Pete Stark: “I rise today to opposition to H.R. 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act. I am greatly troubled by this vote. I…”

“I rise today to opposition to H.R. 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act. I am greatly troubled by this vote. I support the AMBER Alert program as a vital means to prevent child abduction and track down those who prey upon our children. I am a cosponsor of the bipartisan Frost-Dunn AMBER Alert Network Act that would help all states implement this vital program. It would ensure that a strong nation-wide network exists to protect our children from these horrific crimes. Yet, Republicans have never allowed a clean vote on this legislation. They have decided once again to include this legislation within a larger criminal justice bill that includes new, draconian sentencing guidelines and abuses to our basic Constitutional rights. I cannot in good conscience support these provisions. They will ultimately doom this bill when it comes before the Senate, just like last year. Just as with the child abduction bill brought to the House floor last October, I object to allowing the government to abuse fundamental privacy rights as this bill does. The Republicans continue to push provisions giving the FBI unprecedented wiretap authority to engage in secret surveillance of our homes. This is unconstitutional and I will support it. Chairman Sensenbrenner and the Republican Leadership again insisted on including a '2 strikes and you're out' sentencing provision.”