releases: https://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/walden-responds-house-s-failure-pass-kelsey-smith-act
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/walden-responds-house-s-failure-pass-kelsey-smith-act | Walden responds to Houses failure to pass Kelsey Smith Act | 2016-05-23 | 2016 | 2016-05 | Republican | House | OR | Greg Walden | W000791 | walden.house.gov | legacy | Walden responds to House's failure to pass Kelsey Smith Act Click here to watch Walden speak in support of the Kelsey Smith Act WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives failed to pass H.R. 4889, the Kelsey Smith Act: "The time was now to act. The time was now to help families find abducted children and I'm disappointed my colleagues could not support this narrowly written bill, saidWalden. We worked diligently to make this a bill that balanced privacy concerns with the importance of saving lives. It's modeled after the law in Oregon that passed unanimously through a Democratic legislature and was signed by a Democratic governor.The majority of the House supported this measure, so, I'm frustrated with my colleagues who voted against providing law enforcement with a critical tool to protect the public in urgent situations where every second counts. This bill respected the rights of the state and local legislatures to determine for themselves the appropriate procedures for law enforcement to protect their citizens' privacy.I willcontinue to work to see this life-saving tool made available nationwide." The Kelsey Smith Act, authored by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS), would require telecommunications carriers to share location data if law enforcement believes that someone is in danger of death or serious harm. The bill is named after an 18-year old Kansas woman who was abducted and murdered in 2007. After Kelsey Smith's car was found in a nearby parking lot, police began an urgent search for her. They were unsuccessful for four days until her cell phone's location information was turned over to law enforcement. Kelsey was then found in about 45 minutes. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Walden helped lead the effort to pass the bill. The bill is modeled after a version passed by Oregon in 2014, when it was unanimously approved by both houses of the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kitzhaber. Although the bill won support from a majority of the House, it did not reach the required two-thirds support required under the rules under which the bill was considered today. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |