Nick Lampson

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, again I rise to talk about international child abduction and the case of Ludwig Koons who is being kept illegally in Rome, Italy. The injustice that is being done to this family is outrageous and an example of what thousands of American parents and children face each day. Ludwig Koons was born in New York and was abducted from his family residence to Rome by his mother, Ilona Staller. Mr. Koons was awarded custody in the United States, but the Italian courts have refused to accept any American jurisdiction. The father has been deemed the fit parent by the courts and by U.S. and by Italian psychologists who have stated that Ludwig is in grave danger and must be returned to his father. Yet he remains captive in Italy, being held by the Italian government and by his mother who is a porn star who lives in a pornographic compound. Mr. Speaker, every day Members of this body and this administration speak about family values. Family values. I can think of no better way to demonstrate our commitment to family values than to return Ludwig Koons to his father now. We must bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I will digress again from my stories about Ludwig Koons, whom we desperately want returned from Italy to the United States where he is being held illegally, to talk about one of the scariest situations that a parent can experience when they are out shopping, perhaps they turn around and their child is not with them. In many cases they return in a matter of moments, but sometimes it can seem like an eternity. What if that son or daughter cannot be found? Or do stores have a system in place that can help protect their child from harm? The answer is yes. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and I are joining together to urge Members to support a resolution to encourage retailers across the Nation to adopt a special child safety alert program known as Code Adam. Code Adam works. Since 1994, it has been a powerful preventive tool against child abductions and lost children in more than 25,000 stores, making it the largest child safety program in the Nation. Code Adam is a special alert issued through the store's public address system when a customer reports a missing child. The measure was established in 1994 and named in the memory of 6-year-old Adam Walsh whose abduction from a Florida shopping mall and murder in 1981 brought the horror of child abduction to national attention. We owe it to the kids of America to do everything that we can to ensure their safety. Join us in supporting this important resolution. Bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I want to raise my concerns about H.R. 1979, and signal my objections to the parts of it I believe should not be in the bill. I very much associate my remarks with what the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) and several other speakers said earlier. As we have already heard, within the bill exists a provision which retroactively reimburses 26 small airports for building air traffic control towers. H.R. 1979, without the aforementioned provision, is a good bill. And if the provision is removed, I will be happy to lend my support to passing that legislation. But by allowing these 26 airports to qualify for that reimbursement, the bill will significantly reduce the amount of Federal airport improvement funds that would be directed towards airport security and safety improvements. That is precisely what has happened to one of the airports within my congressional district, the Southeast Texas Regional Airport. We tried our best to play by the rules. We took the time to go through the system, to win the support, putting off other priorities within our airport needs, to wait for our turn to build the air traffic control tower. We do indeed have a number of security issues that are facing us at that same airport. Following through with what this bill is proposing right now would deplete the amounts available for significant security improvements which remain a priority for this Congress and this country. These 26 airports would also be reimbursed without demonstrating compliance with, as we have heard, Federal labor and environmental laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Mr. Chairman, why is it that some of us have to follow those rules and others apparently will not? That is not right. As we have focused on providing the resources for airports to address the gaping security concerns in the aftermath of September 11, we have been bipartisan in our approach. This is an issue of security, and it does affect every citizen of this country who steps into an airport and onto an airplane. I urge Members to consider the consequences of shifting vital security funds to reimburse those 26 airports who chose to build their towers without the promise of recouping these funds. We built ours with the assistance of this government's funding in southeast Texas, but we put off other priorities to allow it to happen. Allowing these 26 airports exemptions from current law is bad policy, and will set a precedent that will take us in the wrong direction. I would hope that the House would find the collective wisdom to strike these provisions from the bill. I intend to support the Oberstar amendment to the bill; and if it carries, to support the legislation which has been put forth.