Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act

Mr. President, the exploitation of children is a plague. It is a war with many fronts, and we must be engaged in them all. I wish to review some of the ways we are fighting this good fight and encourage my colleagues to be as relentless in protecting children as are those in the world who exploit them.

Just 2 days ago, the Supreme Court upheld our most recent attempt to combat the spread of child pornography. In a 7-to-2 decision--an overwhelming vote by the Supreme Court, by the way--the Court held that the PROTECT Act is consistent with the first amendment. I introduced the PROTECT Act in January 2003. It passed this body unanimously in February, passed the House without objection in March, and was signed into law in April. The PROTECT Act prohibits the pandering or solicitation of child pornography.

Child pornography is perhaps the most egregious form of exploitation. It not only victimizes and brutalizes children directly but makes a permanent record of that abuse that may never be erased. Child pornography is not protected by the first amendment, which means its possession and sale can be banned.

In 2002, the Supreme Court struck down the Child Pornography Prevention Act, a bill I introduced in the 104th Congress. So we went back to the drawing board. If the objective is important--and I do not believe any objective is more important than protecting children from exploitation--then we must not take no for an answer. We must not let speed bumps,

roadblocks, or potholes, or Supreme Court decisions stop us.

The PROTECT Act was the result. We studied the Supreme Court's decision and used its guidance to craft a bill that would prohibit the offer to distribute or the request to receive child pornography. When it upheld the PROTECT Act this week, the Court said that the speech this law targets is what literally introduces this destructive material into the distribution network. Now the PROTECT Act can be deployed in our ongoing, never-ending fight to protect children from exploitation, and I am glad it can be deployed.

I thank my colleagues for not giving up, for not throwing up your hands when the Supreme Court initially said no. I thank you for rolling up your sleeves, for joining with me to find some way to protect children.

Let me quote from the closing paragraph of Justice Antonin Scalia's opinion this week in United States v. Williams:

Child pornography harms and debases the most defenseless of

our citizens. This court held unconstitutional Congress'

previous attempt to meet this new threat, and Congress

responded with a carefully crafted attempt to eliminate the

First Amendment problems we identified. As far as the

provision at issue in this case is concerned, that effort was

successful.

While the 108th Congress passed the PROTECT Act, the 109th Congress passed the Adam Walsh Act. The Adam Walsh Act was a comprehensive child protection bill hailed by agencies and organizations throughout this country for its importance.

This legislation enhanced the Web technology available for tracking convicted sex offenders and replaced outdated and inaccurate Web sites with meaningful tools to protect children.

Today, there are more than half a million registered sex offenders in the United States. Unfortunately, many of them receive limited sentences and roam invisibly through our communities. With too many, we don't know where they are until it is too late. Under this law, offenders are now required to report regularly to the authorities in person and let them know when they move or change jobs. If they do not want to follow the rules, they will go back to jail because failure to provide meaningful information is now a felony. In addition, the law created a searchable national Web site that interacts with State sites. Citizens in every State are able to inform themselves about predators in their communities with accurate information.

Unfortunately, many of the enforcement provisions in the Adam Walsh Act have not been funded, and I am fully aware of the competing demands for funding but have no doubt that Americans throughout this country would approve of Federal tax dollars being utilized to ensure that criminals who blatantly trade in child pornography are made to pay a high price for these crimes. I urge my colleagues to show their dedication and resolve to fully fund the Adam Walsh Act.

In another important development, last night the Senate passed the Protect Our Children First Act. I joined Senator Leahy in introducing this legislation last July, and it is now on its way to the President to be signed into law. This legislation authorizes continued funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a center we helped to create. The collective expertise of the center has been invaluable in efforts to address child exploitation, and this bill will ensure their vital work will continue.

With all of the tremendous advantages brought about by the Internet, it has also provided a means of communication which criminals use to advance their crimes. We are all aware that pedophiles are utilizing the Internet to facilitate distribution of illegal child pornography. Everyone agrees this type of crime is the most heinous imaginable, but many think the people who trade these horrendous videos and pictures must set up elaborate technology to facilitate their illegal activities. Unfortunately, this is not true. Many individuals throughout this country utilize peer-to-peer software to share illegal child porn with as much ease as sharing MP3s. Many criminals don't even bother trying to hide what they are doing. They utilize graphic words and acronyms to describe the horrible pictures and videos which they willingly share with one another. They seem to have no fear of being caught by law enforcement.

To illustrate this point, I want to highlight a graphical representation of the locations where law enforcement determined child pornography videos were hosted on computers and shared via peer-to-peer software. It is as disturbing as it is eye-opening.

This map shows the continental United States and locations where child pornography was electronically traded on May 15, 2008. This is just 1 day in the life of this country--6 days ago, as a matter of fact. And it is not meant to be all-inclusive; these are the ones we know of. You can imagine how many there must be. Just in the DC area, look at the child pornography electronic trades. And those are the ones we know about.

Now, this type of activity has created a market for new child pornography. In order to move into the higher echelons of this criminal activity, individuals need to offer new material, new graphic pictures and videos. Many of these criminals find that the easiest way to get new materials is to make it themselves; thus, a vicious cycle is created. These monsters, in some sick, sadistic goal of obtaining stature, videotape their crimes against children in order to facilitate their twisted version of moving up the ladder.

Congress has done a great deal to address this issue. We have passed numerous statutes in order to ensure those who harm children face the most serious penalties possible.

While many local law enforcement agencies are doing a fantastic job addressing these crimes, they are often limited by a lack of manpower and equipment. One program that has had great success is the Internet Crimes Against Children--the ICAC--Task Force Program, which has utilized State and local law enforcement agencies to develop an effective response to child pornography cases. These ICACs provide forensic and investigative activities, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education.

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation, which I cosponsored with Senator Biden of Delaware, which would take significant steps in highlighting the Federal Government's strategy to address child exploitation and ensuring that each State has an ICAC.

The bill also calls for an annual report from the Attorney General, which will represent the national strategy for child exploitation, prevention, and interdiction. I believe this report will be invaluable for the effective coordination of Government efforts to address this problem.

I have no doubts this legislation will be instrumental in combating child exploitation, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill quickly.

I also wish to mention another extremely valuable organization that is playing a vital role in locating missing children. A Child is Missing is a nonprofit organization assisting the police in the first hours after a child's disappearance. For over 10 years, this organization has provided local law enforcement with technology otherwise unavailable to them.

Here is how the program works. When a child is missing, local law enforcement contacts the organization with details of the disappearance, including the child's description, clothes, and last known location. A Child is Missing records a message on behalf of the police agency, and this message is phoned out to the geographical area where the child was last seen. The organization has the ability to send over 1,000 calls in 60 seconds. This message asks for residents to contact the police if they have any information.

The effect is instantaneous in that this service opens the eyes of the entire neighborhood in search for the missing child. We all know these first few hours are critical in finding missing children, making this service critical. This is the only program of its kind in the country, and law enforcement has credited it with over 300 safe assisted recoveries. This service is available to law enforcement throughout the country and at no charge to the agencies. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

I have joined Senator Menendez in introducing legislation, S. 2667, to ensure that this organization will have the funds to continue to offer law enforcement throughout this country this invaluable service. I am hopeful this bill receives prompt consideration.

In conclusion, Congress has many opportunities to advance the worthy cause of reducing child exploitation. I call on my colleagues to continue this noble cause and pledge my continued support to advance appropriate legislative endeavors.