Grants Program, primarily to the National Center for Missing Adults, a non-profit organization. In 2006, Congress appropriated $150,000 for this purpose.

A. H.R. 6064, the ``National Silver Alert Act''

Importantly, today I urge my colleagues to support another important piece of legislation, H.R. 6064, the National Silver Alert Act. H.R. 6064 sets forth a comprehensive national program. It directs the Attorney General to establish a permanent national Silver Alert communications program within the Department of Justice to provide assistance to regional and local search efforts for missing seniors. The bill requires the Attorney General to assign a Department of Justice officer as a Silver Alert Coordinator.

The Silver Alert Coordinator acts as a nationwide point of contact, working with States to encourage the development of local elements of the network, known as Silver Alert plans, and to ensure regional coordination. The bill requires the Coordinator to develop protocols for efforts relating to reporting and finding missing seniors and to establish voluntary guidelines for States to use in developing Silver Alert plans. The bill requires the Coordinator to establish an advisory group (1) to help States, local governments and law enforcement agencies with Silver Alert plans, (2) to provide training and educational programs to States, local governments and law enforcement agencies, and (3) to submit an annual report to congress. The bill also requires the Coordinator to establish voluntary minimum standards for the issuance of alerts through the Silver Alert communications network.

H.R. 6064 directs the Attorney General, subject to the availability of appropriations, to provide grants to States for the development and implementation of programs and activities relating to Silver Alert plans. The bill authorizes $5 million for fiscal year 2009 for this purpose. The bill also authorizes an additional $5

million for fiscal year 2009 specifically for the development and implementation of new technologies. The Federal share of the grant may not exceed 50 percent and amounts appropriated under this authorization shall remain available until expended.

B. My Past Amendments on Elder Justice Bills

In similar elder legislation, namely the Elder Justice Act and the Elder Abuse Victims Act, I co-sponsored amendments with Ms. Maxine Waters of California to provide funding to State, local, and non-profit programs to locate missing elderly. Specifically, my amendment would allow a voluntary electronic monitoring pilot program to assist with the elderly when they are reported missing. In these particular bills, my amendment would allow the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to issue grants to States and local government to carry out pilot programs to provide voluntary electronic monitoring services to elderly individuals to assist in the location of such individuals when they are reported missing.

C. Elder Legislation Is Important

Elder legislation such as the legislation before us today and the prior elder bills that I mentioned are important. As elder Americans enter their twilight years, we must do more to protect and ensure their safety. Nothing reminds me more of the necessity of this kind of legislation than my very own experiences in Houston, Texas. A few years ago, the family of Sam Kirk, a native of Houston, Texas, called me to help look for him. Mr. Kirk was elderly and suffered from dementia. He had wandered off and could not be located for several days. His family looked for him for many days but could not find him. In an act of desperation, they called on me to lend my services to help them find him. I helped his family look for him and we found him. When we found Mr. Kirk, he was dehydrated and in need of medical attention. We searched for hours and days to find him. It was worth the time and effort we spent to find him alive and well. Legislation that helps America find and take care of its lost and missing elders is extremely important.

sammy kirk amendment

I fought hard to get an amendment to this bill, H.R. 6064, the National Silver Alert. The amendment would authorize a voluntary electronic monitoring program to be used to assist in the location of elderly persons. Specifically, the amendment requires the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to award grants to States and units of local government to carry out programs to provide for voluntary electronic monitoring services to elderly individuals to assist in the location of such individuals in the event that such persons are reported missing. It is authorized for $2 million for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2014. The amendment is named after Mr. Sammy Kirk, a former constituent of the 18th Congressional District who suffered from Alzheimers and was lost. I, along with his family, searched for him for 3 days only to find him dead near the bayou. The Sam Kirk amendment ensures that other senior Alzheimer patients do not suffer the same fate as Mr. Kirk.

I believe that my amendment and these bills help elderly people. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I support the National Silver Alert Act. I also urge my colleagues to support this bill. It is necessary.

Thousands of vulnerable older adults go missing each year as a result of dementia, diminished capacity, foul play or other unusual circumstances. The Alzheimer's Foundation of America estimates that over five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and that sixty percent of these are likely to wander from their homes. Alzheimer's disease and other dementia related illnesses often leave their victims disoriented and confused and unable to find their way home. According to the Alzheimer's Association, up to 50 percent of wanderers risk serious illness, injury or death if not found within 24 hours. The problem can be exacerbated greatly by national disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, that can, in a matter of hours, increase the number of missing persons by the thousands.

