On March 11, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security approved, by voice vote, legislation (H.R. 1104) aimed at preventing child abductions and providing stronger penalties for those who kidnap or exploit children. The bill is similar to a measure (H.R. 5422) approved by the House during the 107th Congress (see The Source, 10/11/02).
In addition to several anti-crime proposals, the Child Abduction Prevention Act, sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), would accelerate the development of a national AMBER alert communications network to track and rescue abducted children. The provision is almost identical to legislation (S. 151) that passed the Senate on January 21 (see The Source, 1/24/03).
Other provisions in the bill include:
|
Subcommittee Hearing
Prior to approving the bill, the subcommittee held a hearing to examine H.R. 1104 along with another bill, the Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act (H.R. 1161), designed to restore a ban on virtual child pornography and withstand constitutional challenges. The bill is similar to legislation that passed the Senate on February 24 (see The Source, 2/28/03).
Daniel Collins of the Department of Justice told the subcommittee that both legislative proposals would “greatly strengthen the government’s ability to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and punish the full range of serious violent crimes that are far too frequently committed against this nation’s children.”
Regarding H.R. 1104, he testified that increasing the penalties for child sex offenders accurately reflects the seriousness of the crime; however, in the case of kidnapping, his department recommends adopting “graduated sentencing guidelines based on the age of the victim.” Otherwise, his department strongly supports most of the provisions in the bill, including “enhancing law enforcement tools for identifying and apprehending offenders, punishing offenders who travel abroad to prey on children,” and increasing penalties for repeat offenders.
Mr. Collins also expressed strong support for H.R. 1161, saying that “it would strengthen our ability to fight child pornography.” He compared the measure to S. 151 that passed the Senate last month and contains a number of “additional provisions not found in the House bill.” He recommended incorporating some of those provisions in the House bill, including “a requirement that a defendant provide advance notice of his intention to assert an affirmative defense under the child pornography laws, and civil remedies for victims of child pornography.”
Ronald Sullivan of the American Council of Chief Defenders testified in opposition to H.R. 1104. “The bill proposes increases in sentences and supervised release periods for sex offenses that are often grossly disproportionate to the crimes involved and that irrationally treat sex offenders more harshly than other, more violent offenders,” he told the subcommittee.
He also expressed concern that some of the provisions in the bill, such as the proposed changes to the mandatory minimum sentences, take needed discretion away from judges unnecessarily. “Carefully designed laws as currently written already strike an appropriate balance between protecting the rights of the accused and ensuring the safety of the community,” he said.
John Feldmeier of the Free Speech Coalition testified in opposition to H.R. 1161, which is a rewrite of the1996 Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) (P.L. 104-208). Portions of the CPPA were declared in violation of the First Amendment in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition.
He told the subcommittee that the rewritten bill still warrants constitutional challenges. “The Free Speech Coalition does not mean to minimize the serious harms of child pornography,” he said. “However, in attempting to address the true evils of child pornography, we urge Members of Congress to be mindful of the fundamental rights of all individuals under the First Amendment and to resist attacking protected forms of expression in order to punish illegal forms of conduct,” he added.
