Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4305) to authorize the Attorney General to provide a grant to assist Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing individuals, as amended.

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 materials on H.R. 4305, as amended, currently under consideration.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 4305, a commonsense, bipartisan bill which would increase resources for local law enforcement to aid in the recovery of missing children and elderly adults. I would also like to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch), for his diligent work on this bill.

Every 40 seconds, a child goes missing. Throughout the United States, an average of 2,000 children under the age of 18 are reported missing every day, and as many as 800,000 each year are reported missing. Although many of our children are at risk, the risk for children living with autism is even greater. About one in four parents of children living with autism spectrum disorders have reported that their children have gone missing long enough to cause significant concern about their safety. In addition, health care reports show three out of five Americans living with Alzheimer's disease will sometimes wander from their locations and may be unable to find their way back home.

The need to locate missing children and seniors in some instances in the first hours of the disappearance is vital. Unfortunately, most law enforcement agencies lack the appropriate resources to knock on every door in the community in every unfortunate crisis.

Further, although the Amber Alert and Silver Alert are sometimes successful alert programs, there remains a crucial lapse of time between the point when a child or elderly adult is first reported missing and when one of these services can be utilized. This important legislation would help solve this problem by employing targeted telephone and cellular alerts within minutes of a missing person report to residents and businesses in the area where the person was last seen. In fact, as many as 1,000 calls can be made in merely 60 seconds, a vital asset in reaching the greatest number of neighbors in the early, critical moments of a search.

Targeted alert programs are typically available to law enforcement nationwide, and they're multilingual. The regional databases used for alerts can take years to build and contain an accumulation of public residential telephone numbers, as well as volunteered cellular phone numbers. These programs are able to utilize computer mapping and enhanced satellite imagery to select the targeted calling area.

To date, as many as 8,500 law enforcement agencies have received training with targeted alert programs. My legislation would support these programs which assist Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children and elderly persons while saving tax dollars. The automated alert systems are free for local law enforcement to use, saving thousands of dollars on a traditional search which could require as many as 10 officers on the ground at any one time.

A recent success story in my district highlights the value of a targeted telephone and cellular alert program. On February 1 of this year, a 9-year-old girl was reported missing from her home after she went to walk her dog and did not return. Sergeant Beavers of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department in Cincinnati contacted A Child is Missing and provided the girl's description to be distributed via a telephone alert. Nearly 1,700 alert calls were made asking that anyone with information contact the police. According to the case follow-up report after the alert was activated, several calls were received immediately, some containing valuable tips. The police used these tips to locate the girl safely approximately one-half mile away from her home in less than an hour after the activation of the alert.

When it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, it's important that we first equip our law enforcement at the local level. H.R. 4305 would facilitate the partnership of privately run programs with law enforcement and members of the community to safely recover missing individuals, whether they're minors or whether they be, in the case of Alzheimer's, for example, senior citizens.

I urge my colleagues to support this straightforward, bipartisan legislation.

Once again, I would like to thank Mr. Deutch for his leadership on this issue, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. We have no additional speakers at this time.

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

I would just like to conclude by saying that this is, I think, a very important program. Every parent I think is always afraid of that potential nightmare that one of their children goes missing. All of us that have senior grandparents, for example, know how prevalent Alzheimer's can be in the senior community. This is a program that can help those at a very early age and those later in their lives. I think it's a great program. I urge my colleagues to support it.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia.

I rise today to urge passage of H.R. 4305, the Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program Act of 2012.

This bill, which I had the pleasure of introducing with my friend, Mr. Chabot of Ohio, will help law enforcement agencies nationwide safely recover missing children and elderly adults.

As Mr. Chabot highlighted, every 40 seconds a child goes missing in America, with over 800,000 children reported each and every year. The panic that takes over when a child cannot be found is a feeling that every parent hopes and prays they will never have to experience.

We know that every second is precious. In fact, in tragic cases involving abducted and murdered children, research supported by the Department of Justice shows that 74 percent were slain within the first 3 hours. Likewise, the families of adults suffering from Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia feel that same anxiety when a loved one goes missing. They're not just in danger of injury, but of going too long without medications that they rely on. In fact, half of elderly adults who wander from their residences suffer serious injuries or death if not located within 24 hours.

Though the Amber Alert and Silver Alert programs are invaluable tools for law enforcement to alert communities of missing persons, too often they're not activated until precious time has passed. Whether young or old, we know that the ability to locate missing persons within the first few hours of their disappearance is vital.

By passing H.R. 4305, we can help law enforcement agencies nationwide employ technology pioneered by Sherry Friedlander, a south Florida woman who started an organization called A Child is Missing. A Child is Missing helps police and rescue teams get the word out fast. It is the only organization that assists in all types of missing cases, including abductions, runaways, or individuals that lose their way.

