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.

Mr. Speaker. I would also like to thank Representative Lloyd Doggett for his leadership in bringing this important legislation to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.

As a Senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee, I understand the importance of protecting one of America's treasures: the elderly. I fully support the goals of this legislation in helping to keep America's elderly safe from harm.

Last year during the second session of the 110th Congress, Representative Doggett introduced, H.R. 6064, the ``National Silver Alert Act.'' I fought hard to amend that H.R. 6064 to include language that would strengthen the National Silver Alert Act. My language was incorporated into that bill and it was successfully reported out of the Judiciary Committee.

This term, Representative Doggett has included the language from H.R. 423, the ``Kristen's Act Reauthorization'' into the present National Silver Alert bill. Thus, strengthening the protections in the bill.

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% 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. 632, the ``National Silver Alert Act''

H.R. 632 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. 632 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% and amounts appropriated under this authorization shall remain available until expended.

Importantly, the bill seeks to accomplish three purposes: the creation of a grant program, the promotion of best practices, and an increased awareness of the need for coordinated efforts to locate missing individuals. The bill authorizes a grant program for State- administered notification systems to help locate missing persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia related illnesses. The grants are to be used to establish and implement Silver Alert systems or to make improvements to existing Silver Alert programs.

C. H.R. 423, the ``Kristen's Act Reauthorization''

Importantly, H.R. 632 includes the language from H.R. 423, the ``Kristen's Act Reauthorization.'' H.R. 632 reauthorizes Kristen's Act (P.L. 106-468), which had authorized annual grants from 2001 through 2004 for the purpose of finding missing adults. Because of the incorporation of Kristen's Act into H.R. 632, grants are not limited to States, but may be awarded to public agencies and nonprofit organizations. The grants are to be used to (1) maintain a national resource center and information clearinghouse; (2) maintain a national database for the purpose of tracking missing adults who are endangered due to age, diminished mental capacity, or when foul play is suspected or the circumstances are unknown; (3) coordinate public and private programs that locate missing adults and reunite them with their families;

(4) provide assistance and training to law enforcement agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit organizations and other individuals involved in the criminal justice system in matters related to missing adults; (5) provide assistance to families in locating missing adults; and (6) assist in public notification of missing adults and victim advocacy. The bill authorizes $4 million annually for fiscal years 2008 through 2018.

D. 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.

I also offered an amendment in the elder justice acts that would have allowed the elderly to wear a bracelet so it would make it easier to find a lost elderly patient in the event that he or she was lost. This amendment was accepted and successfully reported out of the House Judiciary Committee last term. If I were provided the opportunity, I would have offered my amendment again and would have required that H.R. 632 contain provisions that would allow for the use of a bracelet pilot program. The bracelet pilot program would allow elderly, at their election, to wear a bracelet that would be used in helping to locate them when they are lost. The bracelet will be unlike existing programs because the bracelets will be electronic and themselves would facilitate finding a missing elderly person.

While this amendment language was accepted and successfully reported out of the House Judiciary Committee, my language was not included in the H.R. 632. Although my language has not been included in this present version of the bill, I still believe that the bill is important.

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 dead. He died of dehydration. We searched for hours and days to find him. It would have been easier and may have saved a life if there was a bracelet or an electronic monitoring program as I have long championed in previous versions of this bill. Even without my language, legislation that helps America find and take care of its lost and missing elders is extremely important.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act, sponsored by my colleague from Texas, Congressman Lloyd Doggett.

I first became involved in this issue of finding missing seniors last 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 could not 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 this bill before us today, which includes provisions from silver alert legislation that I introduced last 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

previously introduced. The National Silver Alert Act includes language from legislation I introduced last Congress to create 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.

I was honored to work with these two fine Members last year and am 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 majority and minority on the Judiciary Committee to allow this to come to the floor on suspension so early in this session. The House passed this bill, as you know, unanimously last September. But the Senate was unable to act on it before Congress adjourned. I hope that our timely action here today will help facilitate its passage through the Senate and enactment into law.

