John Walsh Applauds Toomey Language Protecting Service Members' Children from Pedophiles

Washington, D.C. - With America's children returning to school, numerous child advocates and law enforcement groups have joined U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) in urging members of the Senate Armed Services Committee to preserve his language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would help prevent convicted pedophiles and other dangerous criminals from infiltrating our children's schools.

In June, the U.S. Senate passed, with a bipartisan 85-13 vote, its version of the NDAA, the must-pass legislation that authorizes funding for our troops and directs national defense policy. Through the leadership of Chairman John McCain, the Senate version of the NDAA includes Sen. Toomey's Protecting Our Service Members' Children from Sexual and Violent Predators Act. The Toomey language provides that if a school district accepts taxpayer funds for educating military members' children, it must perform criminal background checks on teachers and other school workers who will have unsupervised access to children and may not hire individuals convicted of certain crimes, including any sexual or violent crime against a child.

Differences between the Senate and House-passed versions of NDAA are being negotiated now.

"When I put my children on the school bus, I have every right to expect that I am sending them somewhere safe, surrounded by adults who will care for them," said Sen. Toomey. "When military men and women send their kids to school, whether on or off the base, they deserve no less.
"Thanks to the efforts of state Sen. Anthony Williams and others, every child in Pennsylvania has the protection of thorough background checks for school workers. But members of our military often do not get to choose where they will be stationed and where their children will attend school. My legislation ensures that when our Pennsylvania service members are stationed in another state, their children will continue to be protected from convicted pedophiles infiltrating the classroom.

"Sadly, the danger to our children is all too real. In 2014, at least 459 teachers and other school workers were arrested for sexual misconduct with children. Last year that number jumped to 498. Stopping these predators is a moral imperative. This is something we know we can do to protect our children from convicted child molesters and other dangerous criminals. I applaud Chairman John McCain for leading the effort in the Armed Services Committee to advance this crucial cause. Every day we wait, we risk another child being brutalized, another childhood lost."

Numerous child advocates and law enforcement groups are joining Sen. Toomey in urging members of the Armed Services Committee to preserve this protection for children as they negotiate a final version of the NDAA.

• "Background checks for teachers and other school workers are simple common sense. And, it is sorely needed. Pedophiles seek out jobs where they have access to and authority over children. Few jobs fit the bill as well as a teacher, coach, or other school employee. And pedophiles have been all too successful in infiltrating America's schools. I strongly urge the conferees for National Defense Authorization Act to ensure that the Toomey language protecting our children is included in the final conference report."-John Walsh, former host of America's Most Wanted and current host of The Hunt with John Walsh

• "We urge the conferees for National Defense Authorization Act to ensure that the Toomey language is included in the final conference report and is enacted into law. This should not be controversial. We should all be able to agree that convicted pedophiles and other dangerous criminals have no place in America's schools. And, less than two years ago, every Member of Congress save one voted to enact the Child Care Development Block Grant bill, which imposes similar background check requirements on day cares that receive federal funds." -Joint statement of Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO; National Association of Police Organizations; and National Sheriffs' Association

• The Toomey provision, found in Section 578, "is a critical step toward protecting service members' children from being exploited by individuals who are tasked with educating them . . . NCMEC is proud to lend our support to this important provision. As you work towards the National Defense Authorization Act conference agreement, we urge you to ensure that Section 578 is included in the final version, and ultimately, enacted into law." -National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

• "As organizations seeking to prevent, detect, prosecute, and treat child abuse, we see firsthand the devastating effects of these crimes. . . . Section 578 of the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the Senate (S.2943) takes an important step toward preventing such abuse. It incorporates the background check requirements proposed by Senator Pat Toomey in his Protecting Our Service members' Children Act. . . . [W]e urge you to ensure that section 578 remains intact and is included in the conference report and, eventually, enacted into law." -Joint statement of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct & Exploitation (S.E.S.A.M.E.) and 28 other child protection groups

• "Child sexual abuse is a far too common experience for America's children. And child sexual abuse is preventable. It is for this reason that we support language in a final conference agreement for the National Defense Authorization Act that protects our service member's children and their families." -National Children's Alliance

BACKGROUND: Sen. Toomey's longstanding efforts to protect children from pedophiles in the classroom began in 2013, when he and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) introduced the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act.

That bipartisan legislation had two parts:

First, the bill banned the terrible practice of administrators knowingly recommending for hire at another school a child molester so the predator became someone else's problem. The practice so common it has its own moniker, "passing the trash."

Second, the legislation required schools receiving federal funds to perform background checks on all new and existing workers who have unsupervised access to children. This includes substitute teachers, coaches, classroom aides, and bus drivers hired as contractors, who currently are not subject to background checks in 12 states. The background checks must be thorough, covering two state and two federal databases.

The "passing the trash" provision was enacted into law last December, when President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act into law. Sen. Toomey pledged to continue fighting to enact uniform background checks for school workers to prevent convicted pedophiles and other dangerous criminals from infiltrating the classroom.

• On March 3, Senator Toomey introduced the Protecting Our Service Members' Children from Sexual and Violent Predators Act.
• On March 4, Senator Toomey wrote to Chairman John McCain, asking him to incorporate the legislation into the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

Chairman McCain included Sen. Toomey's legislation in the version of the NDAA reported by the Armed Services Committee and ultimately passed by a bipartisan majority of the Senate.

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