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President Signs H.R. 4472, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006
The Rose Garden
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Please be seated. Welcome and good
afternoon. In a few moments I will sign the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act of 2006. Twenty-five years ago today, Adam Walsh was abducted from
a department store and he was later found murdered. In the years since, his
parents, John and Rev Walsh, have become advocates for missing children. They've
helped combat child abduction and exploitation across this country. And the
bill I sign today will strengthen federal laws to protect our children from
sexual and other violent crimes, will help prevent child pornography, and will
make the Internet safer for our sons and daughters. I want to thank you all
for joining us today, and thank you for your tireless crusade. (Applause.)
I'm pleased to be up here with the Attorney General, Al Gonzales. I want to
thank all the members of the House and the Senate who have joined us. John,
as you can see, you've attracted quite a crowd here.
MR. WALSH: S.W.A.T. team for kids.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it is, S.W.A.T. team for kids.
I appreciate very much the bill sponsors who have joined us, and the committee
chairmen and the leadership that has made this bill possible. This is a good
piece of bipartisan legislation, and I'm really going to be proud to sign it.
I want to thank all the family members of victims who have joined us today.
I particularly want to say hello to Elizabeth Smart and Amie Zyla. Thank you
all for coming.
You know, having someone harm your child is one of the worst nightmares a parent
could face. And the families who have joined us today have felt that pain firsthand.
In your suffering and loss, many of you have found the courage to become advocates
for the safety of other children. Because of your efforts, this important measure
is going to become the law of the land, and the children of parents you may
never meet will be spared the anguish your families have known. So thank you
for your contribution.
Protecting our children is our solemn responsibility. It's what we must do.
When a child's life or innocence is taken it is a terrible loss -- it's an
act of unforgivable cruelty. Our society has a duty to protect our children
from exploitation and danger. By enacting this law we're sending a clear message
across the country: those who prey on our children will be caught, prosecuted
and punished to the fullest extent of the law.
I appreciate working with Congress in the past to give law enforcement the
tools they need to go after criminals who kidnap and exploit children. In 2003,
I signed the PROTECT Act, that expanded the use of Amber Alerts, that makes
grants to all 50 states so law enforcement can quickly alert the public about
missing children and their abductors. We also launched Operation Predator to
help law enforcement track down and arrest foreign pedophiles and human traffickers
and sex tourists and Internet pornographers who prey on our children.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice, led by Al Gonzales, launched
Project Safe Childhood to help federal, state and local enforcement officials
investigate and prosecute crimes against children that are facilitated by the
Internet and other electronic communications.
This new law I sign today builds on the progress in four important ways: First,
the bill I sign today will greatly expand the National Sex Offender Registry
by integrating the information in state sex offender registry systems and ensuring
that law enforcement has access to the same information across the United States.
It seems to make sense, doesn't it? See, these improvements will help prevent
sex offenders from evading detection by moving from one state to the next.
Data drawn from this comprehensive registry will also be made available to
the public so parents have the information they need to protect their children
from sex offenders that might be in their neighborhoods.
Second, the bill I sign today will increase federal penalties for crimes against
children. This bill imposes tough mandatory minimum penalties for the most
serious crimes against our children. It increases penalties for crimes such
as sex trafficking of children and child prostitution; provides grants to states
to help them institutionalize sex offenders who've shown they cannot change
their behavior and are about to be released from prison.
Third, the bill I sign today will make it harder for sex predators to reach
our children on the Internet. Some sex predators use this technology to make
contact with potential victims, so the bill authorizes additional new regional
Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces. These task forces provides funding
and training to help state and local law enforcement combat crimes involving
the sexual exploitation of minors on the Internet.
Fourth, the bill I sign today will help prevent child abuse by creating a National
Child Abuse Registry, and requiring investigators to do background checks on
adoptive and foster parents before they approve to take custody of a child.
By giving child protective service professionals in all 50 states access to
this critical information, we will improve their ability to investigate child
abuse cases and help ensure that the vulnerable children are not put into situations
of abuse or neglect.
This is a comprehensive piece of legislation, and it's an important bill. Our
nation grieves with every family that's suffered the unbearable pain of a child
who's been abducted or abused. This law makes an important step forward in
this country's efforts to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
I thank you for coming for witness to this. It's now my high honor to sign
the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. (Applause.)
(The bill is signed.) (Applause.)
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