On the recordFebruary 1, 2016
I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, child predators thrive on secrecy, a secrecy that allows them to commit heinous crimes against the weakest and most vulnerable. Today the House has under consideration H.R. 515, the International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders, a law that will significantly thwart child sexual exploitation in the United States and abroad through a comprehensive and efficient system that warns law enforcement of traveling sex offenders. Mr. Speaker, I first introduced International Megan's Law back in 2008. It has passed the House three times--2010, 2014, 2015--and, thankfully, passed the United States Senate in December. International Megan's Law honors the memory of Megan Kanka, a precious little girl from my hometown of Hamilton who suffered and died at the hands of a sexual predator. Megan was just 7 years old when she was kidnapped, raped, and brutally murdered in 1994. Her assailant lived across the street. Unbeknownst to her family and other residents in the neighborhood, he was a convicted repeat sex offender. Due to the extraordinary work by Megan's courageous parents, Maureen and Richard Kanka, the New Jersey State Legislature passed and the Governor signed the original Megan's Law in 1994 and expanded it in 2001. It requires registration and public notification of convicted sex offenders living in the community.…
