Thomas Foley: “Yesterday the world discovered that another child, 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, who was violently abducted from outside…”

“Yesterday the world discovered that another child, 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, who was violently abducted from outside her home while playing with a friend, was sexually assaulted, strangled and left naked on the side of the California road. The police in California said that this sick and deranged person may do this terrible act again to another child based on the way he left this poor child's body on the side of the road. They say this may be his calling card. Parents throughout the Nation are both shocked and frightened that this could happen to their child. Over 2,000 children are reported missing to law enforcement every single day. While Congress focuses on restructuring its homeland security, we must be made aware of the incredible efforts that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies provide in retrieving these children and finding their abductors. We must make sure that these agencies have the manpower and resources necessary to continue these efforts. To that end, as cochairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Caucus, I will work with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson), the Committee on the Judiciary and the administration to ensure the work on legislation to increase both criminal and civil penalties for abductors and provide the necessary funding for our law enforcement agencies.”