Sensenbrenner Provision to Protect Child Included in House-Passed Bill
Washington, D.C.—Last night, the House unanimously passed H.R. 6847, the Preventing Child Exploitation Act. Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-05) cosponsored this legislation, which includes key provisions of the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act that he authored.
Throughout his career, Congressman Sensenbrenner has taken the lead on initiatives to protect children. He was instrumental in passing the 2003 PROTECT Act, which enhanced the AMBER Alert system, strengthened penalties against kidnappers, and aids law enforcement in protecting children. And in 2006, The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act expanded coverage of the national sex offender registry, mandates the collection of DNA from sex offenders, and forces states to comply with requirements to keep information on the sex offender database current.
Background on the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act
Originally passed in 2006, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act has played a vital role in the prevention of sexual exploitation of America’s children. The comprehensive, bipartisan law strengthened sex offender registry requirements and enforcement across the country, extended registry requirements to Native American tribes, increased penalties for child predators, and authorized funding for various programs to strengthen our defenses against child exploitation.
Language included in H.R. 6847 reauthorizes the two primary programs of the Adam Walsh Act— The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and The Sex Offender Management Assistance Program (SOMA). SORNA sets minimum guidelines for state sex offender registries and establishes the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, which is a comprehensive national system for the registration and notification to the public of sex offenders. SOMA provides funding to the states, tribes, and other jurisdictions to offset the costs of implementing and enhancing SORNA, and funding for the U.S. Marshals Service and other law enforcement agencies to assist jurisdictions in locating and apprehending sex offenders who violate registration requirements.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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