Chairman Miller Applauds House Passage of Legislation to Keep America’s Children and Communities Safe

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC --U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today commending the House for its overwhelming passage of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and fund federal missing and exploited children programs, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The Protecting Our Children Comes First Act, H.R. 2517, sponsored by Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX), was approved by a vote of 408-3.

“Each year, far too many families face the heartbreak of a missing child, or the terror of child exploitation. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides critical support and services to the families of these children as well as the law enforcement officers and federal agencies who work on these cases – helping to find more than 100,000 missing and exploited children, and identify child predators. In recent years, the program has been on the frontlines of federal efforts to protect children from internet exploitation and to reunite families in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“Nothing is more important than protecting our kids. This bill will ensure that the Center can continue its important work and serve as a vital information resource for the American people, and I applaud Rep. Lampson for crafting this bill. Today’s vote is a vote to keep our children, families and communities safe, and I hope the Senate will join us in swiftly passing this legislation.”

H.R. 2517 was authored with the help of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities. Among other things, the bill would double the authorized funding level for NCMEC – the greatest increase in the program’s history. The bill would also expand the Center’s activities to provide parents and communities with additional resource to keep children safe. The Senate is expected to consider companion legislation in the coming weeks.

NCMEC operates under the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Child Protection Division, works in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other federal agencies.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853