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, last week the Committee on Government Reform held a hearing on women and children who are being held in Saudi Arabia. It was an emotional hearing on a situation that unfortunately exists in countries all over the world, not just in the Middle East right now. I have been telling the story of trying to help a father whose son is being held in Italy, one of our supposed closest friends. His son, Ludwig Koons, has been in Italy for 8 years and is being held in a pornographic compound by his abductor mother, and the Italian authorities and our State Department let it happen. I applaud the gentleman from Indiana (Chairman Burton) for bringing this issue to light in his strong statement to his committee. For years I have been working with left-behind parents who are trying to get their children back to where they belong. For years I have witnessed a State Department that does nothing tangible to help. We need a State Department that fights for U.S. citizens, not an idle information agency. This issue is one that none of us can afford to ignore. We need to be aware, and we need to put pressure on other countries that are not sending American children home. American parents are asking for someone to take action and help them bring their children home. The State Department is not stepping up to the plate for Ludwig Koons or for anyone else. Bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to honor the Boy Scouts of America who answered the call of the President to raise funds for the Afghan Youth Relief Fund in light of events following September 11th. This extraordinary opportunity allowed Boy Scouts throughout the nation to aid in a national cause. In my district, the 470 Scouts of Three Rivers responded to the President at our Veterans' Day celebration of 2001. It was at this celebration that they were able to raise over 1,000 dollars! Today Brandon Johnson from Council 578 of Beaumont, Texas is representing Three Rivers at both the White House and the Red Cross. The Boy Scouts of America's response shows that young people are answering the challenges proposed to them by their leaders during this time of great need. It is great to see that they are taking the initiative to lead at this critical time in American history.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I have been listening to the comments that he has been making and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and all of the work that he has done about this. I think it is obviously an extremely critical issue for citizens all over this country who are speaking out at every meeting that I go to as it being one of the most important things in their lives. We have been working on some mechanism to assist people to get access to pharmaceuticals that they cannot afford to purchase for a long time, and we have heard unbelievable stories about people who have foregone payment of rent or purchase of food in order to buy the medicines that their doctors and other health care professionals are telling them that they have to have in order to stay healthy. Well, if a person does not eat and they do not have a decent place in which to stay and they are buying medicine, the chances are they are going to have other kinds of problems in their life, and it is a terrible decision to have to make. I know firsthand what some of those difficulties are. My own mother is 92 years old and is in reasonably good health right now, but unfortunately, has had problems like many elderly citizens have. She has people to help take care of her. Hopefully, she is not going to be one of those who will die in poverty, but at the same time, she expects dignity, and I think that is one of the most important things that I learned in the White House Conference on Aging a number of years ago in 1995, that people would like to be able to live out their lives with independence and with dignity. We are going to be judged in this country and everywhere in the world about how we treat our elderly, and the youngest of us among us, but the elderly particularly, and if we wad our people up and throw them away after they are no longer productive, shame on us, and we will be paying for that for an eternity, and I certainly hope that we do not. We need what the drug companies do for us. We need their research. We need their development. We need the ability to stay healthy, and we know they are going to be providing it. I think it is incumbent upon this House of Representatives, this government, to find a mechanism to allow people to have access to that help that they need, and our program that works through the Medicare system will give people an opportunity to have a higher quality of health and consequently a longer life because of it. It reaches out to a significantly larger number of people than what other plans that are before the House of Representatives are doing. I think that the basic difference, at least in the way of my mind, in how we see this issue is how we are going to go about implementing this program. I know that our time is short. Let me turn it back to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross).

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I have taken to this floor every day now this year to come here to remind the American citizens of Ludwig Koons, who was abducted from the United States of America in 1994. He is now, I think, 9 years old, and he is still a citizen of the United States who is illegally out of our country. I placed a phone call to our Secretary of State. A staff person called me back. I placed a phone call to the Ambassador to the United States from the Vatican. They have not even bothered to return my phone call. I have placed a phone call, many phone calls, I might add, to all of these people, including the Ambassador of Italy to the United States. I have talked with him, yet nothing yet seems to be moving. The issue is not about Ludwig Koons, it is about the 1,000 children who are taken out of our borders each year illegally. They are all citizens of this country and pledge allegiance to our flag. Where is our government? Why are we not turning to those children and doing anything, anything, necessary to return them to our land? Bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the outstanding career of Dr. Maxie C. Sprott, who unfortunately passed away this week. During a tenure of forty-five years, Dr. Sprott dedicated his time to make sure that those members of his community unable to afford health care, received the proper medical treatment they deserved. Dr. Sprott, with the help of his brothers, opened Sprott Hospital in 1955 to give black residents a place to receive medical care and black doctors a place to practice. He also was heavily involved with the ``I have a Dream'' program, providing mentoring and educational service to young people. Despite these great achievements, he was a humble man, accepting such items as poultry and fish as pay from patients when they could not afford office visits. