Graves Praises Funding to Protect Our Children

Thursday, July 8, 2004

Graves Praises Funding to Protect Our Children

Congressman Welcomes Extra Resources

(Washington, D.C) U.S. Congressman Sam Graves praised funding designed to protect children that passed the House on Thursday, July 8th. The Commerce, Justice and State Department Appropriations bill has earmarked funding for the Amber Alert system and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It increases funding by more than $1 million dollars over the previous budget year.

"This is about protecting our children," said Graves. "Amber Alert has proven vital in spreading information quickly to the public."

Graves voted for the national Amber Alert system that was signed into law in 2003. In 1996, a local system to help recover abducted children, called the Amber Alert plan, was created in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas and named for 9-year old Amber Hagerman who was abducted and killed. The federal law provides for a national Amber Alert system and allows state law enforcement a way to communicate and work together to bring home missing children.

"When a child is reported missing, every second is valuable," said Graves. "Communication is the key to finding missing children and this alert helps facilitate that process."

The bill also increased funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Center's mission is prevention and recovery of children who are missing. The growing use of the Internet and other advances in technology has revolutionized how missing children are reported and found.

"As technology adapts, we must adapt with it," said Graves. "I am committed to investing in the tools necessary to protect our children."