A new child protection bill championed by area congressman Nick Lampson (D-Stafford) has passed Congress and is on its way to the White House for the President’s signature.

The Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2008 incorporates a number of key Lampson initiatives that are intended to aggressively combat child pornography on the Internet. Lampson said the bill provides more tools for police to go after those involved in kiddie porn.

"Criminals who prey on children are among the most despicable there are," Lampson said. "We must do everything in our power to ensure that law enforcement has all the resources it needs to bring these predators to justice. This bill provides more tools for law enforcement to track and capture predators before they endanger our children."

The bill will require Internet service providers to report information about the offending user to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, which in turn will forward to appropriate law enforcement. Information such as the internet protocol address, e-mail address and times a suspect logged onto the pertinent sites will be provided to officials. This data will expedite court cases that are brought against individuals who exploit children online.

"We can no longer stand aside while child predators attempt to harm our nation's most precious resource - our children." Lampson said. "This act will ensure that law enforcement officials have access to comprehensive, accurate data from the Internet service providers so that these criminals can be caught and brought to justice."

The new legislation would also institute more accountability for Internet service providers who host illegal and explicit material on their website. Lampson included language in the legislation that would impose a $150,000 fine for objectionable material for the first offense, and $300,000 for each additional image that remains on the Internet. This amount triples the current penalty for the first offense, making it less lucrative for ISPs to host child porn.

"Throughout my time in office, children's issues have been close to my heart. As the founder of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, I am proud that Congress is taking steps to increase penalties for child predators and holding internet service providers responsible for the content they host,” Lampson said.