Congress 108 - HR 2539 - Violence Against Children Act of 2003

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Topics

Aid to dependent children Arrest Cash welfare block grants Child abuse Child health Child safety Child sexual abuse Child support Child welfare Collection of accounts Computer networks Congress Congressional investigations Congressional reporting requirements Continuing education Counseling Court records Crime and Law Enforcement Crime prevention Criminal investigation Criminal justice information Criminal statistics Data banks Economics and Public Finance Education Electronic government information Emergency Management Emergency medicine Families Family services Federal aid to Indians Federal aid to law enforcement Federal-Indian relations Federal-local relations Federal-state relations Fines (Penalties) Forensic medicine Government Operations and Politics Government paperwork Government publicity Health Higher education Hospitals Housing and Community Development Income tax Indian children Indian law enforcement Infants Information networks Informers Judges Judicial officers Kidnapping Labor and Employment Law Legal education Legislation Medical records Mental health services Minorities Missing children Murder Nonprofit organizations Parent and child Police communication systems Police training Prosecution Psychiatrists Psychologists Radio broadcasting Rural crime Science, Technology, Communications Sentences (Criminal procedure) Sentencing guidelines Signs and signboards Social Welfare State laws Tax deductions Taxation Traffic signs and signals Transportation and Public Works Victims of crimes

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Summary

Violence Against Children Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe penalties to be imposed for injuring or attempting to injure a person under 18 years of age (including life imprisonment if death results or if the offense includes kidnaping, aggravated sexual abuse, or attempting to kill) under circumstances in which: (1) the conduct occurs during the course of, or as a result of, the travel of the defendant or victim across a State line or national border; or (2) in connection with such conduct, the defendant employs a weapon that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce. Directs the: (1) United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines to provide enhanced penalties when the victim of a Federal crime is under 18; and (2) the Comptroller General to review State penalties and sentencing guidelines for crimes against children.

Requires the Attorney General: (1) at the request of a State, Indian tribal government, or local government, to provide assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any felony crime of violence against a child; and (2) to award grants to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution of crimes against children and to provide education, prevention, intervention, and victims' assistance services regarding crimes against children.

Requires each State receiving: (1) law enforcement grants under this Act to have in place a statewide AMBER Alert communications network for child abduction cases and to use the National Incident-Based Reporting System; (2) education, prevention, and victims' assistance grants to have in effect a statute allowing a parent to leave a newborn baby at a hospital anonymously; and (3) certain allotments for child welfare allotments to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a report on the State's funded program, including the process for maintaining records and verifying the well-being of the children under the State's care.

Actions

Jul 21, 2003

Referred to the Subcommittee on Select Education.
Jun 25, 2003

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Jun 24, 2003

Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources.
Jun 19, 2003

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jun 19, 2003

Introduced in House

Amendments

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