I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2539
To provide enhanced Federal enforcement and assistance in preventing and 
prosecuting crimes of violence against children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 19, 2003
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees 
on Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To provide enhanced Federal enforcement and assistance in 
preventing and prosecuting crimes of violence against 
children.
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 ‘‘Violence Against Chil-
dren Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) People under the age of 18 make up ap-
proximately 12 percent of all crime victims known to 
police, including 71 percent of all sex crime victims 
and 38 percent of all kidnaping victims. 
(2) People from the ages of 12 through 17 are 
over 2 times more likely to be victims of violent 
crime than adults. 
(3) It has been estimated that only 28 percent 
of crimes against children are actually reported. 
(4) Some 1,200 children die as a result of 
abuse each year, and approximately 879,000 chil-
dren are victims of abuse. 
(5) Child abuse has long-lasting negative effects 
upon children and families, including delayed devel-
opment, depression, substance abuse, and increased 
likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating domestic 
violence as an adult. 
(6) Most local agencies lack adequate resources 
to protect and serve the needs of children and fami-
lies that are brought to their attention. 
(7) Failure to pay child support is in itself a 
form of neglect, as children who do not receive fi-
nancial support are more likely to live in poverty, 
and are therefore more likely to suffer from inad-
equate education, a lack of quality health care, and 
a lack of affordable housing. 
TITLE I—ENHANCED FEDERAL 
ROLE IN CRIMES AGAINST 
CHILDREN 
SEC. 101. ENHANCED PENALTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 110 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 2260A. Violence against children 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, whether or not acting 
under color of law, in any circumstance described in sub-
section (b), by force or threat of force willfully injures or 
attempts to injure any person under 18 years of age—
‘‘(1) shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 
years and fined in accordance with this title; and 
‘‘(2) shall be imprisoned for any term of years 
or for life, and fined in accordance with this title 
if—
‘‘(A) death results from the offense; or 
‘‘(B) the offense includes kidnaping or an 
attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or 
an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, 
or an attempt to kill.
‘‘(b) CIRCUMSTANCES.—For purposes of subsection 
(a), the circumstances described in this subsection are 
that—
‘‘(1) the conduct described in subsection (a) oc-
curs during the course of, or as the result of, the 
travel of the defendant or the victim—
‘‘(A) across a State line or national border; 
or 
‘‘(B) using a channel, facility, or instru-
mentality of interstate or foreign commerce; or 
‘‘(2) in connection with the conduct described in 
subsection (a), the defendant employs a firearm, ex-
plosive or incendiary device, or other weapon that 
has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce. 
‘‘(c) PENALTIES.—An offense under this section shall 
also be subject to the penalties provided in section 1111 
of this title (as amended by the PROTECT Act) if the 
offense is also an offense under that section.’’. 
(b) AMENDMENT
TO
CHAPTER
ANALYSIS.—The 
chapter analysis for chapter 110 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:
‘‘2260A. Violence against children.’’.
(c) ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR EXISTING CRIMES 
WHEN COMMITTED AGAINST CHILDREN.—Pursuant to 
its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United 
States Code, and in accordance with this Act and its pur-
poses, the United States Sentencing Commission shall re-
view and amend its guidelines and its policy statements 
to provide enhanced penalties when the victim of a Federal 
crime is under the age of 18. 
(d) GAO REVIEW OF STATE LAWS.—Not later than 
6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall—
(1) review the statutory penalties for crimes 
against children under State laws and the sentencing 
practices of the States with respect to those crimes, 
including whether a State provides enhanced pen-
alties when the victim of the crime is a child; and 
(2) report the findings of the review to Con-
gress. 
SEC. 102. ENHANCED ASSISTANCE FOR CRIMINAL INVES-
TIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS BY STATE 
AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a State, Indian 
tribal government, or unit of local government, the Attor-
ney General shall provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, 
or any other form of assistance in the criminal investiga-
tion or prosecution of any crime that—
(1) constitutes a crime of violence (as defined 
in section 16 of title 18, United States Code);
(2) constitutes a felony under the laws of the 
State or Indian tribe; and 
(3) is committed against a person under 18 
years of age. 
(b) PRIORITY.—If the Attorney General determines 
that there are insufficient resources to fulfill requests 
made pursuant to subsection (a), the Attorney General 
shall give priority to requests for assistance to—
(1) crimes committed by, or believed to be com-
mitted by, offenders who have committed crimes in 
more than 1 State; and 
(2) rural jurisdictions that have difficulty cov-
ering the extraordinary expenses relating to the in-
vestigation or prosecution of the crime. 
TITLE II—GRANT PROGRAMS 
SEC. 201. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW 
ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall award 
grants to assist States, Indian tribal governments, and 
units of local government to develop and strengthen effec-
tive law enforcement and prosecution of crimes against 
children. 
