Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Whereas an estimated 800,000 children are reported missing each year in the United States;

Whereas 200,000 of that number are abducted by family members, and 58,000 are abducted by non-family members, for which the primary motive is sexual assault;

Whereas each year 115 children are the victims of the most serious abductions, kidnapped by non-family members and either ransomed, murdered, or taken with the intent to keep;

Whereas the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) serves as the national resource center and information clearinghouse for missing and exploited children;

Whereas NCMEC was established by Congress in 1984;

Whereas NCMEC has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 138,500 children;

Whereas NCMEC’s Amber Alert program has led to 443 recoveries;

Whereas in 2008, NCMEC helped recover more children than any other year in the organization’s 25-year history, raising the recovery rate from 62 percent in 1990 to 97 percent today;

Whereas NCMEC operates the toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline, which has handled more than 2,377,000 calls;

Whereas NCMEC provides assistance to families and law enforcement agencies in locating and recovering missing and exploited children, both nationally and internationally;

Whereas NCMEC offers technical assistance and training to law enforcement in identifying and locating non-compliant sex offenders;

Whereas NCMEC has a team of forensic artists who create age progression photos, which has assisted in the successful recovery of 895 children;

Whereas NCMEC CyberTipline has handled more than 686,000 reports;

Whereas NCMEC’s Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed 23,000,000 child pornography images and videos, 8,600,000 in 2008 alone;

Whereas NCMEC’s sex offender tracking team has already located 402 missing sex offenders;

Whereas NCMEC operates a child victim identification program to assist law enforcement in identifying victims of child pornography;

Whereas NCMEC develops and disseminates programs and information about Internet safety and the prevention of child abduction and sexual exploitation;

Whereas NCMEC facilitates the deployment of the National Emergency Child Locator Center during periods of national disasters; and

Whereas NCMEC deploys Team Adam, a rapid response and support system comprised of retired law enforcement officers, to provide on-site technical assistance to local law enforcement agencies investigating cases of child abduction and sexual exploitation: Now, therefore, be it