Remarks by the President in Signing of H.R. 4472, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
South Lawn 1:11 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Please be seated. Welcome and
good afternoon. In a few moments I will sign the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Twenty-five years ago today, Adam
Walsh was abducted from a department store and he was later found
murdered. In the years since, his parents, John and Rev Walsh, have
become advocates for missing children. They've helped combat child
abduction and exploitation across this country. And the bill I sign
today will strengthen federal laws to protect our children from sexual
and other violent crimes, will help prevent child pornography, and will
make the Internet safer for our sons and daughters. I want to thank you
all for joining us today, and thank you for your tireless crusade.
(Applause.)
I'm pleased to be up here with the Attorney General, Al Gonzales. I
want to thank all the members of the House and the Senate who have
joined us. John, as you can see, you've attracted quite a crowd here.
MR. WALSH: S.W.A.T. team for kids.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it is, S.W.A.T. team for kids.
I appreciate very much the bill sponsors who have joined us, and the
committee chairmen and the leadership that has made this bill possible.
This is a good piece of bipartisan legislation, and I'm really going to
be proud to sign it.
I want to thank all the family members of victims who have joined us
today. I particularly want to say hello to Elizabeth Smart and Amie
Zyla. Thank you all for coming.
You know, having someone harm your child is one of the worst nightmares
a parent could face. And the families who have joined us today have
felt that pain firsthand. In your suffering and loss, many of you have
found the courage to become advocates for the safety of other children.
Because of your efforts, this important measure is going to become the
law of the land, and the children of parents you may never meet will be
spared the anguish your families have known. So thank you for your
contribution.
Protecting our children is our solemn responsibility. It's what we must
do. When a child's life or innocence is taken it is a terrible loss --
it's an act of unforgivable cruelty. Our society has a duty to protect
our children from exploitation and danger. By enacting this law we're
sending a clear message across the country: those who prey on our
children will be caught, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent
of the law.
I appreciate working with Congress in the past to give law enforcement
the tools they need to go after criminals who kidnap and exploit
children. In 2003, I signed the PROTECT Act, that expanded the use of
Amber Alerts, that makes grants to all 50 states so law enforcement can
quickly alert the public about missing children and their abductors. We
also launched Operation Predator to help law enforcement track down and
arrest foreign pedophiles and human traffickers and sex tourists and
Internet pornographers who prey on our children.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice, led by Al Gonzales,
launched Project Safe Childhood to help federal, state and local
enforcement officials investigate and prosecute crimes against children
that are facilitated by the Internet and other electronic
communications.
This new law I sign today builds on the progress in four important
ways: First, the bill I sign today will greatly expand the National Sex
Offender Registry by integrating the information in state sex offender
registry systems and ensuring that law enforcement has access to the
same information across the United States. It seems to make sense,
doesn't it? See, these improvements will help prevent sex offenders
from evading detection by moving from one state to the next. Data drawn
from this comprehensive registry will also be made available to the
public so parents have the information they need to protect their
children from sex offenders that might be in their neighborhoods.
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Second, the bill I sign today will increase federal penalties for
crimes against children. This bill imposes tough mandatory minimum
penalties for the most serious crimes against our children. It
increases penalties for crimes such as sex trafficking of children and
child prostitution; provides grants to states to help them
institutionalize sex offenders who've shown they cannot change their
behavior and are about to be released from prison.
Third, the bill I sign today will make it harder for sex predators to
reach our children on the Internet. Some sex predators use this
technology to make contact with potential victims, so the bill
authorizes additional new regional Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Forces. These task forces provides funding and training to help
state and local law enforcement combat crimes involving the sexual
exploitation of minors on the Internet.
Fourth, the bill I sign today will help prevent child abuse by creating
a National Child Abuse Registry, and requiring investigators to do
background checks on adoptive and foster parents before they approve to
take custody of a child. By giving child protective service
professionals in all 50 states access to this critical information, we
will improve their ability to investigate child abuse cases and help
ensure that the vulnerable children are not put into situations of
abuse or neglect.
This is a comprehensive piece of legislation, and it's an important
bill. Our nation grieves with every family that's suffered the
unbearable pain of a child who's been abducted or abused. This law
makes an important step forward in this country's efforts to protect
those who cannot protect themselves.
I thank you for coming for witness to this. It's now my high honor to
sign the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.
(Applause.)
(The bill is signed.)
(Applause.)
END 1:19 P.M. EDT
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