When a person is reported missing to law enforcement, A Child is Missing utilizes the latest satellite technology to place 1,000 emergency phone calls every 60 seconds to residents and businesses in the area where the person was last seen. In fact, just this year, A Child is Missing marked its 1,000th successfully assisted recovery. This proven technology works, and it saves lives. By passing this legislation, we can help law enforcement successfully recover missing persons nationwide.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Lamar Smith and Ranking Member John Conyers for advancing this bill through the Judiciary Committee. And, I'd like to offer my appreciation and thanks to my friend Congressman Steve Chabot for introducing the Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program Act.

This is a very innovative and timely program, utilizing telephone and cellular alerts to help in the rapid recovery of missing children, elderly individuals, and the disabled. The bill specifically includes within the definition of disabled those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. As we know cellular phones are ubiquitous and expanding the use of that technology in missing persons programs promises to greatly increase the programs' effectiveness.

As a co-chairman of congressional caucuses for both Alzheimer's disease and autism, I am familiar with the widespread occurrence and the dangers of wandering for these populations. Sixty percent of the millions of Alzheimer's sufferers wander at some point in their illness, many are habitual wanderers. Most of us are also well aware of the skyrocketing rates of autism, and again wandering is a serious concern.

But this bill will assist Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement in their efforts to help so many other individuals including victims of family abduction and victims of abduction for sexual exploitation. As the author of the first federal law to combat human trafficking, I am grateful that Mr. Chabot's legislation specifically provides for grants to combat human trafficking. Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry that touches every country in the world, including the United States. Victims, primarily women and children are stripped of their dignity, robbed of their human rights, and forced into bondage and sexual servitude.

This legislation increases the likelihood that the disabled wanderer will be found and reunited safely with his or her loved ones. It will help runaways to be reunited with their families or at least to be provided a safe environment. And it will make it much more difficult for family abductors and human traffickers to avoid detection and to rescue their victims.

I thank Mr. Chabot, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote for this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4305, the Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program. This important measure will assist law enforcement agencies to address the terrifying experience of when a child, elderly person, or other family member or friend goes missing.

The number of individuals that go missing each year is staggering. For example, a child goes missing almost every 40 seconds in the United States. That's about 800,000 children reported missing every year.

The adults suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia also become missing persons. These diseases cause many of their suffers to become disoriented and lost; and because of their condition, these individuals are often unable to assist first responders in finding their way back to their caregivers. It is currently estimated that about 5\1/2\ million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease. In about 2050, that number may go up to 16 million.

Locating a missing individual must be done quickly. Research has shown that time is of the essence with missing persons. The first hours of disappearance are the most vital. According to a study by the attorney general of Washington State and the U.S. Department of Justice, 74 percent of children abducted and murdered were killed within the first 3 hours. Half of the elderly adults who wander from their homes suffer serious injury or death if not found within 24 hours. Accordingly, alerts to law enforcement in those crucial first few hours after a person goes missing is obviously very critical.

H.R. 4305 facilitates targeting telephone and cellular alerts to residents and businesses in the area where the person was last seen. The residents and businesses are able to opt out if they choose to, but most of the people obviously want this information.

H.R. 4305 will help provide meaningful aid to law enforcement in recovering missing children, elderly people, and the disabled. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch).

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4305, the Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program, was introduced by my Judiciary Committee colleague, Mr. Chabot. I thank him for his work on this issue.

A child goes missing in this country every 40 seconds. Almost 800,000 children are reported missing each year and 500,000 go missing without ever being reported.

In many cases of missing children, the AMBER Alert system is activated to help law enforcement and community search efforts.

However, in order to issue an AMBER Alert for a missing child, law enforcement officials must have a description of the child, the suspect, the vehicle if there is one and how the abduction took place. Additionally, they must be able to confirm that the child has in fact been abducted and did not simply wander off on their own.

Without evidence of an abduction, law enforcement officers cannot issue an AMBER Alert. This is where programs like the Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program step in.

Experience shows that time is of the essence when searching for missing persons--particularly young children and the elderly.

H.R. 4305 would allow funding under the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program to go toward rapid recovery phone call and alert systems that can be deployed when children and elderly persons are missing.

Such programs complement the AMBER Alert program by quickly disseminating information about missing persons within targeted geographic areas even when the information available is minimal.

Having a child, elderly or disabled loved one go missing is any family's worst nightmare. H.R. 4305 provides a critical tool in the efforts to find missing persons.

I again thank the gentleman from Ohio for his work on this issue and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.