[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5224 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5224
To reauthorize the Missing Children's Assistance Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 18, 2023
Mr. Bean of Florida (for himself and Mr. Courtney) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reauthorize the Missing Children's Assistance Act, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Missing Children's Assistance
Reauthorization Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE ACT AMENDMENTS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Definitions.--Section 403 of the Missing Children's
Assistance Act (34 U.S.C. 11292) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) the term `child sexual abuse material' has the
meaning given the term `child pornography' in section 2256 of
title 18, United States Code;
``(6) the term `child sexual exploitation' means the sexual
victimization or abuse of a child;
``(7) the term `sexting' means sending and receiving
messages containing sexually explicit, nude, or partially nude
images by cell phone or messaging application;
``(8) the term `sextortion'--
``(A) means sexual exploitation in which coercion,
a threat, or blackmail, is used to cause a child to--
``(i) provide child sexual abuse material;
or
``(ii) agree to engage in sexual activity;
and
``(B) may involve a threat to publicly disclose
nude or sexual images of a child if the child does not
comply with a demand to--
``(i) engage in conduct described in clause
(i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A); or
``(ii) provide financial payment; and
``(9) the term `sexually exploited child' means a child who
has been victimized by any form of sexual exploitation,
including--
``(A) the live-streaming, production, distribution,
or possession of child sexual abuse material;
``(B) enticement for sexual abuse;
``(C) sexual molestation or abuse;
``(D) sextortion; and
``(E) child sex trafficking.''.
(2) Duties and functions of the administrator.--Section 404
of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (34 U.S.C. 11293) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(6)(E), by striking ``the
tipline established'' and inserting ``the CyberTipline
established''; and
(B) in subsection (b)(1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) by striking ``hotline
by which'' and inserting ``call
center to which''; and
(bb) by striking
``individuals may report'' and
all that follows and inserting
``individuals may--
``(I) report child sexual exploitation and
the location of any missing child; and
``(II) request information pertaining to
procedures necessary to reunite such child with
such child's parent;'';
(II) by redesignating clause (ii)
as clause (iii); and
(III) by inserting after clause (i)
the following:
``(ii) manage the AMBER Alert Secondary
Distribution Program; and'';
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking
``with their families'' and inserting ``with
their parents'';
(iii) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``to
families'' and inserting ``to parents'';
(iv) by striking subparagraph (G) and
inserting the following:
``(G) provide technical assistance and case-related
resources, including--
``(i) referrals to--
``(I) child-serving professionals
involved in helping to recover missing
and exploited children; and
``(II) law enforcement officers in
their efforts to identify, locate, and
recover missing and exploited children;
and
``(ii) searching public records databases
and publicly accessible open source data to--
``(I) locate and identify potential
abductors and offenders involved in
attempted or actual abductions; and
``(II) identify, locate, and
recover abducted children;'';
(v) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ``on
long-term missing child cases'' after
``techniques to assist'';
(vi) by striking subparagraph (I) and
inserting the following:
``(I) provide education, technical assistance, and
information to--
``(i) nongovernmental organizations with
respect to procedures and resources to conduct
background checks on individuals working with
children; and
``(ii) law enforcement agencies with
respect to identifying and locating
noncompliant sex offenders;'';
(vii) in subparagraph (J), by striking
``with their families'' and inserting ``with
their parents'';
(viii) in subparagraph (K)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) in the matter
preceding subclause (I), by
striking ``tipline'' and
inserting ``CyberTipline'';
(bb) in subclause (I)--
(AA) in item (aa),
by striking ``child
pornography'' and
inserting ``child
sexual abuse
material''; and
(BB) in item (ee),
by striking ``extra-
familial''; and
(cc) in subclause (II)--
(AA) by striking
``tipline'' and
inserting
``CyberTipline''; and
(BB) by adding
``and'' at the end;
(II) in clause (ii)--
(aa) by striking ``child
pornography'' and inserting
``child sexual abuse
