WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Laurel Lee (FL-15) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) today introduced their Renewed Hope Act, which would enhance the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s capabilities to better identify, rescue, and protect victims of online child sexual exploitation and bring perpetrators to justice:
“Tens of thousands of children are being exploited by vicious predators who steal their innocence and post abusive imagery of them online, often leaving scars that last long after a picture or video is deleted,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This bipartisan legislation would better protect and identify these children, rescue survivors, and stop the heinous crime of online child sexual abuse.”
“Over the last several decades, I have met parents and loved ones whose children’s lives have been decimated, and sometimes lost, because of the scourge of child sexual abuse material online,” said Sen. Blumenthal. “The internet can be a great force for good, but we’ve seen again and again and again how it can be malignly and maliciously exploited. These images of children – the exploitation of children and far too often, the loss of them – is absolutely unacceptable. The legislation will provide resources to combat child sexual abuse material, giving law enforcement and investigators – the troops on the ground – the tools and resources necessary to identify and rescue the victims as well as deter and prosecute these cases.”
“The internet platforms we use every day are being used to disseminate and collect child sex abuse material (CSAM),” said Rep. Lee. “CSAM and the exploitation of children are increasing at alarming rates, and Congress must ensure the men and women fighting back against these crimes have the tools and resources they need. The Renewed Hope Act will provide much-needed resources in the fight against online child exploitation and help protect our nation’s children.”
“Our children deserve to be protected from the ever-increasing number of digital predators who seek to harm them, which means we must expand our efforts to identify and support children who are victims of this online abuse and exploitation,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz.“As reports of predatory behavior against children continue to rise, I am proud to join my colleagues to introduce this bipartisan and bicameral legislation that will increase our capacity to identify children who are victims of child sexual exploitation by investing in the people on the front lines dedicated to finding and saving these innocent lives.”
“For too long, hundreds of thousands of girls and boys have endured horrific abuse — often at the hands of adults who are supposed to protect them,” said Tim Tebow. “Children in our nation are right now living in the darkest of evils, crying out for help. Their pain must stir us to act. This is why we’re calling on Congress to pass legislation to strengthen our nation’s response to identifying and rescuing these boys and girls. Because even with law enforcement and organizations working around the clock to rescue these children, it’s just not enough. I’m deeply grateful to our leaders for shining a light on this bipartisan issue so that we can build a stronger rescue team of analysts, investigators, and law enforcement as we unite to find and safeguard every child in our nation suffering this great evil.”
Background:
In 2015, Congress passed the Human Exploitation Rescue Operations (HERO) Act, which established the Cyber Crimes Center (C3) and a Child Exploitation Investigations Unit within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The Unit is tasked with coordinating HSI’s investigations into child exploitation, child pornography, and child victim identification.
The Renewed Hope Act would:
- Increase HSI resources to hire, train, and assign computer forensics and criminal analysts to the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit and field offices to support victim identification and rescue efforts;
- Clarify the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit’s role in coordinating child exploitation investigations within the Department of Homeland Security; and
- Improve training in new and advanced victim identification technology for HSI personnel and their federal, state, local, military, and foreign law enforcement partners.
This comes as the landmark legislation to protect kids online recently passed the U.S. Senate in July. Sen. Cornyn cosponsored both the Kids Online Safety Act, led by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, led by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ed Markey (D-MA). Sen. Cornyn has also led multiple bills as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to help improve the investigation and prosecution of child sexual exploitation.
This legislation is endorsed by the Tim Tebow Foundation, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, ChildFund International, Child Rescue Coalition, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), National Child Protection Task Force, International Justice Mission, PACT, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Rights4Girls, and National District Attorneys Association.
