DAVIS' PROVISION INCLUDED IN HOUSE PASSED CHILD PROTECTION LEGISLATION July 25, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Representatives Lincoln Davis (D-TN) and Mark Kennedy (R-MN) announced the House accepted language from their Sex Offender Visa Loophole Elimination Act, introduced earlier this month, into a comprehensive child protection bill passed today in the House.

"The House has taken a bold step to protect America’s children from sexual predators," Davis said. "In this bill we have closed a glaring visa loophole in immigration law, created a national sex offender registry, stiffened penalties for crimes of violence against children, and created a new criminal offense to target crimes committed against children through the Internet."

Language from the Davis/Kennedy bill, preventing individuals convicted of sex crimes against minors from filing family-based visa petitions to bring spouses, fiancés, and children to the United States, was incorporated into the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services lacked the authority to reject those petitions outright based on a petitioner’s criminal sexual history.

"I was distraught when I learned convicted sex offenders could petition our government to bring unknowing potential victims into the country," Davis said. "I am very pleased Congress has taken the same view and closed this shocking loophole."

The bill's sweeping provisions are designed to better ensure the safety of America’s children Davis noted. The biggest initiative in this bill, perhaps, is that it creates a National Sex Offender Registry with uniform standards for the registration of sex offenders. It increases criminal penalties for child predators and targets child exploitation enterprises committed over the Internet by creating a new criminal offense.

The Child Protection and Safety Act is expected to be signed into law by President Bush at the White House on July 27, which is the 25th anniversary of the abduction of 6-year old Adam Walsh, son of John and Reva Walsh.