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| May 21st, 2008 |
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Media Contact(s): Mark Eddington or Lindsey Stimpson, (202) 224-5251 |
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HATCH URGES CONGRESS TO SUPPORT FISA AND LAWS THAT FIGHT CHILD EXPLOITATION
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WASHINGTON – Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today urged his Senate colleagues to continue “to be as relentless in protecting children as are those who would exploit them.” He further pressed Congress to pass the Senate version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) modernization bill.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Hatch highlighted the Supreme Court’s decision this week to uphold the constitutionality of the PROTECT Act, the bill he co-sponsored that prohibits distributing or soliciting child pornography. He also applauded his Senate colleagues for passing the Protect Our Children First Act, which reauthorizes funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Hatch also promoted two other pieces of legislation which ensure funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and A Child Is Missing programs. A Child Is Missing can send over 1,000 phone calls in just 60 seconds, alerting local residents of child disappearances.
“Congress has many opportunities to advance the worthy cause of reducing child exploitation,” Hatch said. “I call on my colleagues to continue this noble cause and pledge my continued support to advance appropriate legislative endeavors.”
Hatch also called on the House to pass the Senate’s version of the FISA modernization legislation.
“We have to make sure that we don’t create unnecessary obstacles for our intelligence analysts to track terrorists,” Hatch said. “As has been said, they can’t connect the dots if they can’t collect the dots… I will not support any compromise that disregards the extensive work of the Senate in order to facilitate a quick political fix.”
The full text of Hatch’s remarks follows:
Mr. President, the exploitation of children is a plague, it is a war with many fronts and we must be engaged on them all. I want to review some of the ways that we are fighting this good fight and encourage my colleagues to be as relentless in protecting children as are those who would exploit them.
Just two days ago, the Supreme Court upheld our most recent attempt to combat the spread of child pornography. In a 7-2 decision, an overwhelming vote, the Court held that the PROTECT Act is consistent with the First Amendment. I introduced the PROTECT Act in January 2003, it passed this body unanimously in February, passed the House without objection in March, and was signed into law in April. The PROTECT Act prohibits the pandering or solicitation of child pornography.
Child pornography is perhaps the most egregious form of exploitation. It not only victimizes and brutalizes children directly, but makes a permanent record of that abuse that may never be erased. Child pornography is not protected by the First Amendment, which means its possession and sale can be banned. In 2002, the Supreme Court struck down the Child Pornography Prevention Act, a bill I introduced in the 104th Congress. So we went back to the drawing board. If the objective is important, and I do not believe any objective is more important that protecting children from exploitation, then we must not take no for an answer, we must not let speed bumps, roadblocks, or potholes stop us.
The PROTECT Act was the result. We studied the Supreme Court’s decision and used its guidance to craft a bill that would prohibit the offer to distribute or the request to receive child pornography. When it upheld the PROTECT Act this week, the Court said that the speech this law targets is what literally introduces this destructive material into the distribution network. Now the PROTECT Act can be deployed in our ongoing, never-ending fight to protect children from exploitation.
I want to thank my colleagues for not giving up, for not throwing up your hands when the Supreme Court initially said no. I want to thank you for rolling up your sleeves, for joining with me to find some way to protect children. Let me quote from the closing paragraph of Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion this week in United States v. Williams:
“Child pornography harms and debases the most defenseless of our citizens….This Court held unconstitutional Congress’s previous attempt to meet this new threat, and Congress responded with a carefully crafted attempt to eliminate the First Amendment problems we identified. As far as the provision at issue in this case is concerned, that effort was successful.”
While the 108th Congress passed the PROTECT Act, the 109th Congress passed the Adam Walsh Act. The Adam Walsh Act was a comprehensive child protection bill hailed by agencies and organizations throughout this country for its importance.
This legislation enhanced the web technology available for tracking convicted sex offenders, and replaced outdated, inaccurate web sites with meaningful tools to protect children. Today there are more than a half-million registered sex offenders in the United States. Unfortunately, many of them receive limited sentences and roam invisibly through our communities. With too many, we don’t know where they are until it is too late.
Under this law, offenders are now required to report regularly to the authorities in person, and let them know when they move or change jobs. And if they don’t want to follow the rules, they will go to jail, because failure to provide truthful information is now a felony.
In addition, the law created a searchable national website that interacts with state sites. Citizens in every state are able to inform themselves about predators in their communities with accurate information. Unfortunately, many of the enforcement provisions in the Adam Walsh Act have not been funded. I am fully aware of the competing demands for funding, but have no doubt that Americans throughout this country would approve of federal tax dollars being utilized to ensure that criminals who blatantly trade child pornography are made to pay a high price for these crimes. I urge my colleagues to show their dedication and resolve and fully fund the Adam Walsh Act.
In another important development, last night the Senate passed the Protect Our Children First Act. I joined Senator Leahy in introducing this legislation last July, and it is now on its way to the President to be signed into law. This legislation reauthorizes funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The collective expertise of the Center has been invaluable in efforts to address child exploitation, and this bill will ensure that their vital work will continue.
With all of the tremendous advantages brought about by the internet, it has also provided a means of communication which criminals use to advance their crimes. We are all aware that pedophiles are utilizing the internet to facilitate the distribution of illegal child pornography.
Everyone agrees that this type of crime is the most heinous imaginable, but many think that the people who trade these horrendous videos and pictures must set up elaborate technology to facilitate their illegal activities.
Unfortunately, this is not true. Many individuals throughout this country utilize peer to peer software to share illegal child porn with as much ease as sharing music MP3s. Many criminals don’t even bother trying to hide what they are doing. They utilize graphic words and acronyms to describe the horrible pictures and videos which they willingly share with one another. They seem to have no fear of being caught by law enforcement.
To illustrate this point, I want to highlight a graphical representation of the locations where law enforcement determined child pornography videos were hosted on computers and shared via peer to peer software. It is as disturbing as it is eye opening. These maps demonstrate the locations for just a one day period, from six days ago. Let me repeat that this represents just one day, and is not meant to be all inclusive. This type of activity has created a market for new child pornography. In order to move into the higher echelons of this criminal activity, individuals need to offer new material; new graphic pictures and videos.
Many of these criminals find that the easiest way to get new material is to make it themselves, thus a vicious cycle is created. These monsters, in some sick sadistic goal of obtaining stature, videotape their crimes against children in order to facilitate their twisted version of “moving up the ladder.”
Congress has done a great deal to address this issue. We have passed numerous statutes in order to ensure that those who harm children face the most serious penalties possible. While many local law enforcement agencies are doing a fantastic job addressing these crimes, they are often limited by a lack of manpower and equipment.
One program that has had great success is the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, which has utilized state and local law enforcement agencies to develop an effective response to child pornography cases. These ICACs provide forensic and investigative activities, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation which I cosponsored with Senator Biden which would take significant steps in highlighting the federal government’s strategy to address child exploitation, and ensuring that each state has an ICAC.
The bill also calls for an annual report from the Attorney General which will represent the national strategy for child exploitation prevention and interdiction. I believe that this report will be invaluable for the effective coordination of government efforts to address this problem.
I have no doubt that this legislation will be instrumental in combating child exploitation, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill. I also want to mention another extremely valuable organization that is playing a vital role in locating missing children. A Child is Missing is a non profit organization assisting the police in the first hours after a child’s disappearance. For over 10 years, this organization has provided local law enforcement with technology otherwise unavailable to them.
Here’s how the program works. When a child is missing, local law enforcement contacts the organization with details of the disappearance, including the child’s description, clothes, and last known location. A Child is Missing records a message on behalf of the police agency, and this message is phoned out to the geographical area where the child was last seen. The organization has the ability to send over 1,000 calls in just 60 seconds. This message asks for residents to contact the police if they have any information.
The effect is instantaneous, in that this service opens the eyes of the entire neighborhood in the search for the missing child. We all know that these first few hours are critical in finding missing children, making this service critical.
This is the only program of its kind in the country, and law enforcement has credited it with over 300 safe assisted recoveries. This service is available to law enforcement throughout the country, and at no charge to the agencies. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
I’ve joined Senator Menendez in introducing legislation, S. 2667, to ensure that this organization will have the funds to continue to offer law enforcement throughout this country this invaluable service. I am hopeful that this bill receives prompt consideration.
In conclusion, Congress has many opportunities to advance the worthy cause of reducing child exploitation. I call on my colleagues to continue this noble cause, and pledge my continued support to advance appropriate legislative endeavors.
Mr. President, I want to briefly turn to FISA. This Congress has been working on FISA modernization for almost 400 days, with apparently no end in sight. Should it really take this long? The Constitution of the United States was written in about 115 days, and that included travel time on horseback for the founding fathers. Congress has had plenty of time to debate this issue.
We have to make sure that we don’t create unnecessary obstacles for our intelligence analysts to track terrorists. As has been said, they can’t connect the dots if they can’t collect the dots. While negotiations continue, it’s important to look at the two bills that have passed the chambers. Let me paint a picture, a Tale of Two Bills if you will.
One bill was available for the public to review for over 4 months, went through two committees, had two weeks of floor debate including votes on 13 amendments, and passed the chamber with a bipartisan veto proof majority. The other bill was available for review for two days before receiving a vote, went through no committees, had one hour of floor debate, allowed no amendments, and failed to receive bipartisan support while barely passing the chamber.
Any negotiator would say that the first bill in this instance would be the basis for negotiation, not the other way around. I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that the first bill I described is the Senate passed bill. Make no mistake, I will not support any compromise that disregards the extensive work of the Senate in order to facilitate a quick political fix.
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