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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1597 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1597

Recognizing the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on its 
                           40th anniversary.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 26, 2024

Mr. Biggs submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Recognizing the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on its 
                           40th anniversary.

Whereas 40 years ago John and Reve Walsh, along with other advocates for 
        children, founded the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 
        whose mission is to serve as the leading nonprofit organization in the 
        United States to help locate missing children and combat child sexual 
        exploitation;
Whereas John and Reve Walsh's son Adam was tragically murdered following an 
        unconscionable abduction, leading them to a lifetime of advocacy on 
        behalf of missing and exploited children;
Whereas, as a result of the tireless advocacy of the Walshes and countless 
        others, in 1984, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 
        was established to serve as the clearinghouse for information relating 
        to missing and exploited children in the United States and as a resource 
        for parents, children, and law enforcement;
Whereas, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Missing Children's 
        Assistance Act (34 U.S.C. 11291 et seq.), establishing a national 
        resource center and clearinghouse for missing children, a role that the 
        National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was designated to 
        fulfill;
Whereas the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in coordination 
        with Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement 
        agencies, provides a critical response to help in locating missing 
        children, responds to reports of child sexual exploitation, and 
        distributes posters of missing children to the public;
Whereas, over the last 40 years, the National Center for Missing & Exploited 
        Children has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of over 448,000 
        children and has received 200,000,000 reports relating to suspected 
        child sexual exploitation;
Whereas, since its founding, the National Center for Missing & Exploited 
        Children has received more than 5,600,000 calls to its 24-hour call 
        center;
Whereas, following an increase in reports relating to the online sexual 
        exploitation of children, the National Center for Missing & Exploited 
        Children established its CyberTipline, which provides an online 
        mechanism for members of the public and electronic service providers to 
        report incidents of suspected online sexual exploitation;
Whereas, since its inception in 1998, the CyberTipline has received 200,000,000 
        reports of child sexual exploitation, which the National Center for 
        Missing & Exploited Children reviews and makes available to 
        international, Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, 
        including the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, for 
        their review and handling;
Whereas, in 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children launched 
        its ``Take It Down'' tool, a groundbreaking program that helps victims 
        of online child sexual exploitation remove from the internet nude or 
        sexually explicit photos and videos taken of them while under the age of 
        18;
Whereas, with the passage of the Missing Children's Assistance Reauthorization 
        Act of 2023 (Public Law 118-65; 138 Stat. 1439), on June 17, 2024, the 
        National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was reauthorized to 
        perform 16 programs of work, including--

    (1) helping to locate and recover missing children;

    (2) responding to reports of child sexual exploitation and working to 
identify children depicted in sexually abusive imagery;

    (3) conducting analytical services, including on child sex trafficking 
cases;

    (4) offering community safety education for child-serving 
professionals; and

    (5) providing family crisis and mental health assistance; and

Whereas, for over 40 years, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 
        has been essential to combating the sexual exploitation of children in 
        the United States and has served as a critical resource to children, 
        parents, and law enforcement: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the National Center for Missing & Exploited 
        Children on the 40th anniversary of its founding;
            (2) commends the tremendous work that the National Center 
        for Missing & Exploited Children undertakes to assist and 
        protect children in the United States;
            (3) supports the continued mission of the National Center 
        for Missing & Exploited Children to help find missing children, 
        reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child 
        victimization; and
            (4) respectfully requests that the Clerk of the House 
        transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the National 
        Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
                                 <all>
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