Political Quotes

“as we debate H.R. 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act of 2003, it is important to talk about not only the AMBER Alert provision in the bill, but to also praise additional measures of the legislation that serve and protect our Nation's children. Certainly the AMBER Alert system has helped to find missing children throughout the nation and in my home state of Tennessee, but this bill has a wider scope by working to stop abductions before they occur. H.R. 1104 gives us the ability to provide stronger penalties against kidnappers, sex offenders and child abductors. It aids law enforcement by giving them the ability to prosecute the criminals responsible for these crimes. For example, it requires a minimum 20-year sentence for criminals that kidnap or abduct a child under the age of 18. Of great importance, it denies pretrial release for child kidnappers or child rapists and eliminates the statute of limitations for child kidnapping or sex crimes. Further, it gives a judge the discretion to rule that a released sex offender's supervision be extended up to a maximum of life. It also requires a mandatory life in prison sentence to twice convicted child sex offenders. These two provisions may give parents a small sense of relief that a sex offender will not move into their neighborhood and prey on their children. Each of these measures will work to enhance the good work being done at the local level by our child advocacy centers and organizations.”