I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3940
To provide funds for postage for mailing of information on active stranger
abduction investigations.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 2, 1994
Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself and Mr. DICKEY) introduced the following bill;
which was referred jointly to the Committees on Post Office and Civil
Service, the Judiciary, and House Administration
A BILL
To provide funds for postage for mailing of information
on active stranger abduction investigations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Polly Klaas Child Res-
cue Act of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) stranger abductions of children are a tragic
reality in the United States, and the story of Polly
Hannah Klaas is yet another frightening example of
the presence of child abduction in our society;
(2) the leads that have resulted in the success-
ful recovery of children have often been the result of
the distribution of pictures of and information about
abducted children or their abductors;
(3) sophisticated and comprehensive mailing
lists have been compiled by abduction experts, but
the ability to utilize the lists to distribute pertinent
information in a prompt manner is often imperiled
by an initial lack of funds for postage;
(4) the necessary costs to mail information
about abducted children nationwide are often too
great for families and their communities to provide
in a prompt manner; therefore, there is often a delay
in mailing out crucial information which could suc-
cessfully lead to the recovery of the child; and
(5) the Federal Bureau of Investigation does
not use its resources to post information in public
places, such as hospitals, community centers, etc.,
about children abducted by strangers.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR POST-
AGE FOR MAILING OF INFORMATION ON AC-
TIVE 
STRANGER 
ABDUCTION 
INVESTIGA-
TIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated for each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year
1995, for the purpose described in subsection (b), an
amount equal to two percent of the amount appropriated
for official mail costs of the House of Representatives for
fiscal year 1994, adjusted for any increase in first-class
postage rates.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose referred to in subsection
(a) is the payment of first-class postage for mailing of in-
formation on active investigations of children abducted by
strangers.
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds may be used by the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation to pay the Postal Service for
postage to be used by any local entity engaged in the
search for a child abducted by a stranger. In the event
that no local entity exists, the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation may use postage.
(d) RESTRICTION OF FUNDS.—Funds shall not be
used unless the Director of the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation determines, to the best of the Director’s ability,
that—
(1) a stranger abduction has occurred;
(2) the stranger abduction involved occurred
not more than one year before the date of the deter-
mination;
(3) the mailing will benefit the investigation;
(4) an accurate and appropriate mailing list is
available for the mailing; and
(5) funds are not immediately available and a
delay in the mailing would be harmful to the inves-
tigation.
(e) LIMITATION.—The amount that may be spent on
mailings is limited to $15,000 per abducted child.
SEC. 4. EMERGENCY FISCAL YEAR 1994 FUNDING.
Two percent of the amount appropriated for official
mail costs of the House of Representatives for fiscal year
1994 shall be made available for that fiscal year to the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the
purpose described in section 3(b).
SEC. 5. FUNDING LEVEL FOR LATER FISCAL YEARS.
If, for any fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 1995,
the amount appropriated pursuant to the authorization in
section 3 is less than the authorized amount, the dif-
ference may be paid from the amount appropriated for of-
ficial mail costs of the House of Representatives for the
fiscal year involved.