Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Act of 2003

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the PROTECT Act, which I am proud to be co-sponsoring with Senators HATCH, LEAHY and others. I have been greatly concerned with the increase in reports of child abductions and murders, so I am glad to be a part of this effort to address this growing problem. In my tenure on the Judiciary Committee, I have long fought for our Nation's children, and have ardently supported laws that bring them and their families greater protection.

This legislation comes at a critical time because we are hearing more and more about children being taken from their homes or schools and abused, or worse, murdered. Our children are a gift to us, are our national treasure, and are our future. We must do all that we can to protect these innocents and give law enforcement every tool possible to ferret out the criminals who would do our children harm. With this legislation, we will be ensuring a greater measure of protection for our children.
This bill helps the public know about sexual predators in their communities, improves the Nation's ability to respond to child abduction reports, and aids criminal investigators and prosecutors in their efforts to protect the public by identifying and locking-up child predators.

I urge my fellow Senators to vote for this important bill.