Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the ranking member very much, and I thank him for his work. I think the work that we are doing in Judiciary…”

“I thank the ranking member very much, and I thank him for his work. I think the work that we are doing in Judiciary certainly has far- reaching impact. It is important to try to make more efficient the way that we address these very heinous acts against our children. As a strong advocate for children throughout my career, I agree that we in Congress must do everything within our power and authority to prevent child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Targeting Child Predators Act of 2017 is intended to assist investigators in their pursuit of online predators. I fully support efforts to locate and prosecute individuals who commit such heinous crimes. However, I believe we should discuss the proposal before us with more information from all who would be impacted prior to approving the changes to the law this bill proposes. This has a lot of moving parts and participants, particularly in relation to online internet and the variety of providers that are stakeholders in all of this. This bill would modify a powerful yet historically controversial investigatory tool: the administrative subpoena. Administrative subpoenas allow certain investigators investigating specified crimes to obtain private records without judicial approval. I can account for the fact, Mr. Speaker, that there are many instances where this may be a vital approach.…”