IIB 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2517 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
DECEMBER 5, 2007 
Received 
JANUARY 22 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2008 
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
AN ACT 
To amend the Missing Children’s Assistance Act to authorize 
appropriations; and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
05:34 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2517.RFS
H2517
smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
HR 2517 RFS 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Our Chil-
dren Comes First Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Section 402 of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5771) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 402. FINDINGS. 
‘‘The Congress finds that— 
‘‘(1) each year thousands of children are ab-
ducted or removed from the control of a parent hav-
ing legal custody without such parent’s consent, 
under circumstances which immediately place the 
child in grave danger; 
‘‘(2) many missing children are at great risk of 
both physical harm and sexual exploitation; 
‘‘(3) in many cases, parents and local law en-
forcement officials have neither the resources nor 
the expertise to mount expanded search efforts; 
‘‘(4) abducted children are frequently moved 
from one locality to another, requiring the coopera-
tion and coordination of local, State, and Federal 
law enforcement efforts; 
‘‘(5) growing numbers of children are the vic-
tims of child sexual exploitation, increasingly involv-
ing the use of new technology to access the Internet; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:51 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2517.RFS
H2517
smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
HR 2517 RFS 
‘‘(6) children may be separated from their par-
ents or legal guardians as a result of national disas-
ters such as hurricanes and floods; 
‘‘(7) sex offenders pose a threat to children; 
‘‘(8) the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin-
quency Prevention administers programs under this 
Act through the Child Protection Division, including 
programs which prevent or address offenses com-
mitted against vulnerable children and which sup-
port missing children’s organizations; and 
‘‘(9) a key component of such programs is the 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 
which— 
‘‘(A) serves as a national resource center 
and clearinghouse; 
‘‘(B) works in partnership with the De-
partment of Justice, the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation, the United States Marshals Service, 
the Department of the Treasury, the Depart-
ment of State, the Bureau of Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, the United States Secret 
Service, the United States Postal Inspection 
Service, and many other agencies in the effort 
to find missing children and prevent child vic-
timization; and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:51 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2517.RFS
H2517
smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
HR 2517 RFS 
‘‘(C) operates a national network, linking 
the Center online with each of the missing chil-
dren clearinghouses operated by the 50 States, 
the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as 
well as with international organizations, includ-
ing Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, the 
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, INTERPOL 
headquarters in Lyon, France, and others, 
which enable the Center to transmit images and 
information regarding missing and exploited 
children to law enforcement across the United 
States and around the world instantly.’’. 
SEC. 3. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR. 
Section 404(b) of the Missing Children’s Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)) is amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 
annually make a grant to the Center, which shall be 
used to— 
‘‘(A)(i) operate a national 24-hour toll-free 
telephone line by which individuals may report 
information regarding the location of any miss-
ing child, and request information pertaining to 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:51 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2517.RFS
H2517
smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS