Floor Statements

Members, I rise in favor of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act. In my opinion, very honestly, I think this is the most important child safety legislation in modern times.

What makes this bill so powerful is that it gives law enforcement and, more importantly, families, vital tools for keeping our children safer. It expands the sex offender registry. It updates it. It makes it more usable in communities all across this country.

This legislation has the Amie Zyla Act, which I wrote with the help of Mark and Amie Zyla.

Ten years ago, Amie Zyla was then a young girl in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She was sexually assaulted by a 14-year-old boy. Her assailant was released after he turned 18, but because he committed that offense as a juvenile, law enforcement officials were not allowed to inform the community of his presence. He went on to get a job at a teen center, and he tragically victimized other children.

These crimes were absolutely preventable if only law enforcement had the authority and the tools to let people know they a serious sex offender in their midst.

Thanks to Amie's courage in telling America her story, we can now protect the public from dangerous criminals like her assailant because they will be included on the registry.

This great bill also contains the DNA fingerprinting provisions that I authored. These provisions will close a loophole that have let thousands of convicted sex offenders avoid submitting their DNA simply because they were convicted before we had the laws on the books requiring DNA to be taken upon their arrest and conviction.

I want to thank the chairman for his leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor. I want to thank Mark and Amie Zyla for telling their story. I want to thank my friend, Marc Klaas, for his dedication to improving our child safety laws. And of course, like so many today, I want to thank John Walsh for never giving up in the pursuit of justice.

John, I know that the pain is still there after 25 years. But I also know that you have lifted the lives of so many with your strong, clear voice. Thank you for helping us get to these days. Thank you for giving us the tools that we need to help keep family safer.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Monday, July 24, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes Nos. 394, 395 and 396. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall Nos. 394, 395 and 396.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Monday, July 17, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes Nos. 375, 376 and 377. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall Nos. 375 and 377. I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 376.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Tuesday, July 11, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes Nos. 360, 361, 362 and 363. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall Nos. 360, 361, 362 and 363.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Monday, July 10, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes 358 and 359. Had I been present, I would have voted -``yea'' on rollcall 358 and 359.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Monday, June 19, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes No. 289, No. 290 and No. 291. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 289, No. 290 and No. 291.

Rollcall No. 289--H.R. 5540--Sergeant Jacob Dan Dones Post Office Designation Act; rollcall No. 290--H.R. 5504--Larry Winn, Jr. Post Office Building Designation Act; and rollcall No. 291--H. Res. 826-- Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Youth Sports Week should be established.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Monday, June 12, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes Nos. 251, 252, 253, 254 and 255. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall Nos. 251, 252, 253, 254 and 255.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to submit this statement in commemoration of the official renaming of the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Appleton after an extraordinary man, John H. Bradley.

For many years, the Appleton Veterans Clinic has helped administer life-saving medical services to Wisconsin's retired servicemen and women. Now it will bear the name of a man who administered life-saving medical care to his comrades on the battlefield--Pharmacist Mate Second Class John ``Jack'' Bradley. Not only was Jack one of the six men who participated in raising the American flag at Iwo Jima, he also received our country's second highest award for heroism during combat, the Navy Cross, for his extraordinary efforts in aiding a wounded Marine under intense enemy fire. Jack suffered severe shrapnel wounds a few days after his heroic act, and returned home to Antigo, Wisconsin with his wife Betty after his recovery. He avoided any recognition of his participation in the flag raising, and never told his family he had been awarded the Navy Cross.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Betty Bradley and the entire Bradley family for their support throughout the naming process. It is an honor to take part in the dedication of the John H. Bradley Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic; a fitting tribute to such an extraordinary man. On behalf of Wisconsin's 8th district and the United States Congress, we thank Jack Bradley, and hope the veteran's clinic in his name stands as a lasting tribute to his dedicated service and cherished memory.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Monday, May 22, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes No. 177 and No. 178. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 177 and No. 178.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Tuesday, May 9, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes No. 128, No. 129 and No. 130. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 128, No. 129 and No. 130.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Tuesday, May 2, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall votes #111, #112 and #113. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall votes #111, #112 and #113.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from Washington on Tuesday, April 25, 2006. As a result, I was not recorded for rollcall vote Nos. 100 and 101. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall Nos. 100 and 101.

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall vote No. 57 on H.R. 4939, my vote was mistakenly recorded as ``nay'' when I should have said ``aye.'' I ask unanimous consent that my statement appear in the Record immediately following rollcall vote No. 57.

Mr. Chairman, we have an important opportunity before us today to protect the rights of all students who attend higher education institutions. H.R. 609, the ``College Access and Opportunity Act,'' includes ``Academic Bill of Rights'' language that would ensure the rights of all students to express their ideological, religious, and political beliefs without fear of retribution. I am pleased that this language has been included in the House's efforts to improve the accessibility of higher education.

No student attending college in America should have to worry that they are being graded on anything other than their knowledge of a subject. This portion of H.R. 609 would simply express the sense of Congress that higher learning institutions are places for diverse approaches and viewpoints, that campus funds should be used for the selection of a variety of speakers and presentations, and that every student should feel confident in their ability to speak freely in the classroom without fear of reprisal from their teachers, classmates, or administrators.

Unfortunately, I have seen first-hand how students' individual liberties can be compromised by their school's officials. Earlier this year, the administration of my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire, enforced a ban on resident assistants having private, non- mandatory Bible studies in their own room. This was a blatant disregard of student's religious freedom, and thankfully, the university reversed their position on the matter after extensive debate and pressure from myself and members of the community.

Simply put, this is not a conservative or liberal issue--it's just a common sense way for Congress to urge schools to take academic freedom seriously. I'm also pleased that this language would not impose any controls or limits on institutions, but would help to ensure students are afforded some protection in expressing a variety of viewpoints.

Once again, I applaud efforts by the House Education and Workforce community, along with members of the higher education community, to include Academic Bill of Rights language in H.R. 609. It can only serve to strengthen the academic standards of free speech and diversity that universities already work so hard to develop, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting academic freedom for all of our nation's higher education students.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and for his great leadership on child safety issues.

There is one provision I wish to speak about in this bill that the people of Wisconsin are tragically familiar with: the Amy Zyla Act. It was inspired by the story of Amy Zyla, a young woman from Waukesha, Wisconsin. Amy is a young lady who has bravely crusaded to protect other potential victims. She herself was sexually assaulted by a young offender when she was just 8 years old. Her attacker was found guilty and was sentenced to a juvenile facility for this heinous act. Yet because he was a juvenile, his record was sealed. When he turned 18, he was released into the community, only to reoffend shortly after he got out.

Law enforcement was not allowed to notify the community that a convicted, high-risk sex offender was back on the streets, because he had been a juvenile. As a result, he went on to portray himself as a youth minister and

preyed upon others. He was given the trust of other parents because they simply didn't know that he was a convicted sex offender.

These subsequent crimes were absolutely preventable. Under the Amy Zyla provision of this bill, if a sex crime committed by a juvenile offender is serious enough that it would qualify reporting under the sex offender registry had he been an adult, law enforcement has the authority to notify the community when that sex offender is released.

Madam Speaker, communities, victims, and parents must be able to rely upon the sex offender registries. This provision, and certainly this bill, will help us get there.