(b) PURPOSES.—Grants provided under this section 
shall provide personnel, training, technical assistance, 
data collection, and other equipment for the more wide-
spread apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication of per-
sons committing crimes against children, and specifically, 
for the purposes of—
(1) training law enforcement officers, prosecu-
tors, judges, and other court personnel to more ef-
fectively identify and respond to crimes against chil-
dren; 
(2) developing, training, or expanding units of 
law enforcement officers, prosecutors, or courts spe-
cifically targeting crimes against children; 
(3) developing and implementing more effective 
police and prosecution policies, protocols, orders, and 
services specifically devoted to preventing, identi-
fying, and responding to crimes against children; 
(4) developing, installing, or expanding data 
collection and communication systems, including 
computerized systems, linking police, prosecutors, 
and courts for the purpose of identifying and track-
ing arrests, prosecutions, and convictions for crimes 
against children; 
(5) encouraging, developing, and strengthening 
programs, procedures, and policies that enhance 
cross-collaboration and cross-communication between 
law enforcement and child services agencies regard-
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State, Indian tribal 
government, unit of local government, or nongovern-
mental organization that desires a grant under this 
section shall submit an application to the Attorney 
General at such time, in such manner, and accom-
panied by or containing such information as the At-
torney General shall reasonably require. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A State, Indian tribal 
government, unit of local government, or nongovern-
mental organization applying for a grant under this 
section shall—
(A) describe—
(i) the purposes for which the grant is 
needed; 
(ii) the intended use of the grant 
funds; and 
(iii) the expected results from the use 
of grant funds; 
(B) demonstrate that, in developing a plan 
to implement the grant—
(i) in the case of a State, Indian tribal 
government, or unit of local government, 
that the State, Indian tribal government, 
or unit of local government has consulted 
and coordinated with nonprofit, nongovern-
mental victim services programs that have 
experience in providing services to victims 
of crimes against children; and 
(ii) in the case of a nongovernmental 
organization, that the nongovernmental or-
ganization has experience in providing edu-
cation, prevention, or intervention services 
regarding crimes against children or has 
experience in providing services to victims 
of crimes against children; and 
(C) certify that—
(i) any Federal funds received under 
this section will be used to supplement, not 
supplant, non-Federal funds that would 
otherwise be available for activities funded 
under this section, provided that the Attor-
ney General may waive such requirement 
for nongovernmental organizations in ex-
traordinary circumstances; and 
(ii) the State, the Indian tribal gov-
ernment, the State in which the unit of 
local government is located, or the State in 
which the nongovernmental organization 
will operate the activities funded under this
section is located, is in compliance with 
section 303. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 
2008. 
TITLE III—NATIONWIDE 
PROGRAMS 
SEC. 301. NATIONWIDE AMBER ALERT. 
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, each State receiving grants pursuant to section 
201 shall have in place a statewide AMBER Alert commu-
nications network for child abduction cases. 
SEC. 302. IMPROVED STATISTICAL GATHERING. 
Each State receiving grants pursuant to section 201 
shall use, or shall be in the process of testing or developing 
protocols to use, the National Incident-Based Reporting 
System. 
SEC. 303. NATIONAL SAFE HAVEN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, each State receiving grants 
pursuant to section 202 shall have in effect a statute 
that—
(1) permits a parent to leave a newborn baby 
with a medically-trained employee of a hospital
emergency room anonymously without any criminal 
or other penalty; 
(2) includes a mechanism to encourage and per-
mit a hospital employee in the receiving hospital to 
collect information about the medical history of the 
family subject to the approval of the parent; 
(3) requires law enforcement entities in the 
State, immediately after relinquishment of a child 
under paragraph (1), to search State and Federal 
missing person databases to ensure that the child 
has not been reported missing; and 
(4) includes a plan for publicizing the State’s 
Safe Haven law. 
(b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1), 
a State statute in effect pursuant to this section may deny 
a parent the ability to leave a newborn baby anonymously 
without any criminal or other penalty if the newborn baby 
shows signs of abuse or appears to have been intentionally 
harmed. 
SEC. 304. IMPROVED CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) REPORT BY STATES.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, each State receiv-
ing an allotment for child welfare services under subpart 
1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 620 et seq.) shall submit to the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services a report detailing the State’s pro-
gram funded under that subpart, including the process for 
maintaining records and verifying the well-being of the 
children under the State’s care. 
(b) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the General Accounting Of-
fice shall report to Congress on State practices and poli-
cies under the child welfare program funded under subpart 
1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 620 et seq.). The report shall include the following: 
(1) How States are maintaining records and 
verifying the well-being of the children under their 
care, including how well States are keeping track of 
where those children are. 
(2) Whether and how the review system being 
undertaken by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services is helping States to reform their child wel-
fare system. 
(3) The best practices being implemented by 
the States. 
(4) Recommendations for legislative changes by 
Congress.