material'';
(bb) by inserting ``and''
after ``other sexual crimes'';
and
(cc) by striking ``; and''
at the end and inserting ``,
including by providing
information on legal remedies
available to such victims;'';
and
(III) by striking clause (iii);
(ix) by redesignating subparagraphs (L)
through (O) as subparagraphs (M) through (P),
respectively;
(x) by inserting after subparagraph (K) the
following:
``(L) provide support services, consultation, and
assistance to missing and sexually exploited children,
parents, their families, and child-serving
professionals on--
``(i) recovery support, including
counseling recommendations and community
support;
``(ii) family and peer support;
``(iii) the removal of child sexual abuse
material and sexually exploitive content
depicting children from the internet, including
by facilitating requests to providers (as
defined in section 2258E of title 18, United
States Code) to remove visual depictions of
victims that--
``(I) constitute or are associated
with child sexual abuse material; or
``(II) do not constitute child
sexual abuse material but are sexually
suggestive;'';
(xi) in subparagraph (M), as so
redesignated--
(I) in the matter preceding clause
(i), by inserting ``educational''
before ``information to families'';
(II) in clause (i)--
(aa) by striking ``child
abduction and'' and inserting
``missing children and child'';
and
(bb) by adding ``and'' at
the end; and
(III) by striking clauses (ii) and
(iii) and inserting the following:
``(ii) internet safety, including tips and
strategies to promote safety for children using
technology (including social media) and reduce
risk relating to--
``(I) cyberbullying;
``(II) child sex trafficking;
``(III) youth-produced child sexual
abuse material or sexting;
``(IV) sextortion; and
``(V) online enticement;'';
(xii) in subparagraph (N), as so
redesignated, by inserting ``and preventing
child sexual exploitation'' after ``recovering
such children'';
(xiii) by striking subparagraph (O), as so
redesignated, and inserting the following:
``(O) coordinate with and provide technical
assistance to Federal, State, and local government
agencies relating to cases of children missing from a
State child welfare system and assist the efforts of
law enforcement agencies and State child welfare
agencies in--
``(i) coordinating to ensure the reporting,
documentation, and resolution of cases
involving children missing from a State child
welfare system; and
``(ii) responding to foster children
missing from a State child welfare system;
and''; and
(xiv) in subparagraph (P), as so
redesignated, by inserting ``and recovery
support services'' after ``technical
assistance''; and
(C) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (1) by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(ii) in paragraph (2) by striking the
period at the end; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) publish an analysis of the information determined
under paragraph (1) that includes disaggregated demographic
data and comparison of such data to demographic data from the
census.''.
(3) Reporting.--Section 407 of the of the Missing
Children's Assistance Act (34 U.S.C. 11295a) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) in paragraph (3) by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(ii) in paragraph (4) by striking the
period at the end and inserting a semicolon,
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (4) the
following:
``(5) the number of children nationwide who are reported to
the grantee as missing from State-sponsored care;
``(6) the number of children nationwide who are reported to
the grantee as missing from State-sponsored care whose recovery
was reported to the grantee; and
``(7) the number of children nationwide who are reported to
the grantee as missing from State-sponsored care and are likely
victims of child sex trafficking.'', and
(B) by adding at end the following:
``(c) Criteria for Forensic Partnerships.--As a condition of
receiving funds under section 404(b), the grant recipient shall
annually provide to the Administrator and make available to the general
public, as appropriate, the criteria and processes the grantee uses to
establish forensic partnerships and recommend forensic resources to law
enforcement and shall annually review these forensic partnerships and
forensic referrals against the criteria and review new advancements in
technology.''.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--Section 409(a) of the
Missing Children's Assistance Act (34 U.S.C. 11297(a)) is
amended by striking ``$40,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2014 through 2023, up to $32,200,000'' and inserting
``$49,300,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, up to
$41,500,000''.
(b) Effective Date.--This Act, and the amendments made by this Act,
shall take effect on October 1, 2023.
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