[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 150 (Wednesday, November 17, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7948-S7949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REQUEST FOR CONSULTATION
Mr. COBURN. I ask unanimous consent that the following letter be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, November 16, 2010.
Hon. Mitch McConnell,
Senate Minority Leader,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator McConnell: I am requesting that I be consulted
before the Senate enters into any unanimous consent
agreements or time limitations regarding S. 2925, Domestic
Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of
2010.
I support the goals of this legislation and believe
slavery, in any form, is morally reprehensible. Sex
trafficking is a global epidemic, and we should endeavor to
eliminate this industry, especially due to its effects on
minors who are victims of this practice. However, I believe
we can and must do so in a fiscally responsible manner that
upholds the Constitution. My concerns are included in, but
not limited to, those outlined in this letter.
While the Judiciary Committee considered and amended this
bill in its Executive Business Meeting, making some positive
changes, I still have several concerns with the committee-
reported language. First, although the new grant program
created by this legislation will be inserted into existing
trafficking law, the bill extends the current funding
authorization period. The Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) established the current
law regarding trafficking, but its funding authorizations
expire in 2011. However, in combining this bill's new grant
program with existing TVPRA grants, it also extends the
grant's authorization through 2014. Thus, the bill authorizes
new spending of $15 million per year from 2012-2014, totaling
$45 million that is not offset by reductions in real spending
elsewhere in the federal government.
It is irresponsible for Congress to jeopardize the future
standard of living of our children by borrowing from future
generations. The U.S. national debt is now over $13 trillion.
That means over $43,000 in debt for each man, woman and child
in the United States. A year ago, the national debt was $10.2
trillion. Despite pledges to control spending, Washington
added $4.6 billion to the national debt every single day last
year--that is $3.2 million every single minute.
Second, the Sex Trafficking Block Grants in S. 2925 go
beyond the responsibility of the federal government by
allowing grantees to use grant money for activities that are
rightly the responsibility of individual states. The grants
may be used to provide clothing, daily necessities,
counseling and legal services to trafficking victims. They
may also be used to provide training for state and local law
enforcement officers and social service providers. Finally,
the grants may be used to fund salaries for state and local
law enforcement officers and prosecutors, as well as
investigation expenses for
[[Page S7949]]
minor sex trafficking cases prosecuted by the state. All of
these expenses can and should be provided by the states, not
the federal government.
I agree the problem of sex trafficking, particularly when
the victims are children, is an important issue both state
and federal governments should address. As ranking member of
the Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee, I have seen the
effects of the sex trade industry both internationally and
domestically. As it pertains to domestic child sex
trafficking victims, however, I believe the federal
government should not be the primary provider of services for
these victims.
Most cases involving child sex trafficking are prosecuted
at the state level, while the federal government typically
only joins cases involving large sex trafficking rings that
often include other federal criminal activity. As a result, I
have concerns that this legislation places too great of a
burden on the federal government to provide funding for
trafficking victims' services. In addition, the bill allows
grant funds to be used in many ways beyond basic services
that I believe both detract from the goal of assisting
victims and duplicates funding already provided by other
federal grant programs.
Third, only 50% of the grant funds are required to go
toward actual victims' services. The other 50% can be used
for salaries for state law enforcement officers and
prosecutors, as well as state trial and investigation
expenses. While I do not support the federal funding of food,
clothing and other daily necessities for these victims, by
refusing to require a higher percentage of the grant to go
toward these types of direct victims' services, the bill does
not fulfill its goal.
Finally, while I was encouraged by some of the compromise
language that was included in the bill the Judiciary
Committee ultimately passed, such as inserting the bill's
grant program into an existing federal program to avoid some
of the overlap and direct duplication it initially created,
there remain several broad Justice Department grant programs
that can be used for the purposes outlined in this bill's
grant program. All of the Edward Byrne Grant programs,
including the Discretionary Grants or earmarks, the Community
Oriented Policing Service (COPS) grants and multiple juvenile
justice grants offered through the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) contain broad language
that would allow these grants to be used for the purposes
outlined in S. 2925.
While there is no question that the sex trafficking
industry has lifelong, horrific effects on its victims,
particularly minors, both federal and state governments bear
the burden of addressing this issue. It is the states who
should provide funding for the permissible purposes under
this bill's grant program, as it is state and local agencies
which have the responsibility to carry out these services.
Furthermore, the federal government already provides funding
to address trafficking issues, and grant programs are
available to state and local governments that can be used to
help sex trafficking victims. Congress should, like many
American individuals and companies do with their own
resources, evaluate current programs, determine any needs
that may exist and prioritize those needs for funding by
cutting from the federal budget programs fraught with waste,
fraud, abuse and duplication.
Sincerely,
Tom A. Coburn, M.D.,
U.S. Senator.
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