Tim Tebow Supports Bipartisan “Renewed Hope Act of 2026” To Rescue Victims of Online Child Sexual Exploitation
Hello January 12th, 2026
Share This Story
Washington, D.C., Jan. 12, 2026 — Today, Tim Tebow, Founder and Chairman of the Tim Tebow Foundation joins U.S. Representative Laurel Lee (FL-15) and U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) to reintroduce the bipartisan Renewed Hope Act of 2026, which will be considered in a House Judiciary Committee markup this week. This bill would create and equip an army of analysts, investigators and forensic specialists to find and safeguard children who have been seen in sexually abusive images by law enforcement, but have not been protected yet.
Since Tim Tebow testified before the House Judiciary Committee on March 6, 2024, during the hearing, “A Voice for the Voiceless,” the scale of this crisis has intensified. The number of unidentified children seen in sexually abusive series of images has risen from 57,000 children to over 89,000 children.
Additionally, in 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline received 20.5 million reports related to 29.2 million incidents of suspected child sexual exploitation. In just the past six months, more than 338,000 unique IP addresses in the U.S. were identified trading child sexual abuse images across peer-to-peer networks. This alarming surge in online child exploitation underscores the urgent need to expand personnel, training and resources to rescue children trapped in sexual exploitation.
“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.”
“The scale and severity of online child exploitation continues to grow at an alarming rate,” said Congresswoman Laurel Lee. “Since 2024, the number of unidentified children depicted in sexual abuse material has risen from 57,000 to more than 89,000. Each number represents a child who has not yet been found, rescued, or protected. The Renewed Hope Act ensures that federal law enforcement has the trained professionals and resources necessary to identify these victims and stop these crimes.”
“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.”
Background:
In 2024, reports to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline included 62,992,859 total files.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Crime Center (HSI C3) has a National Child Victim Identification Program, where analysts search for clues in photos to help them identify the location of child victims in order to identify and rescue them. This program currently has only 10 dedicated analyst positions. These analysts work tirelessly to help locate these children, but the magnitude of this crisis demands more resources to address these crimes at scale.
In Fiscal Year 2023, C3 established the first U.S.-based, multi-national Victim Identification Task Force named Operation Renewed Hope (ORH). ORH I, II, and III included 50 participants including HSI special agents, analysts, computer forensic analysts, and task force officers with NCMEC, FBI, DOJ, Virginia State Police, and victim identification specialists from 24 foreign law enforcement agencies. The team reviewed CSAM material of unidentified victims and tentatively identified more than 1,119 victims. Over 400 of those children have been protected, with almost half of those being American children.
The Renewed Hope Act of 2026 would enhance the Homeland Security Investigations capabilities by:
Dedicated Child Exploitation Workforce
- The Act would require the hiring, training, and assignment of at least 200 investigators, computer forensics and criminal analysts to the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit and HSI field offices dedicated to child exploitation and victim identification.
- Under the Act, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would also be permitted to hire and assign contract and temporary experts and consultants to support victim identification efforts.
Clarifying the C3’s coordinating function
- The Secretary of Homeland Security would be required to establish procedures for agencies within the DHS to deconflict, coordinate, and synchronize child sexual exploitation investigations with the C3.
Sustained training
- The Act would authorize HSI’s victim identification training program to provide training in new and advanced victim identification technology to NCMEC, HSI, as well as Federal, State, local, military, and foreign law enforcement specializing in victim identification.
Increased privacy protections for victims
- The Act would protect child victims by securing their personal data and only allow it to be shared for the purpose of investigating child exploitation, providing services and trauma informed care.
Direct Hire
- The Act would allow HSI limited direct hire authority to fill the 200 child exploitation positions.
The following organizations support the Renewed Hope Act of 2026: Tim Tebow Foundation, Center For Counter Human Trafficking at CPAC, Child Rescue Coalition, International Justice Mission, Hope for Justice, National Children's Alliance, Rights4Girls.
A one pager on the bill is available here. A press release from Congresswoman Laurel Lee is here.
To advocate for this bill visit https://timtebowfoundation.org/advocacy.
###
The Tim Tebow Foundation exists to bring Faith, Hope and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. Since inception in 2010, the ministry has served some of the world’s Most Vulnerable People across more than 90 countries and counting. This mission is fulfilled daily through ministry outreach focused on Orphan Care & Prevention, Special Needs, Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation, and Profound Medical Needs. The TTF team and partners, in both the United States and abroad, are actively fighting against trafficking and exploitation in three ways: Prevention, Rescue, and Survivor Care. To learn more about the Tim Tebow Foundation, visit www.timtebowfoundation.org. For more information on TTF’s Anti-Human Trafficking & Child Exploitation Ministry, click here.
