[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2327-S2328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mrs. Dole, Mr. 
        Talent, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. Byrd):
  S. 2437. A bill to increase penalties for trafficking with respect to 
peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, over 100 years ago, our country 
criminalized slavery with the 13th amendment to the U.S. constitution. 
Yet, thousands of people in our country still live a life of slavery 
and forced prostitution.
  According to the State Department, up to 800,000 people worldwide are 
trafficked across borders each year. As many as 17,000 persons are 
believed to be trafficked in the United States annually.
  The majority of these victims are women and children. Most of them 
are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation.
  Human trafficking is a highly profitable and dangerous business. It 
generates an estimated $9.5 billion annually and is closely connected 
to organized crime. Human trafficking operations have been linked to 
money-laundering, drug-trafficking, document forgery, and the funding 
of terrorist activities.
  Those involved in human trafficking prey on the most vulnerable in 
our society. They seek out those living in poverty and those who have 
not had access to a good education.
  Human traffickers hold their victims against their will and force 
them into slavery or the sex industry, where they are threatened and 
often physically or sexually abused.
  The State Department is working with other nations to combat this 
problem internationally, and we must do more here at home.
  Those involved in human trafficking should face severe criminal 
penalties. It is my hope that such penalties will discourage this type 
of activity. Our country is a beacon of freedom for the world, and the 
idea that thousands of people a year are enslaved right in our own 
backyard sickens me. This must be stopped.
  In the past, Congress has passed laws increasing the penalties for 
human trafficking. I urge my colleagues to join me in increasing these 
penalties once again.
  This bill makes the trafficking of humans a capital offense. It not 
only

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holds those who lure men, women, and children into a life of slavery 
and prostitution responsible; it also punishes those involved in the 
transport or purchase of these victims.
  This bill gives our courts the tools they need to curb this ongoing 
epidemic. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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