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Maxie Sprott's career was seasoned with numerous examples of selfless hard work and extraordinary achievement in service to our great Nation. His contributions to Southeast Texas are immeasurable. I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering Dr. Sprott for his enduring service in the field of medicine and the generations of families that he took care of. Thank you for your service, Dr. Sprott, your work was part of the fiber of Southeast Texas, and with your passing a great loss will be felt in the spirit and the heart of our community.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I have been getting up every day for the last several months and talking about Ludwig Koons who has been held in Italy illegally after being taken away from the United States of America, and by now we all know the name Elizabeth Smart, the young girl who was abducted from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah. In light of the tragedy of her disappearance and on behalf of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus here in Congress, I would ask and send our prayers to Elizabeth and to her family, but I would also like to remind parents all across this country to talk to your kids about their personal safety, talk to them about the ``Know the Rules'' educational program put out by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And I would urge every parent to log on to www.missingkids.com and learn what they can do to protect and educate their children. Nearly 2,000 children are reported missing every day in the United States of America, and we all must be prepared as parents and grandparents to deal with the tragedy, should it occur. That means having updated quality photographs and knowing our children's height and weight. We should be aware that looking at pictures of missing kids brings them home and that we commit ourselves to looking at the photos we get in the mail or we see in a grocery store. If we all do our part, together we can prevent abductions and bring children like Elizabeth and like Ludwig Koons home where they belong.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I continue my story of Ludwig Koons, the young boy who is being held illegally by the Italian Government. Two weeks ago, the Minor's Tribunal in Rome denied the request of the prosecutor to remove Ludwig's mother, the kidnapper, parental authority. Not only is this outrageous, but the court made this decision without any psychological evaluation, testimony or other discovery whatsoever. The decision was made solely on the superficial interview of Ludwig before the judges, which lasted about 15 minutes. This decision was made despite the finding that Ludwig was kept from having any contact with his father for over 6 months. Ludwig's mother, the woman who kidnapped him and is holding him against the will of United States courts, argued that Ludwig is afraid of his father, which is an absurd, preposterous allegation. Jeff Koons's attorneys will be filing an appellate brief before the Rome Court of Appeals contesting this decision of the Minor's Tribunal as arbitrary and unfounded, which it absolutely is, and which this entire 8-year-long ordeal has been. Mr. Speaker, please, I urge Members to join me. Help end this tragedy. We cannot stand idly by while American children are being kidnapped and held by foreign governments, even if they are our friends. Bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, I generally give my 1-minutes each day on the issue of missing children, whether it is to talk about Ludwig Koonz, who has been abducted by his noncustodial mother to Italy, or whether it is talk about the Missing Children's Day, which we observed only a couple of weeks ago. During that time, there was a survey that was done, it was done by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and ADVO, and it showed that many parents lack information critical to recovering children who have been abducted. The survey results show that many parents are missing opportunities to help prevent abductions. Law enforcement tells us that information such as height, weight, eye color, and a recent photograph are critically important when searching for a child. However, the survey shows that 22 percent of parents do not know the height, weight, and eye color for all of their children; and in the event of an emergency, it is critical for parents to have readily available their child's accurate physical description and a recent photograph so that law enforcement can act immediately and effectively. So, parents, take the time to get a good portrait ID-type photograph of each child, not just a low-quality snapshot. Parents need to take the responsibility of knowing about their children and being able and ready to respond in the event that something terrible happens such as that. Let us work to take care of our children.