Madeleine Bordallo: “Today I rise to introduce the AMBER Alert Nationwide Act. I thank my colleagues from the other U.S. territories for…”

“Today I rise to introduce the AMBER Alert Nationwide Act. I thank my colleagues from the other U.S. territories for their support as original cosponsors. In 2003, Congress passed the PROTECT Act, establishing the national AMBER Alert system to mobilize the American public in cases of missing, abducted, and exploited children. However, this 2003 law did not provide for all of the U.S. territories to implement the AMBER Alert system. Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are still not integrated into the national system. Our AMBER Alert Nationwide Act would fix this by integrating Guam and all U.S. territories into the next AMBER Alert system and providing needed Federal support for local law enforcement. This bipartisan bill would also optimize the system for the territories by authorizing Federal funding for AMBER Alerts in major transportation hubs such as airports, maritime ports, customs checkpoints, and other ports of exits. A truly nationwide AMBER Alert system must protect our missing, abducted, or exploited children in the U.S. territories. I urge our House colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this bill. ____________________”