Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today Senators Klobuchar, Tillis, Schumer, Durbin and I will introduce legislation to help America's families locate missing loved ones who have Alzheimer's disease, autism or related conditions that may cause them to wander. Congressman Chris Smith will introduce a virtually identical companion bill in the House of Representatives today as well. Our bill, which was introduced for the first time in the 114th Congress, extends an existing program that helps locate individuals with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. It also adds new support for people with autism. We have named the legislation in honor of two boys with autism who perished because their condition caused them to wander. One of these children, nine-year-old Kevin Curtis Wills, slipped into Iowa's Raccoon River near a park and tragically drowned in 2008. The other, 14-year- old Avonte Oquendo, wandered away from his school and drowned in New York City's East River a few years ago. Theirs are not isolated cases. Just a few months ago, a four year-old with autism drowned in a pool after wandering away from her caretakers. We've all read or heard the heartbreaking stories of families frantically trying to locate a missing loved one whose condition caused him or her to wander off.…”