National Silver Alert Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 632, the National Silver Alert Act, sponsored by my colleague from Texas, Congressman Lloyd Doggett.

I first became involved in this issue of finding missing seniors last year when one of my constituents, Mary Lallucci, lost her mother, who had left her care-giving facility and could not be located. She had driven her car into the Gulf of Mexico and drowned. This tragedy, unfortunately, highlighted the very real problem of older individuals who suffer from diseases which leave them easily confused and disoriented, wandering away from their homes or care-giving facilities and meeting harm because family, friends and authorities could not find them in time. The inability to find missing elderly is a problem State and Federal policymakers should address before something like this happens again. That is why I support this bill before us today, which includes provisions from silver alert legislation that I introduced last year.

The National Silver Alert Act is a bipartisan bill developed by Congressman Doggett, myself and Congresswoman Sue Myrick. It combines portions of missing persons bills that each of us previously introduced. The National Silver Alert Act includes language from legislation I introduced last Congress to create a grant program to help States establish and operate silver alert notification systems to help find missing individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related illnesses. The measure we are considering today also establishes a national silver alert communications network to assist regional and local missing persons search efforts and requires an annual report to determine the effectiveness of State silver alert plans to help guide their establishment in other States.

I was honored to work with these two fine Members last year and am pleased that we were able to combine these complementary bills. I want to thank them for their work as well as the willingness of the majority and minority on the Judiciary Committee to allow this to come to the floor on suspension so early in this session. The House passed this bill, as you know, unanimously last September. But the Senate was unable to act on it before Congress adjourned. I hope that our timely action here today will help facilitate its passage through the Senate and enactment into law.

I believe that all States should establish systems similar to the highly successful Amber Alert program to help find those suffering from dementia-related illnesses and prevent tragedies like the one that occurred in my community. An Amber Alert system has a remarkable track record of success because necessary information is filtered so that the relevant details are transmitted to appropriate authorities as quickly as possible. The experiences of States that already have developed such silver alert systems suggest that these programs save lives. States have found that timely notification and dissemination of appropriate information about missing seniors greatly improves the chances that they will be found before they harm themselves. I believe that the Federal Government can and should help States develop notification systems to prevent these all-too-frequent tragedies.

This is especially important in Florida, which has more residents aged 65 and older than any other State in the Nation. My State implemented silver alert last year with spectacular results. Florida's statewide silver alert system has led to the successful location of all 37 people, I repeat, all 37 people for whom the State has issued bulletins. More than 4.3 million Floridians are aged 60 and older, and there are about 501,000 probable Alzheimer's cases in the State.

The silver alert program in my State will help prevent tragedy among one of Florida's largest potentially vulnerable groups. Passage of this bill today will help bring other States without these lifesaving systems one step closer to improving their ability to find missing seniors and the crucial few hours after they go missing. It also will provide critical resources, guidance and coordination, which is very important for States like mine, that already have such systems. We have many people to thank for that, including Mary Lallucci, one of my constituents whose determined advocacy for the silver alert has inspired me and serves as a loving tribute to her mother's memory.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Lallucci was asked whether she thought a silver alert system in Florida could have saved her mother. ``Who knows?'' She said. ``Unfortunately, I will never know.''

I urge my colleagues to support the National Silver Alert Act to prevent another family from being forced to struggle with the same uncertainty.

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