I believe that all States 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. An Amber Alert system has a remarkable track record of success because necessary information is filtered so that the relevant details are transmitted to appropriate authorities as quickly as possible. The experiences of States that already have developed such silver alert systems suggest that these programs save lives. States have found that 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 Florida, which has more residents aged 65 and older than any other State in the Nation. My State implemented silver alert last year with spectacular results. Florida's statewide silver alert system has led to the successful location of all 37 people, I repeat, all 37 people for whom the State has issued bulletins. More than 4.3 million Floridians are aged 60 and older, and there are about 501,000 probable Alzheimer's cases in the State.

The silver alert program in my State will help prevent tragedy among one of Florida's largest potentially vulnerable groups. Passage of this bill today will help bring other States without these lifesaving systems one step closer to improving their ability to find missing seniors and the crucial few hours after they go missing. It also will provide critical resources, guidance and coordination, which is very important for States like mine, that already have such systems. We have many people to thank for that, including Mary Lallucci, one of my constituents whose determined advocacy for the 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 the same uncertainty.

Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

I thank the gentleman, and I thank my colleague from Texas. It is great that the House is tonight considering a package of elder justice legislation. These bills, of which I am a sponsor of both of the earlier bills by Ms. Waters and Mr. Sestak, are complementary. There is really no silver bullet when it comes to trying to help our elderly citizens, but we think that Silver Alert is one component. And, as my colleague from Texas pointed out, Amber Alert became a national program because of something that happened in Texas. I am pleased that Texas also has taken a leadership with Silver Alert.

Just a couple of examples of what has happened with our State Silver Alert program. I had a constituent who began driving south of Austin about 80 miles to San Antonio, then drove another couple hundred miles up to Dallas going back through Austin, and was finally found there. If he had been here in the North, he would have gone through about seven States. And he was clearly lost. They found him in a shopping center parking lot as a result of Silver Alert, and the Austin Police Department was notified.

More recently, we had an example from the Texas hill country in Kerrville, where a fellow ended up driving to San Marcos. Our San Marcos Police Department dispatchers were helpful because of the Silver Alert program, described just as my colleague from Texas mentioned, using the existing billboards and existing resources, was really valuable in finding it.

As Mr. Johnson pointed out, since this bill was passed here last fall, two more States have joined the effort; I believe there are about another 10 that have it under consideration. All we are trying to do through the Silver Alert initiative here at the national level is to provide them a clearinghouse of best practices, just as we did with Amber Alert earlier, where we will coordinate federal resources from several agencies that have responsibilities, and also reward best practices of the States, try to see that these are replicated so that we can find these people.

This legislation is also related to the legislation we were just considering. As the Elder Justice Coalition pointed out in a statement that they had today endorsing the Silver Alert bill, they say, ``A missing elder person can be the next victim of elder abuse. It is critical that all appropriate resources are utilized at the local level to assist in the safe locating of missing older persons.''

This legislation has been endorsed by a large number of organizations. There is a recognition, we have talked a lot about Alzheimer's tonight and other forms of dementia, that about 60 percent of the people who are afflicted with Alzheimer's at sometime during their disease will wander off from their caregiver. If they are not found within 24 hours, up to half will suffer serious injury or death. Only 4 percent of those who leave home alone are able to find their way back. And so there is a big gap here, a serious problem, if they leave home in not being able to get back. We hope to use what the States have done, what the Amber Alert success has been to link everyone up.

There are many organizations, as I mentioned, that have joined in supporting this effort; but it came to my attention as a Texas idea because of a constituent, Bill Cummings, who is really a model citizen in his involvement and concern for the community. Bill and Carlos Higgins, who is also a devoted member of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature, brought this to the attention of the Silver-Haired Congress, as seniors from all over the country came together here in Washington, came over to the office, told me of the success of the program, and asked that we take this initiative. We have now been joined by the American Health Care Association, the Assisted Living Federation of America, the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, the Child Alert Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association, and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, all offering their support for this legislation.

Finally, as both of you have noted, this has been a bipartisan effort. I salute Mr. Bilirakis and Mrs. Myrick, who I believe is not able to join us on the floor tonight. Hers is not a Silver Alert bill, but it is again a companion measure that we have incorporated into this.

Mr. Bilirakis had a very similar idea based on an unfortunate experience in his district. Working together, tonight we can take a positive step forward to keep our seniors safe.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 632) 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.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this is the third elder justice bill that we present to date. Like the previous two elder justice bills, this bill also passed the House last September on suspension but was not able to be considered by the Senate before adjournment.

