[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E357-E358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      THE HONORABLE JOHN MILLER SWORN IN AS DIRECTOR OF THE STATE 
    DEPARTMENT'S OFFICE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 4, 2003

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, our former colleague, the Honorable John 
Miller, who served as a member of the House of Representatives from the 
State of Washington from 1984-92, was sworn in today by Vice President 
Dick

[[Page E358]]

Cheney as the director of the State Department's Office to Monitor and 
Combat Trafficking in Persons. John also serves in the Bush 
Administration as a senior adviser to the Secretary of State.
  Sex trafficking is a growing problem of slavery both abroad and at 
home. John Miller is an excellent choice by the President for this job 
and we wish him well in this important position.
  I insert for the Record the remarks John gave at his swearing-in 
ceremony.

  Speech given by the Honorable John R. Miller at his swearing in as 
Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and Director of the Office to 
 Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, at the Capitol on March 4, 
                                  2003

       Vice President Cheney, I feel honored and appreciative that 
     someone who I respect as much as you has taken the time to 
     swear me in. Thank you.
       It is so good to see many of my former colleagues in 
     Congress. House Majority Leader Tom Delay, House Minority 
     Leader Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Frank Wolf and Chris Smith 
     who have been such leaders on the slave trading issue, my 
     class mates Howard Coble, Jim Saxton, Joe Barton, and from 
     the neighboring district to mine in Seattle, Jim McDermott . 
     . . thank you all for joining my family and me on this 
     occasion.
       Undersecretary Paula Dobriansky, thank you for your kind 
     words and thank you for your work on human rights over the 
     years and for your support, your counsel and your guidance.
       And my thanks to all of you today who come as friends, or 
     relatives, or advocates in this cause.
       Most of all, I want to thank my wife, June, and our son, 
     Rip, for supporting me in this effort.
       When one takes on a challenge of modern day slavery, one 
     benefits from the work of others, past and present. Some came 
     long before, such as the English opponent of the slave trade, 
     William Wilberforce, the American abolitionist, William Lloyd 
     Garrison; the Quakers with their Underground Railroad, or the 
     men and women of the Salvation Army who started the fight 
     against sex slavery in the 19th century.
       Others whose shoulders I stand upon are less well known and 
     more recent. But they are here in attendance today. I see 
     Laura Lederer, who outside and now inside government, has 
     labored to raise the public consciousness of trafficking 
     around the world through her research, writing and speeches.
       I see Amy O'Neill-Richard, who, with her seminal study on 
     trafficking of women, influenced many inside government to 
     understand that modern day slavery is a great emerging 
     womens' issue.
       I see Michael Horowitz, my friend and also welcome critic, 
     who has been present and active at the creation of just about 
     every important piece of human rights legislation this past 
     decade.
       I also see here many committed people from my office. Would 
     you all please raise your hands. These are the people who 
     travel thousands of miles and labor thousands of hours in 
     their efforts to fight the slave trade.
       The dimensions of the modern day slavery challenge that we 
     face are vast. There are not thousands or hundreds of 
     thousands but over a million people who are trafficked and 
     enslaved every single year. That's right-over a million every 
     single year.
       Many of our fellow Americans believe slavery ended here 
     after the Civil War. And, indeed, slavery based on color did 
     end then in our country. But we know that today slavery based 
     on color still exists in countries such as Mauritania.
       We know that today slavery based on bonded labor still in 
     the brick kilns of Pakistan and in exists on the farms of 
     India, the charcoal camps of Brazil.
       We know that today slavery based on military impressment of 
     children goes on from Sri Lanka to Uganda.
       And most of all, we know that today the fastest growing and 
     And most of all, most hideous form of modem day slavery, sex 
     slavery, reaches into most countries of the world, including 
     these United States. We know that sex slavery makes billions 
     for organized crime every year. We know at the same it time 
     physically, mentally, and spiritually ruins millions of 
     children and women.
       Mr. Vice President, the struggle we wage to abolish modem 
     day slavery will decide the fate of millions of human beings. 
     But this struggle is also tied to the United States' role in 
     the world. We live in a time when many people abroad do not 
     know or have forgotten the idealism that led Americans to 
     sacrifice over and over so that others might enjoy the God-
     given, inalienable right to liberty enunciated in our 
     Declaration of Independence. They do not know what moves 
     America; what makes us tick.
       Now with many grave challenges facing us at home and 
     abroad, the President and Congress have asked that we take on 
     the ultimate issue of liberty: freeing people from slavery. 
     It is an issue that cries out for national and international 
     leadership. And as is so often the case, while many nations 
     will cooperate in this fight, one nation must lead the way. 
     Which country will put its power and resources into this 
     fight to help the world's weakest achieve freedom? Which 
     country will risk alienating others by reporting openly 
     what's going on and holding out the possibility of aid 
     sanctions to encourage action? There is only one answer to 
     the question of which country must lead: it is the United 
     States of America.
       We lead not because we are perfect--we have our 
     imperfections--including on this issue. We lead because we 
     alone have the idealism, the power, the history and the 
     commitment to freedom to lead the world in this new 
     abolitionist struggle.
       Yes, some abroad and even at home will view this effort 
     with alarm and cynicism. They do not understand that on this 
     as on many issues, our interests are reflected in our values. 
     They will also ignore the fact that the fight against slavery 
     is premised not only on our own values but universal values 
     and UN covenants. Such people will still ask why are you 
     trying to impose American values on the world? Two hundred 
     years ago similar people asked the English evangelist and 
     member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, as he fought to 
     end the slave trade based on color, why are you trying to 
     impose British values on the world? But Wilberforce persisted 
     and persevered and millions who emerged for slavery to live 
     in freedom thanked him and Great Britain. And just as today 
     the people of Eastern Europe thank us for freeing them from 
     Soviet tyranny, in the future, if we are successful, millions 
     of men in forced peonage and millions of women and children 
     forced into prostitution and sex slavery will thank the 
     United States for their freedom.
       Just last week President Bush issued an executive order 
     that showed anew his determination that the U.S. lead the 
     fight to abolish modem day slavery. President Bush became the 
     first American President to challenge government agencies to 
     make the fight against modem day slavery a priority in 
     planning and deeds.
       I am proud to serve an administration and a President who 
     will make this issue of human rights and freedom an integral 
     part of United States foreign policy.
       I accept this position humbly, Mr. Vice President, and I 
     ask for the prayers and help of those in this room and 
     elsewhere. I have learned enough in my few weeks here to know 
     that I truly need such prayers and help.
       This struggle will not be short or easy. Wilberforce only 
     succeeded in abolishing the 19th century slave trade after 
     over 25 years. We will need his spirit and the spirit of our 
     own nineteenth century abolitionists if we are to defeat this 
     modern scourge.
       But we all should know this: As we pursue this struggle, we 
     will serve God, we will serve mankind, and we will serve our 
     country well. And that is all we can and should ask of 
     ourselves.
       Thank you.

                          ____________________