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I will again digress this morning from my stories of Ludwig Koonz, but not our effort to return him to the United States from Italy. As chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, I would ask that as we approach this Memorial Day that we not only pay honor to those who have given their lives to our country, but to the tens of thousands of innocent children who are still missing from their loved ones in this country. We maintain hope that the children will come home and that they will come home not only with the help of law enforcement, but with the help of the American people. A few years back, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children instituted the Picture Them Home campaign to be observed during the month of May. I have asked my colleagues on a number of occasions to place pictures of missing children on their franked envelopes, which is allowed under the franking guidelines, and many of them have chosen to do so. This morning I ask that everyone here join me in supporting this effort and help us Picture Them Home. Participating in this campaign only takes a few minutes of your time. First, pledge to take the time to really look at the pictures of the missing children that you see. These may be pictures on bulletin boards in your local Wal-Mart, or they may be the ``Have You Seen Me?'' cards that are sent out by ADVO. Second, if you are a parent, make sure that you maintain current, high-quality pictures of your children for use in case of an emergency. Mr. Speaker, we know that pictures work. All you have to do is look.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, National Missing Children's Day is coming up on May 25. I want to remind my colleagues about what we can do in our offices to help find missing children. According to the FBI's National Crime Information Center, nearly 2,000 children are reported missing every day in our Nation. One in 6 children is recovered as a result of their picture being distributed, and it is vital that we do more to bring missing children home and safeguard our youth. Printing the pictures of missing children on our envelopes is a simple way we can get involved and help take a stand against child abduction and victimization, making our districts safer for our constituents. It is simple. For more information on how to get pictures printed on your envelopes, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 703-274-3900, and ask to speak to the Public Affairs Department. By adding pictures to our office envelopes, we can help picture them home. Please, I say to my colleagues, let us not forget Ludwig Koons. He is being held in a compound in Italy where there is pornography and prostitution. We need to bring our children home, and we need help.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, as you know, much of my attention these days has been on the International Space Station. I, along with other Members, am fighting hard to restore the capabilities that the Administration has tried to cut from this important program. We need a Space Station that has the crew size, the research capabilities, the habitation facilities, and the crew rescue vehicles that successive Congresses and Administrations have supported. And we need to keep our commitments to our international partners on this program. It is going to be a tough fight, but as Gene Kranz was fond of saying: ``failure is not an option''. However, I don't think that our current struggles over the Space Station should divert us from the fact that we are facing a much deeper crisis--a crisis of commitment. The nation's human space flight program is adrift, with no clear commitment to any goals after the completion of the Space Station. I'd like to talk about that today, and I'd like to offer a way forward for the nation that I think can revitalize our space program, energize our industrial and academic sectors, and inspire our young people. It was 41 years ago this month that the United States took its first, halting steps in the human exploration of space. On May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard was launched on a fifteen-minute suborbital flight. A month before, the very first human flew in space when the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed a single orbit of the Earth. It was an exciting time. At the end of May of that year, a young, energetic President Kennedy announced that the United States intended to land a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. The so-called ``Space Race'' was on! Yet, five hundred years from now, I don't think our descendants will look back at the Apollo moon landings as just an interesting example of the geopolitical rivalries that marked the twentieth century. Instead, I think that the real significance of Apollo will be that it marked the first major step in humanity's journey outward into the solar system. Would anyone who watched Neil Armstong step onto the lunar surface for the first time in 1969 believe that three decades later we would still be stuck in Earth orbit? Certainly not me. And I still find it hard to believe. That is not to diminish what the United States has accomplished in space over the last thirty years. We have sent space probes to every planet in the solar system except Pluto. We have built and continue to operate the world's first reusable space shuttle. And as we speak, we have a permanent crew orbiting overhead in the first truly international space station. We should all take pride in what has been accomplished to date. But we should not be satisfied. It is now thirty years since the last American--the last representative of Planet Earth--left the surface of the Moon and returned to Earth. And we haven't ventured outward since that time. In my opinion, that's thirty years too long! We have a solar system to explore. We need to find out if there is life beyond Earth. And we need to build the space-based observatories and research stations that will allow us to search for Earth-like plants around other stars. Space exploration is not about robotic spacecraft versus astronauts. Rather it is about using both robots and humans to explore and to gather knowledge. I thus am introducing today the ``Space Exploration Act of 2002.'' I am pleased to have bipartisan support with Representatives Ralph Hall, Lamar Smith, Gene Green, Ken