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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, last week, like many of us in here-- many of my colleagues--I spent time meeting with a lot of great folks back in my home State of Alabama. It was great to be home. It was great to be able to share the progress my office has made in the first 2 years, as well as my vision and priorities for the 118th Congress.

I visited Huntsville, AL, and had the opportunity to meet with some of the leaders in defense, education, and business. This included stops at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; Alabama A&M University, one of the top HBCUs in the country; and other important sites, including businesses in Madison County, AL.

But I would like to take some time today to speak specifically about one stop on my trip that opened my eyes to a subject we should talk about more often in this Chamber. The National Children's Advocacy Center in Huntsville is a global leader in services, investigations, and counseling for children who suffer physical and sexual abuse. The center's work is important, and I am proud to share that work today.

I think we can all agree that we want our kids to have access to all the opportunities that this great country provides. Unfortunately, many children in Alabama and across the country are robbed of the opportunity to thrive and pursue their dreams because of abuse and neglect.

During my visit, the center's executive director, Chris Newlin, shared that 1 in 10 American children today will be victims of abuse before the age of 18. This is horrific, it is unacceptable, and it is embarrassing to our country. These kids don't know what it is like to have a carefree childhood or loving families who support their goals. They aren't able to devote energy to school, join in team sports, or have fun because their only goal in life is just to survive. Not only are they robbed of their childhood, but many times they are robbed of their adulthood as well.

Studies show that there are several long-term effects of child abuse. These include delayed brain development, lower educational success, and limited career opportunities. Victims are also more likely to suffer from future abuse, drug usage, and medical complications. Additionally, they are less likely to own cars, buy homes, or engage in business, making them less likely to be able to support a family in the future.

Nearly 600,000 kids in the United States were abused in 2021. To repeat that, 600,000 kids in the greatest country on the face of the Earth were abused in 2021, with the most common form of abuse being neglect.

Child abuse cases in Alabama have increased throughout the years, with more than 12,000 victims reported in 2018, costing the State of Alabama $3.7 billion. Now, that is up $1.5 billion from just 3 years earlier. The cost is outrageous. And while we are still collecting data from the past few years of COVID--and we know how bad that was--we all know that those numbers are going to be outrageous.

We cannot allow this to continue in the United States of America. Fortunately, we have people in our State of Alabama who have made it their mission to help victims of child abuse.

Founded in 1985, the National Children's Advocacy Center, also called the NCAC, is stepping up to save lives and offer hope to thousands and thousands of young people. The NCAC in Huntsville has established more than 1,000 children's advocacy centers in the United States and in 41 countries around the world.

Their work serves thousands and thousands of kids every year, like 7- year-old Benji, who was found unconscious by his grandmother and rushed to the hospital. There, it was discovered he had broken fingers, a broken rib, countless bruises, and old bones that had been broken but never fixed. Doctors determined Benji was also sexually abused.

That night, Benji left the hospital with Julie, who would eventually become his new foster mom, and arrived at the NCAC the very next morning for evaluation. Thanks to the work of the dedicated and selfless professionals in Huntsville, Benji now has a safe and loving home. He has made tremendous strides in playing with other children and bonding with family members and their new family kitten, and trusting his adoptive mother was a huge benefit.

Benji's therapists say he continues to show more confidence and will likely graduate from therapy in just a few months. There is no telling how many Benjis there are out there in our world today.

The center's reach does not end in Alabama. It has expanded around the country and across the world. In 2021, over 30,000 child abuse professionals from 50 States and 17 countries received NCAC training, and more than 400,000 children were served. That is just in 2021. Alabama's network of children's advocacy centers now includes 47 different locations that have conducted tens of thousands of counseling sessions each year. And, thanks to their work, more abusers have been brought to justice. Communities with children's advocacy centers have seen a 196-percent increase in felony prosecutions of child sexual abuse.

I am confident their work will continue to make tremendous impacts in our local communities in Alabama and around the world.

So we all have a duty to stand up for our kids. That is our responsibility. Children are our No. 1 commodity in this country. They will become the next generation of educators, nurses, doctors, lawyers, engineers--even Senators, and maybe even President.

And if we are going to have a strong future, we must make sure we protect and empower this next generation. I commend the team of the National Children's Advocacy Center for their commitment to giving kids a fighting chance--a fighting chance--to overcome unthinkable hardships that most of us never had to realize.

By stepping up to help those who have been left behind, the Center gives kids the opportunity to dream and pursue better lives. I hope we all join this group in doing our part to rescue child abuse victims. I will continue to fight for kids in Alabama and all across our great country, because they deserve it.

And I want to thank the National Children's Advocacy Center for reminding me that we all have a part to play in protecting and serving those who need it most.

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