Amber Alert Nationwide Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SABLAN. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the AMBER Alert Nationwide Act, so that all families and first responders in our country have access to this critical tool to save children who are victims of abduction and exploitation.

Since its creation in 1996, the AMBER Alert system has saved the lives of nearly a thousand children through its network of instant alerts sent through radio, television and text messages. However, the system is not available nationwide. Funding Congress initially authorized under the PROTECT Act to expand the reach of AMBER Alerts was only available to states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This has left families and first responders in tribal communities as well as the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Guam to search for missing children without the help of this life-saving technology. Last year, Congress recognized the need to include Indian tribes in the system by passing the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act. The AMBER Alert Nationwide Act includes all U.S. territories so our first responders can access the federal resources their counterparts receive to make the necessary infrastructure upgrades to help keep our children safe.

The gentlelady from American Samoa, Mrs. Radewagen, is an original cosponsor of the bill. And the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has endorsed the legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to help reunite all our nation's missing children with their families no matter where they live.

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