Bentsen, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Brad Carson and Martin Frost as original cosponsors. Some may say we can't afford a mission to Mars at this time. Maybe so, but my bill says that while Mars is the ultimate destination for a phased program of exploring the inner solar system, there are preliminary voyages of exploration and science that we can and should start preparing for now . . . voyages that will help us prepare for the exploration and eventual settlement of Mars--while having great scientific merit in their own right. The ``Space Exploration Act of 2002'' requires the NASA Administrator to set the following goals for the future activities of NASA's human spaceflight program: Within 8 years of enactment, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans from low earth orbit to the L1 and L2 Earth-Sun libration points and back, to the Earth-Moon liberation points and back, and to lunar orbit and back. Within 10 years of enactment, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans from low Earth orbit to and from an Earth-orbit crossing asteroid and rendezvousing with it. Within 15 years of enactment, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back, as well as the deployment of a human-tended habitation and research facility on the lunar surface. Within 20 years of enactment, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans from Martian orbit, the deployment of a human tended habitation and research facility on the surface of a Martian moon, and the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans from Martian orbit to the surface of Mars and back. The bill establishes an Office of Exploration within NASA, headed by an Associate Administrator, which will be responsible for planning, budgeting, and managing activities undertaken to accomplish the above goals. The Administrator will be required to establish a process for conducting competitions for innovative, cost-effective mission concepts to accomplish the above goals, which will be open to industry, academia, nongovernmental research organizations, NASA Centers, and other government organizations. International participation and cost sharing will be encouraged. The Administrator will be required to establish an independent panel to conduct a merit-based competitive review of the proposals submitted and an independent external review of the cost estimate and funding profile of the competitively selected proposals. These findings must be reported to Congress. The implementation plans of the competitively selected proposals must be updated every year by the manager of the project and the Administrator must have an independent external review panel review each of the updated implementation plans and report these findings to Congress. The bill authorizes $50 million for FY 2003 and $200 million for FY 2004 to carry out these activities. If we are ever going to break out of Earth orbit and conduct comprehensive human and robotic exploration of our solar system and universe, we need to overcome a serious obstacle. That obstacle is not technical, although human exploration will be very technically challenging. And the obstacle is not financial, although we need to ensure that human exploration is done in as cost-efficient and financially responsible a manner as possible. No, these aren't the real obstacles to success. The real obstacle is the lack of a commitment to get started. We don't need another national commission to come up with goals for human space flight beyond low Earth orbit--what we need is a national commitment to carrying out any one of the many worthy goals that have been articulated to date. I want the United States to get started. And I hope that we can interest our international friends in working with us on this grand undertaking. Because space exploration is humanity's future--not just America's. But I am an American, and I want to make sure that at a minimum America steps up to the challenge of achieving our destiny in space.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise every day to talk about Ludwig Koons and our need to return him from Italy to the United States, and I want to digress from that story, but please remember how important it is that we concentrate on bringing our children home. Today's message is about human space flight. America's human space flight program is adrift with no clear vision or commitment to any goals after the completion of the International Space Station. Today I will be introducing the Space Exploration Act of 2002 to provide a vision and a concrete set of goals for the Nation's human space flight program after the International Space Station. This legislation sets forth specific incremental goals that are exciting, challenging and that build capabilities and infrastructure needed for an ultimate human mission to Mars. Once America gets started on achieving the first of the human space flight goals listed in the bill, we have gotten over the highest hurdle to success in the entire initiative. We will once again be moving outward beyond low Earth orbit, and in the process, we will revitalize our space program, energize our industrial and academic sectors, create new opportunities for international cooperation, and inspire our young people.