Date: 2006-07-25
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4472. the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of Finally. we have a bill passed by both this body and the Senate for the President to sign. Finally. Mark Lunsford has a legacy for his daughter Jessica of a guardian angel keeping children safe by closing dangerous loopholes in our law. Finally. the family and friends of Adam Walsh. Carlie Brucia. Sarah Lunde. and so many others can sleep a little better at night knowing we are helping to protect Americas precious children. My heart is still broken for the loss of Jessica Lunsford and all the joys in life that she will miss. At least she will be in a better place where no one can ever harm her again. Mr. Speaker. certainly Chairman SENSENBRENNER. who worked tirelessly on this bill. deserves a great deal of credit. Back when I first heard about Jessicas disappearance. I knew that we could not sit back and do nothing. For instance. the probation officer for Jessicas alleged killer. John Couey. never knew that he was a convicted sex offender. I introduced a bill. and Chairman SENSENBRENNER was kind enough to include it in this comprehensive bill. that fixes that. The alleged perpetrator also did not have a current address on file with law enforcement. as he should have. This bill demands more frequent updates and checks. It also provides some grant mechanisms to be sure that the localities can pay for this additional registration. The bill empowers States to do just as Florida has done and use GPS monitoring devices to track offenders. I know in my heart that these changes will genuinely help equip our law enforcement to better protect the most innocent in our society. our children. My good friend Congressman MARK FOLEY has said numerous times that previously we tracked library books better than we tracked sex offenders.Thankfully. that will be no more. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4472. Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Finally. we have a bill passed by both this body and the Senate for the Presidentto sign. Finally. Mark Lunsford has a legacy for his daughter Jessica of a guardian angel. keeping children safe by closing dangerous loopholes in the law. Finally. the family and -friends of Adam Walsh. Carlie Brucia. Sarah Lunde. and so many others can sleep a little better at night. knowing we are helping to protect Americas precious children. My heart is still broken for the loss of little Jessica Lunsford and for all the joys in lifethat she will miss. At least she is in a better place. where no one can ever harm her again. Mr. Speaker. I am awed and humbled to have worked on this legislation with Chairman SENSENBRENNER. who has worked tirelessly to pass this bill. . When I heard about the manor of Jessicas disappearance. I knew I could not sit back while there were many changes I could make to fix the law. For instance. the probation officer for Jessicas alleged killer. John Couey. never knew he was a convicted sex offender. This bill fixes that. Couey did not keep a current address on file with law enforcement as he should have. This bill demands more frequent updates and checks. And we didnt have any method of tracking sex offenders after release from prison. though they have such high rates of recidivism. This bill empowers states to do as Florida has done and use GPS monitoring devices to track offenders. I know in my heart that these changes will genuinely help equip law enforcement to protect the most innocent in our societyour children. My good friend. Congressman MARK FOLEY. has said numerous times that we track library books better than we track sex offenders. Well. no more. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and send it to the President for his signature.