[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 190 (Monday, December 3, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7252-S7254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMY, VICKY, AND ANDY CHILD PORNOGRAPHY VICTIM ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2018
Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I am pleased Congress recently passed my
bipartisan bill, the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim
Assistance Act of 2018. This legislation will help provide meaningful
assistance for child pornography victims to support their recovery and
allow them to reclaim their lives. This is a momentous day and many
years in the making. I have introduced similar versions of this bill in
the last three Congresses, and I look forward to the President signing
it into law.
Nearly 25 years ago, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act,
which created a process for victims to seek restitution from
defendants. For crimes that involve individual defendants who cause
specific harm to particular victims, the restitution statute works in a
straightforward way.
Child pornography is unlike any other crime. The abuse involved in
creating these images profoundly alters the lives of victims, while
trafficking in the permanent record of that abuse
[[Page S7253]]
perpetuates and expands the harm. As the Supreme Court noted in its
2014 opinion in Paroline v. United States: ``Every viewing of child
pornography is a repetition of the victim's abuse.'' Unfortunately, the
internet has radically changed the nature of child pornography
trafficking by drastically increasing the number of individuals who
harm victims while simultaneously making it more difficult to identify
the individuals from whom victims can seek restitution.
In its decision in Paroline, the Supreme Court made clear that the
current restitution statute cannot provide meaningful compensation for
most child pornography victims. The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act changes
that.
The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act establishes more relevant and useful
standards for child pornography victims who seek restitution from
defendants, including improved criteria for judges to use when
calculating victims' losses and provisions that ensure victims will
receive meaningful restitution. Under this legislation, a victim of
trafficking in child pornography may choose to seek restitution from
defendants or to receive a one-time payment from the Child Pornography
Victims Reserve within the federal Crime Victims Fund. The reserve will
be supported by an assessment on all child pornography defendants.
Congress understands the concern of the Supreme Court in Paroline
that it is difficult to identify a discrete, readily definable
incremental loss any one defendant caused any one victim, and so we
have determined, after considering a range of options with the specific
goal of fully compensating victims of child pornography in a swift and
just manner, that it is reasonable, fair, and equitable to fix the
minimum restitution amount for trafficking in child pornography at
$3,000.
Congress firmly believes that the amounts in the act are consistent
with the principle in Hughey v. United States, 495 U.S. 411 (1990),
that restitution should reflect the consequences of the defendant's own
conduct. Congress finds that $3,000 is the minimum restitution that
each individual defendant of trafficking in child pornography crimes
should be assessed that comports with a defendant's relative role in
the causal process that underlies a victim's general losses. This is
fully in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision in Paroline. This
amount also upholds Congress's longstanding goal of proportionality in
sentencing because it reflects the amount of restitution currently
being sought and ordered in district courts throughout the country.
Criminals convicted of child pornography crimes--be they crimes of
production, distribution, or possession--are part of a group of
wrongdoers who collectively cause harm. Indeed, the profound suffering
of victims of child pornography crimes is due in part to their
knowledge that, each day, untold numbers of people across the country
and around the world are viewing and distributing images of the
victims' sexual abuse. Criminals who commit child pornography crimes
cannot escape their responsibility to pay restitution by hiding in a
crowd.
Another important provision in the bill gives victims access to the
images depicting them, which can be important for victim
identification, expert testimony, forensic review, and treatment.
The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act has been endorsed by the National
Organization for Victim Assistance, National Association of Attorneys
General, National Crime Victims Law Institute, National District
Attorneys Association, National Center for Victims of Crime, National
Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, National Crime Victims
Bar Association, CHILD USA, RAINN, APSAC in partnership with The New
York Foundling, Enough is Enough, Thorn, Academy on Violence and Abuse,
DV LEAP, Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic, Utah Coalition against Sexual
Assault, and the Children's Justice Fund. I appreciate all of their
support.
Developing and passing this important legislation has truly been a
collaborative and years-long effort. There are a number of people I
would like to thank who have been vital in this process.