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, again I digress from my story of Ludwig Koonz who is in Italy and most anxious to return to the United States of America. I rise to congratulate the Supreme Court on its decision to partially uphold the Child Online Protection Act. The 1998 law was designed to stop children from gaining access to sexual material on the Internet. As the founder and chair of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, I am glad to see that the Supreme Court agreed with Congress that community standards protecting children should be applied to the World Wide Web. We have seen an attack lately on the laws designed to protect children from pornography and exploitation, and we all must work together to make sure that children remain protected. I urge Members to join the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) and me in our work to protect innocent children from the business of sex and pornography. Please support the Child Modeling Exploitation Act of 2002, which would ban exploitative child modeling, banning all Web sites that charge fees to view models 16 years of age and under that do not promote products or services beyond the child. The children in these sites are in contact with the customers through e-mail and in some more extreme cases through actual meetings. They put children in great danger both psychological and physical. I urge Members to join the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) and me and work to end this horrendous practice.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to think that I have talked so long that I have become hoarse in talking about Ludwig Koons and trying to return him from Italy to the United States where he so desperately belongs and needs to be. Ludwig Koons is a child being held in a pornographic compound in Italy by his mother, who is teaching him that. Yesterday, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) and I had a press conference where we announced a bill that we are going to introduce very shortly that is called the Child Modeling Exploitation Prevention Act of 2002. We intend to ban exploitive child modeling from all websites that charge fees to view models who are 16 years of age and under. They are nothing more than sites that cause titillation for pedophiles. I will make the transition from that with my continued story about Ludwig Koons, because he is learning that that apparently is an okay life. I do not believe any of us believe that. I am asking Members to join us on this bill, but I am also continuing my plea that we stand up as a nation and that we demand that our State Department or any other department of this government, or any Member of the House of Representatives who is willing to write a letter to make a phone call, demand that Ludwig Koons be returned to the United States. Bring all of our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I am going to divert today from my normal story about Ludwig Koonz and my request to have him returned from Italy to his father here in the United States, to talk about and to ask Members to participate this month in the Picture Them Home campaign. Nearly 2,000 children are reported missing every day in this Nation. The Picture Them Home campaign is an annual effort to encourage the public to really look at pictures of missing children and report what they know to the authorities. One in six missing children is recovered as a result, and it is vital that we take the pledge to Picture Them Home. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of simple ways that Americans can get involved and help take a stand against child abduction and victimization, making America safer for our constituents. A packet on the Picture Them Home campaign will be delivered to Members' offices this week. I encourage Members and their staff to look at it and to work on the simple efforts that it will detail within that packet. If we all do our part, together we can renew interest in the cases of missing children that remain unsolved, and help more families bring their children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the outstanding career of Mr. Levoris Roy, who is retiring this year after 35 years of distinguished service as a teacher and principal. Stretching over 4 decades, Mr. Roy's entire career has provided insight, courage and direction to the young citizens of South East Texas. Mr. Roy is currently serving as Principal of Vincent Middle School, Beaumont Texas. His leadership and ability to achieve has greatly benefitted his school, teachers, students and all of the Beaumont community. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Levoris Roy's career is ripe with countless examples of selfless hard work and extraordinary accomplishment in service to our great Nation. His contributions to Southeast Texas are immeasurable. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Levoris Roy and his family a pleasurable and well-deserved retirement. Congratulations, Mr. Roy, on a job well done.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, well, here we are at the beginning of May 2002. Ludwig Koonz was taken to Italy in 1994. Jeff Koonz, his father, won court cases prior to that giving him custody. Jeff continues to fight the fight to get his son returned, the U.S. citizen's son returned, to the United States of America. The mother who took the child, Ilona Staller is still doing her pornography. She still has her Web site up. She is still doing exotic sex shows all over the world, raising her son in that environment. We have not heard from our State Department. We do not know exactly what they are doing about this to fight to bring every U.S. citizen who is outside of this country and who wants to be here in the United States home, where they belong. All I can ask is that you consider, my colleagues, what you would do if it were your child. Would you sit by complacently, like we are doing; or would you be standing on the shores of our country demanding that every child taken out of our country be returned? Help us bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I feel like a broken record. I am here to talk about Ludwig Koons, who is being held in a pornographic compound in Italy. We need the help of our governments, the United States and Italy, to return this child, along with thousands of others who have been removed by noncustodial parents outside of our country. I have mentioned the State Department before in these 1-minute addresses. I asked recently Secretary Powell to help American parents and children, but I