mr. chairman , i rise today in strong support of h.r. 3132 , the children 's safety act of 2005 .  mr. chairman , as a father and a grandfather i am often reminded of the dangers that surround my loved ones .  specifically , the growing threat that sexual predators pose to our nation 's children and their families represents an area where our criminal justice system has failed the american people .  in order to effectively protect our loved ones , we must provide the american public with unfettered access to know who these dangerous criminals are and where they are living .  if a picture is worth a thousand words , then a comprehensive nationwide publicly accessible database is worth at least that many lives .  i was pleased that chairman sensenbrenner included provisions from my bill , h.r. 95 , that would create a national , comprehensive , and publicly accessible sex offender database into this comprehensive piece of legislation .  additionally , i was delighted at the level of bi-partisanship that both my bill and today 's legislation have received and i would like to personally thank mr. pomeroy from north dakota for his leadership and support .  also , i would like to extend my gratitude to organizations like the big brothers and big sisters of america and the safe now project for their endorsements of h.r. 95 's national database provision .  h.r. 3132 directly addresses the shortcomings of our criminal justice system and aims to make our country safer and more secure from those that would prey on our most vulnerable and our most prized assets -- our children .  with over 500 , 000 registered sex offenders and countless others which remain unknown , law enforcement and corrections personnel will have additional resources at their disposal to prevent and solve these types of crimes .  additionally , this bill strengthens the criminal code for sexually violent crimes and creates more stringent regulations which convicted offenders must adhere to in order to ensure proper monitoring .  americans have heard the heart wrenching stories of innocent children being harmed by predators , and we must make every effort to ensure that tragedies like these never happen again .  mr. chairman , today we must come together to make certain that our children grow up in a safe and secure environment and that parents are unafraid to let their children play in the neighborhood because they have the information they need to protect them .  knowledge is power , and today we have an opportunity before us to supply the american public with the tools necessary to protect themselves , their family , and their friends against those that would commit these heinous crimes .  i urge all of my colleagues to cast their vote in support of this legislation and collectively answer the american public 's call to provide them with additional resources to combat these predators before another life is lost and tragedy befalls another family .  