Congresswoman Lee’s Bipartisan Renewed Hope Act Passes House Judiciary Committee

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the bipartisan Renewed Hope Act, legislation led by Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-FL) to strengthen federal efforts to identify child victims of online sexual exploitation. The bill, co-led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), now advances to the full House for consideration.

"Yesterday's bipartisan vote in the Judiciary Committee moves us one step closer to delivering real help to children who have been exploited and remain unidentified,"said Congresswoman Laurel Lee. "The Renewed Hope Act ensures law enforcement has the specialized personnel needed to find victims, rescue them, and hold predators accountable."

"Children must be protected from the staggering rise in digital predators who seek to exploit them. That means expanding efforts to identify and support these child victims of online abuse," said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. "Mounting evidence points to a disturbing escalation of extreme, violent online content. I'm proud to join my colleagues to introduce this bipartisan legislation to increase capacity to identify victims of child sexual exploitation, and invest in front-line, dedicated professionals who can find predators and save innocent lives."

"For too long, hundreds of thousands of girls and boys have endured horrific abuse - often at the hands of adults who are supposed to protect them,"said Tim Tebow."Children in our nation are right now living in the darkest of evils, crying out for help. Their pain must stir us to act. This is why we're calling on Congress to pass legislation to strengthen our nation's response to identifying and rescuing these boys and girls. Because even with law enforcement and organizations working around the clock to rescue these children, it's just not enough. I'm deeply grateful to our leaders for shining a light on this bipartisan issue so that we can build a stronger rescue team of analysts, investigators, and law enforcement as we unite to find and safeguard every child in our nation suffering this great evil."

Background:
The Renewed Hope Actstrengthens the federal government's ability to identify children depicted in child sexual abuse material by expanding the hiring and retention of specialized victim identification personnel within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The legislation reflects recommendations from victim identification experts and law enforcement partners working to locate and rescue children trapped in ongoing exploitation.

The legislation is supported by the Tim Tebow Foundation, which has long partnered with law enforcement and victim identification organizations to combat child sexual exploitation and advocate for stronger efforts to identify and rescue victims