At least eight states, along with non-profit organizations such as the National Center for Missing Adults, Project Lifesaver International and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, have developed programs to address various aspects of the problem of missing adults, but the need for a coordinated national approach, similar to the Amber Alert Program for children, still exists. In addition, financial support is needed for existing and new local and state programs.

The Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program, administered by the Department of Justice, is the only federal program that currently provides grant funding to locate vulnerable elderly individuals who go missing. Authorization for this program ceased in 1998, but Congress has continued to appropriate some monies for it through fiscal year 2008, when it appropriated $940,000. Another federal law, Kristen's Act, had authorized annual grants in the amount of $1 million for fiscal years 2001 through 2004 to assist law enforcement agencies in locating missing adults and for other purposes. Between fiscal years 2002 through 2006, Kristen's Act grants were made through the Edward Byrne Discretionary Grants Program, primarily to the National Center for Missing Adults, a non-profit organization. In 2006, Congress appropriated $150,000 for this purpose.

A. H.R. 6064, the ``National Silver Alert Act''

Importantly, today I urge my colleagues to support another important piece of legislation, H.R. 6064, the National Silver Alert Act. H.R.

6064 sets forth a comprehensive national program. It directs the Attorney General to establish a permanent national Silver Alert communications program within the Department of Justice to provide assistance to regional and local search efforts for missing seniors. The bill requires the Attorney General to assign a Department of Justice officer as a Silver Alert Coordinator.

The Silver Alert Coordinator acts as a nationwide point of contact, working with states to encourage the development of local elements of the network, known as Silver Alert plans, and to ensure regional coordination. The bill requires the Coordinator to develop protocols for efforts relating to reporting and finding missing seniors and to establish voluntary guidelines for states to use in developing Silver Alert plans. The bill requires the Coordinator to establish an advisory group (1) to help States, local governments and law enforcement agencies with Silver Alert plans, (2) to provide training and educational programs to states, local governments and law enforcement agencies, and (3) to submit an annual report to congress. The bill also requires the Coordinator to establish voluntary minimum standards for the issuance of alerts through the Silver Alert communications network.

H.R. 6064 directs the Attorney General, subject to the availability of appropriations, to provide grants to States for the development and implementation of programs and activities relating to Silver Alert plans. The bill authorizes $5 million for fiscal year 2009 for this purpose. The bill also authorizes an additional $5 million for fiscal year 2009 specifically for the development and implementation of new technologies. The Federal share of the grant may not exceed 50 percent and amounts appropriated under this authorization shall remain available until expended.

B. My Past Amendments on Elder Justice Bills

In similar elder legislation, namely the Elder Justice Act and the Elder Abuse Victims Act, I co-sponsored amendments with Ms. Maxine Waters of California to provide funding to State, Local, and non-profit programs to locate missing elderly. Specifically, my amendment would allow a voluntary electronic monitoring pilot program to assist with the elderly when they are reported missing. In these particular bills, my amendment would allow the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to issue grants to states and local government to carry out pilot programs to provide voluntary electronic monitoring services to elderly individuals to assist in the location of such individuals when they are reported missing.

C. Elder Legislation Is Important

Elder legislation such as the legislation before us today and the prior elder bills that I mentioned are important. As elder Americans enter their twilight years, we must do more to protect and ensure their safety. Nothing reminds me more of the necessity of this kind of legislation than my very own experiences in Houston, Texas. A few years ago, the family of Sam Kirk, a native of Houston, Texas, called me to help look for him. Mr. Kirk was elderly and suffered from dementia. He had wandered off and could not be located for several days. His family looked for him for many days but could not find him. In an act of desperation, they called on me to lend my services to help them find him. I helped his family look for him and we found him. When we found Mr. Kirk, he was dehydrated and in need of medical attention. We searched for hours and days to find him. It was worth the time and effort we spent to find him alive and well. Legislation that helps America find and take care of its lost and missing elders is extremely important.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his help and leadership on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6064, the National Sliver Alert Act, which I authored and on which we have had very good bipartisan cooperation. I appreciate the statement, the concern and cooperation of the gentleman from Florida who has recounted a very serious incident that occurred in his State, and I appreciate the leadership of the gentlewoman from North Carolina. We merged our proposals in committee and have reauthorized through this legislation the National Center for Missing Adults.

