Child Predator Bill Gets Backing With Oprah Plug
From Tuesday's CongressDaily AM edition:
Legislation to boost funding for Justice Department-funded Internet Crimes Against Children task forces received a ringing endorsement from talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey on Monday that will likely inject the issue into presidential politics. The bill, which would authorize $320 million over five years, is part of an omnibus package Majority Leader Reid tried unsuccessfully to bring to a vote before the August recess over the objections of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
The amount authorized is less than half of what was originally proposed when Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., -- now running for vice president -- introduced the legislation in June 2007. A similar measure by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., passed the House in November with a $1 billion authorization level. During the show, Winfrey implored viewers to help crack down on child predators by contacting senators in support of the legislation. Read the full story here.
*Tech Daily Dose Extra*
Camille Cooper of the National Association to Protect Children told us that as of 5 p.m. (an hour after the show aired in many markets), approximately 67,000 e-mails had been sent to Senate offices. Viewers were also reportedly calling Coburn's office directly, "telling him he should be indicted for holding the bill up," she said. Cooper and Flint Waters, chief of Wyoming's Internet Crimes Against Children task force, appeared as guests on Winfrey's show.
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