find that the message is not getting through. On Monday, a member of my staff met with a man whose children had been abducted by an ex-wife and taken to Mexico. The State of California had awarded custody of the children to the father. They have now been in Mexico for 2 years. When he met with the State Department, he did not get the help that he needed. Instead, he was told he probably would not see his children again. What an outrageous attitude. The State Department should be an unfailing advocate for Americans and their children, who are, I remind Members, American citizens themselves. The situation is unacceptable to me. I cannot imagine that it is not unacceptable to other Members. Please join me. We must bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, about 1,000 children a year are taken outside the borders of the United States. These are noncustodial parental abductions. We have thousands of them across our country, and I urge each of my colleagues to help join that fight to bring them home. One such case is that of Jeff Koons, who I have been talking about now for several months. The last time I talked about it, he had been awarded custody by the courts in New York, but soon thereafter his ex- wife filed for custody and a divorce suit in Italy. Well, he went along with that. He argued the matter in Italy that New York laws should be followed. He even went along and hired psychiatrists to evaluate both himself and his ex-wife to see who would be fittest of the parents. Lo and behold, after a year of investigation, the Italian court-appointed psychiatrist determined that custody should be granted to Mr. Koons. On February 28, 1998, a panel of judges of the First Section of the Rome Tribunal found that Jeff Koons should have custody and granted that custody. That custody was to commence on August 1, 1998; and as I look, we are now in April of 2002. Four years later, Mr. Koons still does not have his son. Father Coughlin spoke of trustworthy people bringing hope to a fearful world. Where are the trustworthy people? Bring our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, child pornography was a worldwide industry that was all but eradicated in the 1980s. Unfortunately, it has resurfaced with a vengeance, thanks to computer technology. The explosive growth of computer technology via e-mail, chat rooms and news groups have created a bigger demand for pornographic pictures of our children on the Information Superhighway. Congress must step up to the plate and take some action to stem the growing tide of child exploitation on the Internet and in other forms. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court struck down the Child Pornography Protection Act. Today the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus will hold a briefing for members of the caucus on legislation that is being developed in response to the Supreme Court's decision. We must continue to protect our children from exploitation and pornography. The Supreme Court sent the wrong message to pornographers all over the world. Mr. Speaker, Congress needs to sends the right message, and we will, just as we will in returning Ludwig Koons to the United States. It is not right that Ludwig's pornographer mother illegally removed him to Italy against the order of the United States courts. She is a criminal. We need to bring Ludwig home and all of our children home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, Ludwig Koons still has not been returned from Italy where he was abducted by his pornographer mother. What is in this morning's newspaper headlines? Supreme Court decides to strike down the Child Pornography Protection Act. This is a clear and present danger to children all over the world. I am concerned that this decision will allow the manufacture, distribution, and possession of virtual child pornography. We will potentially see a rise in the exploitation of children. Child pornographic material, whether virtual or not, is used to lure and to exploit children. I am concerned about the onerous burden that this is going to place on prosecutors. Prosecutors will now have to prove the identity of the children who are being exploited. Well, this is a difficult task. The Supreme Court sent a terrible message, one that is terrible to send to the pornographic community that this behavior is okay. We can be sure that the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children will do everything within its power to right this wrong and to protect our children from exploitation, and we must bring Ludwig Koons home.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I wonder what Ludwig Koons is doing this morning. Perhaps he is watching his mother get ready for work by taking her clothes off for a pornographic photo shoot or get ready for an erotic sex show. A couple of weeks ago I called the State Department and asked them what they were going to do to help fight Italy, who is totally disregarding the welfare of Ludwig Koons. I asked for Secretary Powell. I did not get to speak with him but soon thereafter received a list of actions that the State Department has taken on behalf of Ludwig Koons. The actions include on April 22, 2000, the State Department sends Jeff Koons, the father, a recap of the activity on the case. Thanks. On September 21, 2000, the Consul General, Charles Keil, replies to an inquiry from the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney). Thanks. On October 17, 2000, the State Department calls Mr. Koons and agrees to talk to his attorney. Thanks. This is what the State Department calls action? If any of us took action like that, we could not get reelected. That is what our constituents would do. I want to send a strong message today to the State Department and to Secretary Powell. Congress will not stand for this any longer. American citizens, including Ludwig Koons, are being held captive. It is your job to bring our children home.