Sam Gibbons: “our Nation has a solemn responsibility to protect the most innocent among us, our children. The Children's Safety Act of…”

“our Nation has a solemn responsibility to protect the most innocent among us, our children. The Children's Safety Act of 2005, introduced by our chairman, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), will help to ensure that sex offenders are registered properly and that they maintain their registration wherever they reside. I originally sought to offer an amendment to this important bill that would have required States to ensure that sex offenders are properly registered before they are issued a driver's license and in doing so mandate that their license would have to be renewed every single year. The State of Nevada passed a law earlier this year that does just that. The purpose of such a requirement is to add another layer of protection for the children and families of our communities. In short, if a sex offender refuses to keep their registration current, which is now a problem facing too many States, then he would be unable to obtain a legal driver's license. This means that the sex offender is at risk at any time of being caught driving without a license and arrested. I think that this threat can serve as a useful deterrent and encourage sex offenders to maintain their registration--in fact, improving the registration compliance rate of these offenders. In a State where over 30 percent of sex offenders are non-compliant and lost in the system, we took these very same steps in Nevada to ensure a greater compliance rate.…”