On the recordDecember 5, 2022
The PROTECT Our Children Act, the bipartisan legislation that I introduced this week with Senator Cornyn, and Representatives Chabot, Kuster, and Reschenthaler reauthorizes the National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, the national network of coordinated law enforcement task forces investigating and prosecuting those who sexually exploit our most vulnerable constituents--our children. According to estimates, half of the arrests made by ICAC teams led us to the door of a hands-on offender, and thus, a child waiting to be rescued. We must make the protection of these children the focus of all of our efforts. Please think about these precious children being victimized. If you are a parent, God forbid, it was your own child. Let's give these ICAC teams the resources they need to rescue as many as possible. An impressive and deeply troubling investigation by The New York Times described the forces arrayed against these ICAC teams as an ``insatiable criminal underworld,'' and one in which tech companies are not always able or totally willing to confront. {time} 1600 But if we empower these ICACs with today's reauthorization, thousands more innocent children will be protected from these unspeakable crimes. We owe them that. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their indulgence.