First and foremost, I wish to recognize and thank Amy, Vicky, and
Andy, the brave individuals for whom this bill is named. As victims in
some of the most widely distributed child pornography series in the
world, they represent so many child pornography victims. Amy, Vicky,
and Andy strongly support this bill.
Second, I want to thank Amy's lawyer, James Marsh; Vicky's lawyer,
Carol Hepburn; Andy's advocates at the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic;
and Professor Paul Cassell at the University of Utah, who took Amy's
case all the way to the Supreme Court. Their assistance with this bill,
drawn from their tireless advocacy for victims, has been truly
invaluable and much appreciated. Likewise, I must thank the dedicated
attorneys at the Department of Justice for their important
contributions to this legislation. I would particularly like to thank
Alexandra Gelber of the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and
Obscenity Section.
Third, I wish to thank the Senators on both sides of the aisle who
supported this important legislation, especially the 26 colleagues who
co-sponsored this legislation with me. In particular, I wish to thank
Ranking Member Feinstein, who joined me in introducing this bill. We
have served together for many years, and she has long been a champion
for crime victims. I likewise want to express my gratitude to Chairman
Chuck Grassley, who also joined me in introducing the bill and who was
crucial to getting this important legislation across the finish line.
Throughout our Senate service, I have worked with Chairman Grassley and
Ranking Member Feinstein on several bills to protect children, and I
thank them for their commitment to ensuring that child victims have the
support they need. I must thank members of their staff as well for
their outstanding work: Senator Feinstein's counsel, Nicholas Xenakis,
her former chief counsel for crime, Peter Hyun, and her former
detailee, Sunjeet Randhawa; and Senator Grassley's chief Constitution
counsel and crime counsel, Aaron Cummings, and his chief counsel for
justice programs, juvenile justice, and violence against women, Evelyn
Fortier.
Fourth, I wish to recognize some colleagues in the House of
Representatives. I would like to thank Congressman Trey Gowdy, the
House sponsor of the bill. He has been a tireless advocate for child
pornography victims, and I appreciate his dedicated service. Anna
Bartlett in his office was a terrific help. Congressman Matt
Cartwright, who represents Amy in the House, has been a champion on
this issue and has introduced similar legislation in the last three
Congresses.
I would also like to recognize House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob
Goodlatte. I have been fortunate to work with him on several
initiatives throughout the years that were enacted into law, most
recently the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. I
was pleased to collaborate with him again on the Amy, Vicky, and Andy
Act. I would like to thank his chief of staff, Shelley Husband, and his
deputy chief of staff and chief counsel, Branden Ritchie, for their
excellent job in shepherding this bill through the House. I also need
to thank staff on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland
Security, and Investigations for their great work, chief counsel Robert
Parmiter and former counsel Chris Grieco. I would like to give a
special shout-out to Crime Subcommittee counsel Margaret Barr, who was
an outstanding partner in this effort. They all deserve tremendous
credit for this victory.
I would be remiss if I did not thank staff in the cloakroom and
Senate legislative counsel for their assistance. Our work in the Senate
would not be possible without their dedicated service.
Lastly, I would like to thank those on my staff who assisted me with
this bill. Firstly, I would like to thank my former chief counsel and
senior nominations counsel, Thomas Jipping, who spearheaded this effort
while he was a member of my staff. Next, I need to recognize Matt
Sandgren, my chief of staff His tenacity and expertise was invaluable
in getting this legislation passed. I am also grateful to my
legislative director, Matt Jensen, for his dedicated work on this bill
through each step of the legislative process. Finally, I would like to
thank Kristin
[[Page S7254]]
McLintock, my senior legislative aide, who worked diligently with House
staff and stakeholders over the last several months to refine this bill
and get it across the finish line. They all deserve immense credit for
their work to get this bill enacted into law.
Child pornography is a truly evil crime that has lasting impacts on
its victims. The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim
Assistance Act will help provide victims the assistance they need to
put their lives back together. I am honored and extremely pleased this
legislation will soon be signed into law.
____________________