Maxwell Frost: “Amber Hagerman was a little 9-year-old girl who loved to ride her bicycle. She was bright and pretty, and was out riding…”

“Amber Hagerman was a little 9-year-old girl who loved to ride her bicycle. She was bright and pretty, and was out riding that bicycle on January 13 in Arlington, TX, when someone came along and took her away. That person or persons molested her and killed her. We do not know who took her, but we do know that a little girl, just a child, was brutally murdered and her body left to be found. Mr. Chairman, this case occurred in my congressional district, but I am sure that events like this have happened, sadly, in every corner of our country, in our cities and in the heartland. Whoever took Amber did not know and did not care that she was an honor student who made all A's and B's. They did not care that she was a Brownie, who had lots of friends, and who loved her little brother dearly. They did not care that her whole life was ahead of her, and that her parents wanted to watch her grow into the lovely young woman she promised to be. Mr. Chairman, this amendment that I am offering is named for Amber. This amendment would increase the number of child sex abuse cases that can be brought in Federal court. It imposes a two-strikes-and-you-are-out penalty by requiring that any sex offenders whose cases are in Federal court will be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole upon their second conviction. I had hoped through the introduction of a broader bill to extend these provisions to the states, but, for now, I believe this is a good first step.”