Thousands of vulnerable older adults go missing each year as a result of dementia, diminished capacity, foul play, and other unusual circumstances. For example, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America estimates that more than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease; and, according to the foundation, approximately 60 percent of these men and women are likely to wander from their homes. If they do, the disorientation and confusion that is a part of this illness keeps many from finding their way back home. Their safe return then often depends on being found quickly. If not found within 24 hours, roughly half risk serious illness, injury, or death.

When the House passed the bill last Congress, 11 States had Silver Alert programs. As we again consider this bill, there are now 13 States with the Silver Alert programs.

The need for Silver Alert programs and for appropriate assistance from Congress continue to grow. Last Congress, three Members of Congress, Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Sue Myrick of North Carolina, and Gus Bilirakis of Florida, individually introduced legislation to address this serious problem in separate bills. H.R. 632 combines these three bills into one.

Title I, the National Silver Alert Act of 2009, establishes a national program patterned after the successful Amber Alert program for children. It creates a national Silver Alert coordinator responsible for developing voluntary guidelines, standards, and protocols for States to consider in the creation of their own local Silver Alert plans. It establishes a Department of Justice grant program to help States develop and implement local Silver Alert programs. And, finally, the program requires the coordinator to submit annual reports on the status and activities of the State Silver Alert plans.

Title II reauthorizes Kristen's Act, which expired in 2005. Kristen's Act provides for competitive grants to both public agencies and nonprofit private organizations for a national resource center, information clearinghouse, and database for tracking missing adults, training, and other related activities. I commend Congressman Doggett, Congresswoman Myrick, and Congressman Bilirakis for their hard work and bipartisan efforts to address the critical problem of missing elders. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend from Texas, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, such time as he may consume.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the other side decides to relinquish its remaining time, I will do the same. We have no other speakers.

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

Madam Speaker, the Judiciary Committee's Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Karen Wilkinson for her work with the Committee for the past 2 years.

Karen came to us as a detailee from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. At the end of December, Karen will return to Phoenix, Arizona to continue her work as an Assistant Federal Public Defender representing indigent clients in federal criminal cases, where she worked for eight years before coming to the Committee. Prior to that, she clerked for the U.S. District Court for Arizona and then joined the law firm of Brown & Bain. Karen graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University Law School, received a Masters in Business Administration from NOVA University and her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan.

Karen's accomplishments during her tenure with the Committee include a number of bills that are very important to improving our country's criminal justice system. During the 111th Congress, she was responsible for guiding several legislative measures to approval on the floor of the House of Representatives, including: H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2009; H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act 2009; H.R. 748, CAMPUS Safety Act of 2009; H.R. 908, the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program Reauthorization Act of 2009; H.R. 1333, which amends chapter 40 of title 18 of the United States Code to exempt the transportation, shipment, receipt, or importation of explosive materials for delivery to a federally recognized Indian tribes; H.R. 1727, the Managing Arson Through Criminal History, MATCH, Act; H.R. 1933, a Child is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act; S. 1289, the Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act of 2009, and H.R. 2661, the Court Security Enhancement Act of 2009.

In addition, she is shepherding several very important bills pending before the Judiciary Committee, such as: H.R. 503, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009; H.R. 3327, the Ramos-Compean Justice Act of 2009; H.R. 2289, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009; H.R. 2095, the Restitution for the Exonerated Act; H.R. 1149, the Child Protection Reauthorization Act of 2009 and H.R. 1422, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Reauthorization Act of 2009. Karen is also developing the Literacy Education and Rehabilitation Act, LERA, and the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, legislation that would require a criminal defense representative to be appointed to the United States Sentencing Commission, as well as bills that would correct the firearm recidivist sentencing guidelines and the computation of good time credit in federal prison system.

We would like to thank the Administrative Office of Courts and the Federal Public Defender's Office of Phoenix for their generosity in allowing such a dedicated, responsible, and committed person to become such an integral part of our team. We are deeply grateful to Karen for her service, professionalism, and friendship during the past 2 years. She possesses that rare balance of humility, warmth, wit, and passion without a trace of ego, and she will be sorely missed. We wish her the best of luck and give her our thanks.