Violence Against Children Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1123
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2003-05-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Aid to dependent children
Arrest
Cash welfare block grants
Child abuse
Child health
Child safety
Child sexual abuse
Child support
Child welfare
Collection of accounts
Computer networks
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Continuing education
Counseling
Court records
Crime prevention
Criminal investigation
Criminal justice information
Criminal statistics
Data banks
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Electronic government information
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Families
Family services
Federal aid to Indians
Federal aid to law enforcement
Federal-Indian relations
Federal-local relations
Federal-state relations
Fines (Penalties)
Forensic medicine
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Health
Higher education
Hospitals
Housing and Community Development
Income tax
Indian children
Indian law enforcement
Infants
Information networks
Informers
Judges
Judicial officers
Kidnapping
Labor and Employment
Law
Legal education
Legislation
Medical records
Mental health services
Minorities
Missing children
Murder
Nonprofit organizations
Parent and child
Police communication systems
Police training
Prosecution
Psychiatrists
Psychologists
Radio broadcasting
Rural crime
Science, Technology, Communications
Sentences (Criminal procedure)
Sentencing guidelines
Signs and signboards
Social Welfare
State laws
Tax deductions
Taxation
Traffic signs and signals
Transportation and Public Works
Victims of crimes

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-22
text: Violence Against Children Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe penalties to be imposed for injuring or attempting to injure a person under 18 years of age (including life imprisonment if death results or if the offense includes kidnaping, aggravated sexual abuse, or attempting to kill) under circumstances in which: (1) the conduct occurs during the course of, or as a result of, the travel of the defendant or victim across a State line or national border; or (2) in connection with such conduct, the defendant employs a weapon that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce. Directs the: (1) United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines to provide enhanced penalties when the victim of a Federal crime is under 18; and (2) the Comptroller General to review State penalties and sentencing guidelines for crimes against children.
Requires the Attorney General: (1) at the request of a State, Indian tribal government, or local government, to provide assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any felony crime of violence against a child; and (2) to award grants to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution of crimes against children and to provide education, prevention, intervention, and victims' assistance services regarding crimes against children.
Requires each State receiving: (1) law enforcement grants under this Act to have in place a statewide AMBER Alert communications network for child abduction cases and to use the National Incident-Based Reporting System; (2) education, prevention, and victims' assistance grants to have in effect a statute allowing a parent to leave a newborn baby at a hospital anonymously; and (3) certain allotments for child welfare allotments to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a report on the State's funded program, including the process for maintaining records and verifying the well-being of the children under the State's care.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2003-05-22
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7007-7009)
action_date: 2003-05-22
text: Introduced in Senate