Our seniors, who have worked a lifetime building families, giving back to their communities, deserve dignity and respect in their retirement years. And when some of them are unable to care for themselves, they need our support. There is no silver bullet to providing that support, but one meaningful way of helping is through the national Silver Alert system that this measure would establish nationwide.

Silver Alert is a public notification system triggered by the report of the missing senior with dementia or other mental impairment, similar to Amber Alert which has worked so successfully to find missing children, where we rely on postings on the highways, radio, television, and various forms of media to broadcast information about missing persons, to locate them, and bring them safely home.

Sixty percent of those with Alzheimer's wander away from home at some point during their disability. If not found within 24 hours, up to half will suffer serious injury or death. Only 4 percent of those who leave home are able to get back without some assistance. Silver Alert provides that assistance.

Responding to this need, 11 States, including my home State of Texas, have already enacted such programs, and another five States are seriously considering State legislation.

While this is successful and important, we believe that every American should have the benefits of Silver Alert and that all States can benefit from learning about best practices that are occurring around the country.

The National AMBER Alert law, which Congress approved in 2003, has provided the national leadership to coordinate State programs, link States to resources and best practices, and fund the technology and improvements necessary to assure the best assistance that we can provide.

National Silver Alert will do much the same, coordinating from the Justice Department with the Federal Communication Commission, the Department of Transportation and the Administration on Aging to avoid duplication of efforts. This is a voluntary program that will help States initiate Silver Alert programs and sustain those that are already underway.

In short, coordination saves lives. Reuniting missing seniors with their families requires a rapid, united response. What's missing from efforts to locate missing seniors is sufficient Federal support, and this bill closes that gap.

With National Silver Alert, communities can use and build on existing resources to help keep our seniors safe. And as the population of the United States ages, more and more seniors will need this kind of support.

Since its inception in Texas last September, Silver Alert has been invoked 52 times. Forty-eight of the missing seniors were located safely, and 13 of these recoveries were directly attributable to Silver Alert.

One of these successes involved an 85-year-old man in my district in Austin. He left his home in Austin, drove south to San Antonio, then turned around and drove back, all the way through Austin to Dallas, a total of 325 miles. If it had occurred, instead of on I-35 in Texas, if it occurred here in the Northeast, he would have traveled through seven States.

He was finally located in a parking lot at a department store late at night in Dallas. The responding officer had heard about the Silver Alert, knew there was a missing person from Austin in a dark green Buick. They were able to connect him back, after some treatment for dehydration, and get him back the next morning to his family in Austin.

A National Silver Alert program complements other existing programs like Project Lifesaver, the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Program Alert Program, and I believe that Silver Alert

will be effective with a unique ``wide net'' approach. The ability to broadcast the alert beyond the immediate vicinity will complement existing programs and assure more missing seniors are found within that crucial first 24 hours.

I especially want to thank two Texans, Bill Cummings and Carlos Higgins of the Texas Silver Haired Legislature, who first asked me to develop this legislation to replicate nationally the success that they experienced through Texas Silver Alert. This bill shows that it is still possible, at least on a rather occasion, for an individual citizen who has a good cause but no lobbyists to get the attention of Congress and get legislation, creative solutions adopted. Since they first proposed the bill to me it has gained the endorsement of the Elder Justice Coalition, the National Silver Haired Legislature, the Child Alert Foundation, the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, and the Assisted Living Federation of America.

I appreciate the cooperation of my colleagues in getting this measure approved. I urge its adoption, recognizing that by working together we can take an important step toward making our seniors safe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6064, the National Silver Alert Act sponsored by my colleague from Texas, Congressman Lloyd Doggett.

I first became involved in the issue of finding missing seniors earlier this year when one of my constituents, Mary Lallucci, lost her mother, who had left her care-giving facility and could not be located. She had driven her car into the Gulf of Mexico and drowned.

This tragedy unfortunately highlighted the very real problem of older

individuals who suffer from diseases which leave them easily confused and disoriented, wandering away from their homes or care-giving facilities and meeting harm because family, friends, and authorities cannot find them in time.

The inability to find missing elderly is a problem State and Federal policymakers should address before something like this happens again. That is why I support the bill before us today which includes provisions from the Silver Alert legislation I introduced earlier this year.

The National Silver Alert Act is a bipartisan bill developed by Congressman Doggett, myself, and Congresswoman Sue Myrick. It combines portions of missing persons bills that each of us have introduced.

The National Silver Alert Act includes language from my bill, the Silver Alert Grant Program Act, which creates within the Department of Justice a grant program to help States establish and operate Silver Alert notification systems to help find missing individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related illnesses.

The measure we are considering today also establishes a national Silver Alert communications network to assist regional and local missing persons search efforts and requires an annual report to determine the effectiveness of State Silver Alert plans to help guide their establishment in other States.

The bill also reauthorizes Kristen's Act. Mrs. Myrick's bill provides grants to public and nonprofit organizations to help them find abducted adults.

I was honored to work with these two fine Members, and pleased that we were able to combine these complementary bills.

I want to thank them for their work, as well as the willingness of the Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Ranking Member Lamar Smith, and Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott and Ranking Member Randy Forbes, for moving this bill through their panels in such an expeditious manner.

I believe that all States, especially my State of Florida, should establish systems similar to the highly successful Amber Alert program to help find those suffering from dementia-related illnesses and prevent tragedies like the one that occurred in my community.

The Amber Alert system has a remarkable track record of success because necessary information is filtered so that relevant details are transmitted to appropriate authorities as quickly as possible.

The experiences of States that already have developed such Amber Alert systems suggests that these programs save lives. States have found that, just as with missing and abducted children, timely notification and dissemination of appropriate information about missing seniors greatly improves the chances that they will be found before they harm themselves.

I believe that the Federal Government can and should help States develop notification systems to prevent these all-too-frequent tragedies. This is especially important in my State which has more residents age 65 or older than any State in the Nation. My State needs Silver Alert and it needs it now.

Passage of this bill today will bring Florida and other States without these life-saving systems one step closer to improving the ability to find missing seniors in the crucial few hours after they go missing.

We have many people to thank for that, including Mary Lallucci, whose determined advocacy for Silver Alert has inspired me and serves as a loving tribute to her mother's memory.

Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Lallucci was asked whether she thought a Silver Alert system in Florida could have saved her mother. ``Who knows,'' she said. ``Unfortunately, I will never know.''

I urge my colleagues to support the National Silver Alert Act to prevent another family from being forced to struggle with that same uncertainty.

Mr. Speaker, Today is a very important day for anyone who has ever lived through the nightmare of an adult loved one gone missing. The National Silver Alert Act will reauthorize Kristen's Act and give these people hope. Kristen Modafferi disappeared shortly after her 18th birthday. I asked the family how I could help. After visiting with them and hearing a detailed account of their nightmare, I introduced Kristen's Act in 1999. It was swiftly ratified in both the House and Senate before being signed into law by President Clinton in 2000.

Kristen's Act reauthorizes funding to maintain a national clearinghouse for missing adults whose disappearance is determined by law enforcement to be foul play. As with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, this bill provides assistance to law enforcement and families in missing persons cases of those over the age of 17. Kristen's Act expired in 2005. I introduced a reauthorization in the 109th Congress, unfortunately my attempts to get it passed were unsuccessful. Today, with the help of my friends from across the aisle, we honor the efforts of so many and pay tribute to mournful families by ratifying this bill.

Kristen Modafferi disappeared in 1997. She was an extremely bright, hard-working young lady and attended North Carolina State University. She had just finished her freshman year; and like so many other college students, she decided she wanted to go to another city to spend the summer and work and have a new experience. So she moved to San Francisco. She enrolled in photography class at Berkeley and got a job at a local coffee shop. She began settling in and making friends.

On Monday, June 23--which was just a mere 3 weeks after her 18th birthday--she left her job at the coffee shop and headed to the beach for the afternoon. She has not been seen since.

When her panicked parents called National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, they heard these unbelievable words, ``I'm sorry-- we cannot help you.'' They were shocked to discover that because Kristen was 18, the Center could not place her picture and story into its national database, or offer any assistance whatsoever.

In fact, there is no national agency in the United States to help locate missing adults.

Unfortunately, the Modaferris are not alone. The families of thousands of missing adults--50,930 cases as of last year--have found that law enforcement and other agencies respond very differently when the person who has disappeared is not a child.

Coping with the disappearance of a family member is a traumatic experience--and I know personally what the Modaferris went through. But to be forced to conduct the search on their own without any skills or resources is simply unjust. Kristen's Act does send a message to these families that they deserve help in locating endangered and involuntarily missing loved ones.

Endangered missing adults, regardless of their age, should receive not only the benefit of a search effort by local law enforcement--but also the help of an experienced national organization.

By approving this bill, families will never again have to hear they cannot be assisted because a loved one is too old.