WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today introduced legislation (S.4056) to provide law enforcement with additional tools to help locate missing children. The legislation would permit the sharing of taxpayer information from the IRS with law enforcement to locate missing children and suspected child abductors. Senator Casey will also reintroduce this legislation next year.
“There has been much focus in recent years on sharing information across different agencies to catch terrorists,” said Senator Casey. “We should have a similar initiative for information sharing to catch those who abduct or exploit children. I am introducing this legislation today in order to build support to act on this legislation when Congress returns next year.”
Every year in the United States, an estimated 200,000 children are abducted by a family member, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; about 12,000 cases per year involve abductions that last longer than six months. In more than a third of these cases, it may be possible to use data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), such as a home address reported by a tax filer, to locate a missing child. According to a Treasury Department study from 2007 in which 1,700 Social Security numbers of missing children and their alleged abductors were examined, more than a third had been used in tax returns filed after the abduction took place.
The legislation introduced today by Senator Casey will aid in the recovery of missing children by providing a new tool to help law enforcement officials locate missing children and their alleged abductors. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to explicitly permit the disclosure of relevant tax return information for the purpose of aiding criminal investigations into missing or exploited children.
Under current law, the Attorney General or other United States attorney can apply to a Federal district court judge or magistrate judge for an order to obtain IRS data in criminal investigations. This legislation will clarify the law so that the IRS has the authority to release information specifically in investigations relating to missing or exploited children. The provision ensures that select taxpayer information will only be released to law enforcement officials as a part of a legitimate investigation or judicial proceeding under the orders of a federal judge.
The legislation also amends the law to allow for federal law enforcement to share information on a very limited basis with state and local law enforcement that are part of a task force directly involved in investigating and prosecuting such cases. Many investigations into missing and exploited children are conducted at the state and local level.
Clarifying the IRS’s authority to release taxpayer information could result in thousands of children being recovered. It is a common-sense fix that maintains the existing balance between taxpayer privacy and judicious release of information to aid in the recovery of a missing or exploited child.
Senator Casey has a long record of strengthening laws aimed at criminals who target children. While Pennsylvania Auditor General, he led the fight to reform Megan's Law to better protect Pennsylvania communities and children from sex offenders.
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