Statement Press Conference The Caucus on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children

STATEMENT PRESS CONFERENCE THE CAUCUS ON MISSING, EXPLOITED, AND RUNAWAY CHILDREN

First, I'd like to thank everyone for being here today, and I would especially like to thank my fellow caucus co-chairs, Senators Lincoln and Shelby, for their dedication to protecting children and their efforts to help launch this new caucus.

I would also like to commend the other founding caucus members -- Senators Dodd, Hutchison, Voinovich, Biden, Alexander, Pryor, Leahy, and Schumer -- and Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. My colleagues and Ernie have shown an unwavering dedication to the cause of missing and exploited children, and I am delighted to have their support in this caucus.

I would like to remind everyone who is here that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. And today, we are recognizing the National Day of Hope for Abused Children. I am pleased to be here on this National Day of Hope to formally announce the creation of a Senate Caucus on Missing Exploited, and Runaway Children.

The recent publicity over the kidnapping of children, like Elizabeth Smart, has renewed public awareness of and interest in the issue of missing and exploited children. These children were not the first victims of child abductions, and, sadly, they are not likely to be the last.

Much has been done over the years to address the problem of missing and exploited children. With the enactment of the Missing Children's Act and other measures -- and due to the tireless efforts of organizations, such as the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children, we have accomplished a lot. But our efforts to prevent crimes against children have not entirely kept pace with the increasing vulnerability of children. Much work still remains to be done on this issue.

According to a leading report by the U.S. Department of Justice, over 840,279 children were reported missing to police or a missing children's agency in 2001. This means that in 2001, an average of 2,000 children per day were reported missing to law enforcement. This same Justice Department study provides more details about how these children go missing. In 1999, there were 115 kidnappings of the kind we all read about in the newspaper -- that is, the unusual, high profile case involving kidnapping by a stranger. Tragically, 40 percent of the children who were victims of this category of kidnappings were killed.

Much more common is the non-family abduction, in which a child is kidnapped by an acquaintance, family friend, or near-stranger. According to Attorney General Ashcroft at the White House Conference on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children last October, there were 58,000 child victims of non-family abduction in 1999 -- 53% of them were abducted by people they know.

Tens of thousands more children are abducted by a family member. Tom Sylvester of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an example of a parent of a child abducted internationally. His now eight year-old, American-born daughter, Carina, was abducted by her Austrian mother. She took her from Michigan to Austria in 1995, when Carina was just 13 months old.

As founders of this caucus, we are committed to making sure that children who are abducted or who are "thrown away" are returned safely home as quickly as possible. To this end, the caucus will assist Senators in sponsoring legislation on this issue, holding briefings with child advocacy organizations, and conducting workshops in their states.

We will continue to work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to ensure that information is disseminated and that families experiencing the tragedy of a missing or exploited child have all the support and assistance that they need. We will also work with the "Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus" to promote greater collaboration between the House of Representatives and the Senate in this area. And finally, as members of this Senate caucus, we will do all that we can to prevent children from becoming missing, runaway, or "thrown away" children in the first place.

I would like to conclude by announcing that I will soon be introducing legislation to enhance federal efforts to fight crimes against children. This measure would eliminate the statute of limitations, under title 18 of the United States Code, for child abduction and sex crimes involving a minor. This legislation also would create a grant program to help the states strengthen their Amber Alert programs. And, it would ensure that those who are convicted of producing, distributing, or possessing child pornography are included in the sex offender registry.

This month, I also will join Senator Leahy in introducing another bill that would reauthorize funding for the important work of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These measures would help ensure that law enforcement officials have more tools and resources to respond quickly and effectively to reports of crimes against children.

Last, I would like to announce that my office is starting an effort, based on something that Senator Shelby is doing in his office, to put missing Ohio children's pictures on our office mailing envelopes. We have been working in collaboration with the Ohio Clearinghouse on Missing and Exploited Children to select the photos and biographical information for these envelopes. We are starting out with an age progression picture of Erica Baker from Kettering, Ohio, who has been missing since February 7, 1999. I am optimistic that this effort will help bring attention to her case and others, so these children can be found.