Title: AMBER Alert Nationwide Act of 2019
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
AMBER Alert Nationwide Act of 2019
This bill makes several modifications to the AMBER Alert grant program, including to make all U.S. territories eligible for grants.
Additionally, the bill reauthorizes through FY2023 AMBER Alert grants for notification and communication systems along highways.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4614 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4614

 To amend the PROTECT Act to expand the national AMBER Alert system to 
       territories of the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 4, 2019

 Mr. Sablan (for himself and Mrs. Radewagen) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the PROTECT Act to expand the national AMBER Alert system to 
       territories of the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``AMBER Alert Nationwide Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. COOPERATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

    Subtitle A of title III of the PROTECT Act (34 U.S.C. 20501 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 301--
                    (A) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting 
                        ``(including airports, maritime ports, border 
                        crossing areas and checkpoints, and ports of 
                        exit from the United States)'' after ``gaps in 
                        areas of interstate travel''; and
                            (ii) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by 
                        inserting ``, territories of the United States, 
                        and tribal governments'' after ``States''; and
                    (B) in subsection (d), by inserting ``, the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security,'' after ``Secretary of 
                Transportation''; and
            (2) in section 302--
                    (A) in subsection (b), in paragraphs (2), (3), and 
                (4) by inserting ``, territorial, tribal,'' after 
                ``State''; and
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, the 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security,'' after 
                        ``Secretary of Transportation''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, 
                        territorial, tribal,'' after ``State''.

SEC. 3. AMBER ALERTS ALONG MAJOR TRANSPORTATION ROUTES.

    (a) In General.--Section 303 of the PROTECT Act (34 U.S.C. 20503) 
is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``and major 
        transportation routes'' after ``along highways'';
            (2) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(referred to in this section as 
                the `Secretary')'' after ``Secretary of 
                Transportation''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``and at airports, maritime ports, 
                border crossing areas and checkpoints, and ports of 
                exit from the United States'' after ``along highways'';
            (3) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``other motorist 
                        information systems to notify motorists'' and 
                        inserting ``other information systems to notify 
                        motorists, aircraft passengers, ship 
                        passengers, and travelers''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``, aircraft passengers, 
                        ship passengers, and travelers'' after 
                        ``necessary to notify motorists''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``other motorist information systems to notify 
                        motorists'' and inserting ``other information 
                        systems to notify motorists, aircraft 
                        passengers, ship passengers, and travelers'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``, 
                        aircraft passengers, ship passengers, and 
                        travelers'' after ``support the notification of 
                        motorists'';
                            (iii) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ``, 
                        aircraft passengers, ship passengers, and 
                        travelers'' after ``motorists'', each place it 
                        appears;
                            (iv) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ``, 
                        aircraft passengers, ship passengers, and 
                        travelers'' after ``motorists''; and
                            (v) in subparagraph (G), by inserting ``, 
                        aircraft passengers, ship passengers, and 
                        travelers'' after ``motorists'';
            (4) in subsection (c), by striking ``other motorist 
        information systems to notify motorists'', each place it 
        appears, and inserting ``other information systems to notify 
        motorists, aircraft passengers, ship passengers, and 
        travelers'';
            (5) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
    ``(d) Federal Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Federal share of the cost of any activities funded by a grant 
        under this section may not exceed 80 percent.
            ``(2) Waiver.--If the Secretary determines that American 
        Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the 
        Virgin Islands of the United States is unable to comply with 
        the requirement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall waive 
        such requirement.'';
            (6) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) by striking ``In this section'' and inserting 
                ``In this subtitle''; and
                    (B) by striking ``or Puerto Rico'' and inserting 
                ``American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern 
                Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United 
                States, and any other territory of the United States''; 
                and
            (7) in subsection (h), by striking ``fiscal year 2004'' and 
        inserting ``each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in 
section 1(b) of the PROTECT Act (Public Law 108-21) is amended by 
striking the item relating to section 303 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 303. Grant program for notification and communications systems 
                            along highways and major transportation 
                            routes for recovery of abducted 
                            children.''.

SEC. 4. AMBER ALERT COMMUNICATION PLANS IN THE TERRITORIES.

    Section 304 of the PROTECT Act (34 U.S.C. 20504) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting ``a territorial 
        government or'' after ``with'';
            (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
    ``(c) Federal Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Federal share of the cost of any activities funded by a grant 
        under this section may not exceed 50 percent.
            ``(2) Waiver.--If the Attorney General determines that 
        American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 
        Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or an Indian 
        tribe is unable to comply with the requirement under paragraph 
        (1), the Attorney General shall waive such requirement.''; and
            (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ``, including 
        territories of the United States'' before the period at the 
        end.

SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall conduct a study 
assessing--
            (1) the implementation of the amendments made by this Act;
            (2) any challenges related to integrating the territories 
        of the United States into the AMBER Alert system;
            (3) the readiness, educational, technological, and training 
        needs of territorial law enforcement agencies in responding to 
        cases involving missing, abducted, or exploited children; and
            (4) any other related matters the Attorney General or the 
        Secretary of Transportation determines appropriate.
    (b) Report Required.--The Comptroller General shall submit a report 
on the findings of the study required under subsection (a) to--
            (1) the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
        Environment and Public Works of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
        Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (3) each of the delegates or resident commissioner to the 
        House of Representatives from American Samoa, Guam, the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands 
        of the United States.
    (c) Public Availability.--The Comptroller General shall make the 
report required under subsection (b) available on a public Government 
website.
    (d) Obtaining Official Data.--
            (1) In general.--The Comptroller General may secure 
        information necessary to conduct the study under subsection (a) 
        directly from any Federal agency and from any territorial 
        government receiving grant funding under the PROTECT Act. Upon 
        request of the Comptroller General, the head of a Federal 
        agency or territorial government shall furnish the requested 
        information to the Comptroller General.
            (2) Agency records.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), nothing 
        in this subsection shall require a Federal agency or any 
        territorial government to produce records subject to a common 
        law evidentiary privilege. Records and information shared with 
        the Comptroller General shall continue to be subject to 
        withholding under sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United 
        States Code. The Comptroller General is obligated to give the 
        information the same level of confidentiality and protection 
        required of the Federal agency or territorial government. The 
        Comptroller General may be requested to sign a nondisclosure or 
        other agreement as a condition of gaining access to sensitive 
        or proprietary data to which the Comptroller General is 
        entitled.
            (3) Privacy of personal information.--The Comptroller 
        General, and any Federal agency and any territorial government 
        that provides information to the Comptroller General, shall 
        take such actions as are necessary to ensure the protection of 
        the personal information of a minor.
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