Emanuel Applauds Senate Passage of Child Safety Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Congressman Rahm Emanuel applauded Senate passage of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act that will improve the national program to register and monitor child predators.

            “Today there are nearly 550,000 registered sex offenders in the United States – that’s almost one offender for every 200 children under 18 years old.  As the numbers grow, it’s becoming almost impossible for law enforcement to track these offenders,” said Emanuel. “While many convicted predators move on to lead very normal lives, entirely too many commit another terrible act of sexual predation.  Electronic monitoring cannot replace a law enforcement officer monitoring convicted sex predators, but it will provide officials with the tools they need protect our children and offer the peace of mind parents deserve.”

            Last summer, Emanuel introduced the Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde Act (H.R. 3407), to establish a pilot program for the electronic monitoring of sexual predators and worked with Chairman James Sensenbrenner to include many of the same provisions in the final version of the Children’s Safety and Violent Crime Prevention Act.  Senator Bill Nelson, the Senate author of the Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde Act, worked to insure that the language remained part of the House/Senate compromise of the Child Safety Act. 

            Emanuel has been a fighter for victims rights for years. As an advisor to President Clinton in the White House, he was a key figure in enacting Megan’s Law, which authorizes law enforcement to release information into communities about known sex offenders who may pose a risk to public safety.