Katie Porter: “I thank Mr. Sensenbrenner, the majority leader, Mr. Boehner, Mr. McKeon, and my good friend, Mr. Kirk, who has helped me…”

“I thank Mr. Sensenbrenner, the majority leader, Mr. Boehner, Mr. McKeon, and my good friend, Mr. Kirk, who has helped me organize this agenda for the country, and the 50 some cosponsors. Mr. Speaker, we have an epidemic in the United States. We have an epidemic of sexual predators following our children, whether it be on the computers, whether it be in our public parks, whether it be in the workplace, or even our schools. I would suggest that all Members of Congress take a look at maps that local law enforcement have of the sexual predators that hang around our schools, that move into our school areas, if not adjacent across the streets from our schools. We need tools. We need additional tools to help our teachers and professionals, our administrators in our schools to streamline the process to get as much information as possible. As Chairman Sensenbrenner mentioned the Michigan example, it is unacceptable that a teacher could change his name legally and still teach, having been in prison for having molested an 8-year-old child. Currently, only 26 States are in the compact approved by Congress in 1999 giving States the tools to do background checks through the FBI. That means there are 27 million students in 24 States that do not have this same tool available to them to make sure their environment is safe. Mr. Speaker, this bill is common sense. It streamlines the process for all 50 States.…”