On October 7, the House easily approved, 390-24, sweeping legislation (H.R. 5422) designed to prevent child abductions and strengthen penalties against individuals who kidnap or exploit children. The bill, sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), was approved last week by the House Judiciary Committee (see The Source, 10/4/02).
The legislation incorporates four anti-crime measures that already have passed the House, including mandatory life sentences for second-time child sex offenders and increased penalties for offenders who cross state lines to sexually molest a minor. The bill also would provide $25 million to establish a national AMBER alert system to provide assistance to states and local communities in locating and rescuing abducted children. Additionally, H.R. 5422 would provide $20 million in grants in each of FY2003 and FY2004 for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and would mandate a 20-year sentence for abducting anyone under the age of 18.
Opponents charged that the legislation is bogged down with controversial provisions that could prevent passage of a much-needed nationwide AMBER communications network. “The bipartisan legislation to create a national AMBER Alert System quickly passed the Senate and it should have passed the House and been sent to the President,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX). “Instead, what we have is a bill that has AMBER Alert provisions and as well as a host of unrelated provisions that will undoubtedly make it difficult to pass this legislation in the Senate,” she added.
“Just because the other body has not taken up a bill that has overwhelmingly passed this body is no reason why we should turn our back on trying to get it through in another method,” responded Rep. Sensenbrenner. “I believe that all of the provisions in this bill are very meritorious,” he stated.
