Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Landmark Online Child Safety Package

WASHINGTON– The Senate Judiciary Committee today voted to advance abipartisan legislative packageled by Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to address disturbing developments in online child exploitation.
TheJames T. Woods Act, named after a high school student who tragically lost his life after experiencing sextortion, passed by voice vote. TheJames T. Woods Actis awidely supportedlegislative package composed of three Grassley-Durbin bills: theSentencing Accountability for Exploitation (SAFE) Act, theEnding Coercion of Children and Harm Online (ECCHO) Actand theStop Sextortion Act. The package would update lax federal sentencing laws penalizing child sex abuse material and create two new crimes to address sextortion and violent online criminal networks, like 764, who coerce children into harming themselves or others.
The Sentencing Commission is currently prohibited from updating sentencing laws without congressional action, and there is currently no law that explicitly prohibits sextortion or the coercion of children into hurting themselves or others.
“Iowans at my county meetings often ask me, ‘Why can’t Republicans and Democrats get along?’ The news media only likes to report on partisan conflicts, but I remind Iowans real bipartisanship happens, and that’s how things get done in the United States Senate. Today is a great example of that bipartisan work in action. TheJames T. Woods Act, named in honor of a young man who tragically lost his life as a result of online harassment, would protect American children from the darkest corners of the internet,”Grassley said. “American families have suffered unthinkable pain at the hands of evil online criminals. I’m proud to work alongside Senator Durbin to bring these individuals to justice.”
“In the digital age, predators can target our kids from anywhere. As online predators’ tactics evolve, so must our tools to combat their depravity. This package of bills revamps key sentencing laws, targets online criminal networks, and cracks down on offenders using sexual abuse material to take advantage of children. I’m proud to partner with Senator Grassley on this bipartisan issue, and I won’t stop until these bills—and other key measures to protect children online—are signed into law,”Durbin said.
The Committee also voted to advance Gregory Gilmore’s nomination to be United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, by a vote of 20-2.
Watch the executive business meetingHERE. Read Grassley’s opening statementHERE.
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