Sam Gibbons: “I want to add my strong voice today in support of H.R. 4472, the Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of…”

“I want to add my strong voice today in support of H.R. 4472, the Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005. I also want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for his solid effort in making sure that this House is once again on record in working to protect our children and our families. I am pleased that an amendment that I offered to the original legislation last year, which was adopted with a unanimous vote, is included once again in today's final bill. My amendment requires the GAO to study the feasibility of implementing on a nationwide basis a tough annual driver's license registration requirement that my home State of Nevada has imposed on sex offenders. Just last month, it was reported that there are almost 2,000 convicted sex offenders living in Nevada that are out of compliance with these registration requirements. Something must be done to fix this problem. It is nationwide. This bill takes a huge step forward in protecting the most vulnerable among us, our children. {time} 1145 I strongly urge my colleagues to support this critical bill and send a message to all that preying on our children will not be tolerated anytime, anywhere.”