69–006 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 110–753 

A CHILD IS MISSING ALERT AND RECOVERY CENTER 

ACT 

JULY 10, 2008.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. CONYERS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 5464] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 5464) to direct the Attorney General to make an annual 

grant to the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center to assist 

law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children, 

and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do 

pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 2 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 4 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 5 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 7 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 5464, the ‘‘A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center 

Act,’’ authorizes $5 million for each of fiscal years 2009 through 


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1See Andrea J. Sedlak, David Finkelhor, Heather Hammer & Dana J. Schultz, National Estimates of Missing children: An Overview, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Dept. of Justice (Oct. 2002). 

2014 to the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center, a national non-profit organization, to operate and expand the program 

and technologies necessary to assist law enforcement agencies in 

the rapid recovery of missing individuals. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

More than 1.3 million children went missing in 1999.1 The successful recovery of missing children often requires a quick response. Sherry Friedlander, the founder of A Child is Missing Alert 

and Recovery Center (ACIM), saw the need for a rapid-response 

program to help quickly find persons who go missing, especially in 

situations that do not involve abductions. In response to this need, 

she established ACIM, a national non-profit organization that offers free assistance to law enforcement agencies, 365 days of the 

year, 24 hours per day. The program is not limited to children, but 

extends to elderly persons, perhaps suffering from senility or Alzheimer’s, to mentally challenged or disabled individuals, and to college students. 

When law enforcement receives a call regarding a missing person, the first responder can immediately call ACIM for help. The 

officer provides critical information to ACIM, such as the individual’s age and description, and information regarding when he or 

she was last seen and the location. ACIM uses that information to 

record a message that, within minutes, is sent via phone to thousands of locations within a radius of the last sighting of the person. 

Through its computer mapping system, ACIM also can identify ‘‘hot 

spots,’’ such as water or wooded areas. 

ACIM complements the Amber Alert program by providing different services. While Amber Alert focuses on children who are abducted, ACIM covers all ‘‘persons’’ who go missing, including situations where criminal intent may not be at issue. Amber Alert uses 

television and highway signs to broadcast information about the 

abducted child and the related vehicle, while ACIM uses a rapid response telephone alert system and covers cases where there is no 

vehicle involved. 

ACIM would use the authorized funding to operate and expand 

the existing ACIM office in Florida, to develop Regional Centers for 

on-site training and communication with local law enforcement, to 

maintain and expand their computer and phone technologies, and 

to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 

the AMBER Alert Coordinator, and appropriate law enforcement 

agencies with training. 

HEARINGS

The Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, 

and Homeland Security held 1 day of hearings on H.R. 5464, on 

April 17, 2008. Testimony was received from Representative Ron 

Klein (D–FL); Sherry Friedlander, founder and CEO, A Child is 

Missing Alert and Recovery Center; and Vernon Keenan, Director, 

Georgia Bureau of Investigation. 


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COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On May 13, 2008, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and 

Homeland Security met in open session and ordered the bill H.R. 

5464 favorably reported, without amendment, by voice vote, a 

quorum being present. On May 14, 2008, the Committee met in 

open session and ordered the bill H.R. 5464 favorably reported, 

without amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

5464. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 5464, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, May 16, 2008. 

Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Chairman, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5464, the ‘‘A Child Is 

Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act.’’

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz, who 

can be reached at 226–2860. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG, DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure. 

cc: Honorable Lamar S. Smith, 

Ranking Member. 


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H.R. 5464—A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act 

SUMMARY

H.R. 5464 would authorize the appropriation of $5 million for 

each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2014 for the Department of 

Justice to make grants to a nonprofit agency (A Child Is Missing 

Alert and Recovery Center) to assist law enforcement agencies in 

locating missing persons. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 

5464 would cost about $15 million over the 2009–2013 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. Enacting the bill 

would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

H.R. 5464 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal governments. 

ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 5464 is shown in the following table. For this estimate, CBO assumes that the amounts authorized by H.R. 5464 will be appropriated by the beginning of each 

fiscal year and that outlays will follow the historical spending rates 

for those activities. The cost of this legislation falls within budget 

function 750 (administration of justice). 

By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars 

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Authorization Level 5 5 5 5 5 

Estimated Outlays 1 2 3 4 5 

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

H.R. 5464 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on State, 

local, or tribal governments. 

ESTIMATE PREPARED BY: 

Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz (226–2860) 

Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell 

(225–3220) 

Impact on the Private Sector: MarDestinee C. Perez (226–2940) 

ESTIMATE APPROVED BY: 

Peter H. Fontaine, 

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 5464 will authorize an annual grant to the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center to assist law enforcement in the rapid recovery of missing persons. 


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CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for this legislation in article I, section 8 of the Constitution. 

ADVISORY ON EARMARKS

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 5464 does not contain any limited tax benefits or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e) or 9(f). The 

Committee is treating the bill, which authorizes a grant in a specific amount to a specific entity, as an earmark, as defined in 

clause 9(d), and is treating the sponsor of the bill, Ron Klein, as 

the requester, the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center 

in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as the recipient, and the authorization, $5 

million per year for each of fiscal years 2009–2014, as the requested amount. 


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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Sec. 1. Short Title. Section 1 sets forth the short title of the bill 

as the ‘‘A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act.’’

Sec. 2. Directing the Attorney General to Make Annual Grants to 

a Child is Missing Alert and Recovery Center to Assist Law Enforcement Agencies in Recovering Missing Children. Section 2 directs the 

Attorney General through the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to annually make a grant 

to ACIM. The funds must be used to: 

(1) operate and expand the ACIM center to provide services to 

Federal, State and local law enforcement by using rapid 

alert telephone calls, text messaging, and satellite mapping 

technology; 

(2) maintain and expand technologies and techniques; 

(3) establish and maintain regional centers to train and distribute information to law enforcement; 

(4) share information with the National Center for Missing 

and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the AMBER Alert Coordinator, and law enforcement agencies; and 

(5) assist NCMEC, AMBER, and law enforcement agencies 

with education programs. 

Section 3. Definition of Missing Child. Section 3 provides that for 

purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘missing child’’ means an individual 

whose whereabouts are unknown to a Federal, State, or local law 

enforcement agency. 

Sec. 4. Authorization of Appropriations. Section 4 authorizes $5 

million to be appropriated to the Attorney General for grants under 

section 2 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014. 

Æ 


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