Nick Lampson: “It was about April of 1997 that I became involved with what became the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited…”

“It was about April of 1997 that I became involved with what became the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, and that happened after a 12-year-old constituent of mine was abducted and murdered within my district. To date, this bipartisan caucus is one of the largest in the House of Representatives, with about 145 Members. That is significant. The goals of the caucus are threefold: First, to build awareness around the issue of missing and exploited children for the purpose of finding children who are currently missing and to prevent future abductions; second, to create a voice within Congress on the issue of missing and exploited children and to introduce legislation that would strengthen law enforcement, community organizing and school-based efforts to address child abduction; third, to identify ways to work effectively in our districts to address child abduction. By developing cooperative efforts that involve police departments, educators and community groups, we can heighten the level of awareness of this issue and pool resources for the purpose of solving outstanding cases and preventing future abductions.”