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Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2023

Public Law 118-65 · S. 2051 · 118th Congress · began in the Senate

Signed by Joe Biden (D) on Jun 17, 2024 · Crime and Law Enforcement

Sponsor: Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)

Cosponsors (1): Sen. Lindsey Graham

Passage votesYeaNay

  • HouseRecorded vote: 406 yea, 0 nay406–0
  • SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

This act reauthorizes through FY2028 and otherwise revises programs and activities for missing and exploited children.

Specifically, the act revises certain terminology within the Missing Children’s Assistance Act, including by replacing the term child pornography with child sexual abuse material.

Additionally, the act expands the functions and duties of the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). For example, the act allows NCMEC to provide support services, consultation, and assistance to missing and sexually exploited children, parents, their families, and child-serving professionals on recovery support, including counseling recommendations and community support.

Further, the act provides statutory authority for NCMEC to facilitate requests for removing from the internet any child sexual abuse material and sexually exploitive content depicting children. (Currently, NCMEC operates an initiative to help facilitate the removal of such content from the internet.)

The act requires NCMEC to report additional information in its annual report on missing children. In particular, NCMEC must include in this publicly available report the number of children reported as missing from state-sponsored care, the number of such children whose recovery was reported, and the number of such children who are likely victims of child sex trafficking.

The act also requires NCMEC to annually report on the criteria and processes used to establish forensic partnerships and recommend forensic resources to law enforcement.

Who voted for it

Every House member of the 118th Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 406 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.

406 yea0 nay24 present or did not vote

ProEstablishmentAnti
Economic left–right
More liberalMore conservative

Democrats who voted yea(204)

Republicans who voted yea(202)

Data notes

The House’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 824 in Voteview), matched to the vote the record cites and checked against its totals. Positions are each member’s DW-NOMINATE score for that Congress, as on the Ideology page; left to right is more liberal to more conservative. Paired and announced yea votes count as yea. Lists follow the compass, most liberal first. A name links to a profile only for members of the current Congress. A law passed by voice vote or unanimous consent has no member list, and neither does a vote Voteview has not yet recorded.

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Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Related bills

1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.

  • H.R. 5224Related bill

    Missing Children's Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2023

Data notes

Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 21 actions.

  1. Jun 17, 2024Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 118-65.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Jun 12, 2024FloorFloor · Presented to President.
  4. Jun 6, 2024FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  5. Jun 5, 2024Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendment to S. 2051 by Unanimous Consent.
  6. OtherOther · Resolving differences -- Senate actions: Senate agreed to the House amendment to S. 2051 by Unanimous Consent.
  7. Apr 10, 2024FloorFloor · Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendment to Senate bill.
  8. Apr 9, 2024FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  9. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 406 - 0 (Roll no. 106).House roll call 106
  10. FloorFloor · Considered as unfinished business.
  11. FloorFloor · At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  12. FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 2051.
  13. FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
  14. FloorFloor · Ms. Foxx moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  15. Jul 27, 2023FloorFloor · Held at the desk.
  16. FloorFloor · Received in the House.
  17. FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  18. Jul 26, 2023FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  19. CommitteeCommittee · Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
  20. Jun 20, 2023CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  21. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes

Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.

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Amendments

No amendments to this bill are on record.

Data notes

Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.

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Official record

The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.