Nick Lampson: “as the chairman and founder of the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, I am proud to be part of this…”

“as the chairman and founder of the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, I am proud to be part of this overall issue of child abduction. Missing and exploited children is an issue that I became critically aware of within a few months after coming to Congress when, in 1997, Laura Kate Smither was abducted from her neighborhood, and 2 rac{1}{2} weeks later her body was found in a drainage ditch. Following that, I came back here and met with my staff, and one of my staff had been a volunteer with an organization called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children during high school. I quickly went over to the center and met Ernie Allen and have become a good friend of Mr. Allen, who is the president and CEO of that wonderful organization. I think I have found more in that organization than what I ever dreamed of being able to find. It does some amazing work. They have helped raise the overall level of awareness, which is the goal of the congressional caucus since we have formed it in 1997, now with about 150 members. I am proud of the fact that there are bills, many different bills, plural, that are up on the floor and that are being discussed. Obviously, I too wish that we could take some of them separately. I think the AMBER Alert would instantly become law. We have had that debate; and now we are debating H.R. 1104, of which I am a cosponsor. And I do ask and urge the passage of H.R. 1104.”