Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) joined Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) in sponsoring the Project Safe Childhood Act of 2023, which updates laws and mobilizes desperately-needed resources to battle the online abuse and sexual exploitation of children. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is spearheaded in the Senate by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

“Digital predators constantly devise new ways to evade law enforcement that dictates relentless innovations in how we protect our kids,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “We must do everything possible to identify, rescue, and support children who are harmed, without sacrificing our responsibility to stop abusers in their tracks and hold them fully accountable under the law. I am proud to sponsor this legislation that will empower and mobilize law enforcement to get sex offenders off our streets and away from our children’s screens.”

"I am honored to help lead this bipartisan effort to protect our children from online abuse and sexual exploitation,” said Rep. Hunt. This effort also helps identify and rescue victims. The Project Safe Childhood Act of 2023 empowers law enforcement and prosecutors to protect what is most precious to us all, our children." 

“We must do everything we can to protect our children from online exploitation and abuse,” said Klobuchar. “By modernizing the Project Safe Childhood program, our bipartisan legislation will ensure that law enforcement has the tools and resources it needs to rescue victims and prosecute those who commit these terrible crimes.”

“The threats our children face online from unidentified predators are vicious and pervasive,” said Sen. Cornyn. “Our bill would improve the ability of federal prosecutors and law enforcement to go after online child predators with new technology and protect vulnerable children from this heinous crime.”

First authorized in 2006, Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Department of Justice engages with federal, state, and local law enforcement and public safety agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children and to bring support to their victims.

The Project Safe Childhood Act of 2023 modernizes this critical program by improving coordination between state and local law enforcement and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces, establishing training protocols for identifying and rescuing children, updating the law to account for advances in technology, and empowering prosecutors to target offenders who commit multiply crimes and take advantage of power imbalances to harm children.

The legislation is endorsed by the National District Attorneys Association; the National Association of Police Organizations; the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network; the National Center on Sexual Exploitation; the Fraternal Order of Police; Rights 4 Girls; the National Children’s Alliance; and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

"Since the start of the pandemic, half of those reaching out to the National Sexual Assault Hotline for help online have been minors," said Scott Berkowitz, president of RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. "The child sexual exploitation crisis is more apparent now than ever. We are grateful to Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Wesley Hunt for their leadership in ensuring that law enforcement have the resources needed to identify and rescue children who are being sexually abused."

The full bill text is available here.

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