[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 80 (Friday, June 7, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4022-S4023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
        Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Kirk, and Mr. Bennet):
  S. 1118. A bill to amend part E of title IV of the Social Security 
Act to better enable State child welfare agencies to prevent sex 
trafficking of children and serve the needs of children who are victims 
of sex trafficking, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join Senators 
Portman, Blumenthal, Cantwell, Brown, and Kirk to introduce the Child 
Sex Trafficking Data and Response Act of 2013. This bipartisan 
legislation will help us to better understand and combat the 
unforgivable and fast-growing criminal enterprise of trafficking 
children for sex right here in the U.S.
  We cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore this terrible 
problem. Child victims of sex trafficking need and deserve the full 
range of coordinated assistance and care required to help them recover 
from this trauma.
  Unfortunately, some people still refuse to acknowledge that American 
children are being bought and sold for sex and they criticize the few 
estimates surrounding trafficking rates that do exist. As a 
policymaker, it is hard to advance an issue when there are critics who 
deny its very existence. For those of us who have spoken to law 
enforcement officers, child welfare workers

[[Page S4023]]

and judges who work with these victims every day, we know that denying 
that the problem exists will not make it go away.
  I became engaged in efforts to address child trafficking a few years 
ago when I had the opportunity to accompany police officers along 82nd 
Avenue in my hometown of Portland. I will never forget a 15-year-old 
girl working out there with the tools of the trade--a cell phone to 
stay in constant contact with her pimp and report how much money she 
had made; a 15-inch butcher knife to try to protect herself; and, a 
purse full of condoms.
  This problem does exist, but we still do not know its full scope--we 
do not know how many children in the U.S. are victimized by pimps, 
Johns and traffickers every year. Quantifying the problem, as simple a 
step as that may seem, is truly is the first step in bringing these 
children out of the shadows to help them progress from victims to 
survivors.
  The Child Sex Trafficking Data and Response Act of 2013 provides a 
framework for systematically identifying and tracking the number of 
child trafficking victims who are in our Nation's foster care system. 
It would further require child welfare agencies to promptly report 
information on missing and abducted children to law enforcement and 
would require law enforcement authorities to notify the National Center 
for Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC, when a child is missing from 
State care.
  The bill would also take steps to ensure children who are sex 
trafficked or exploited are treated as victims, not criminals. The 
protections, services and protocols established for abused and 
neglected children within the child welfare system are rarely extended 
to trafficked children and youth, and in most States, such children 
aren't even categorized as victims. Instead, they are often sent to the 
juvenile justice system and criminalized for being raped and 
trafficked.
  The Child Sex Trafficking Data and Response Act would amend Federal 
law to say all child victims of sex trafficking are victims of abuse 
and neglect. It would require state plans, under the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act, designed to improve child protection 
services contain: provisions and procedures requiring identification 
and assessment of all reports involving children known or suspected to 
be victims of sex trafficking; provisions and procedures for training 
child protective services workers to identify and provide comprehensive 
services for children who are victims of sex trafficking; a description 
of efforts to coordinate with State law enforcement, juvenile justice, 
and social service agencies such as runaway and homeless youth shelters 
to serve these victims; and an annual State data report on the number 
of children identified as known or suspected to be victims of 
trafficking.
  These steps alone will not solve the problem before us. These are 
still some very daunting problems that need to be overcome, and the 
current fiscal climate alone presents a significant barrier to 
providing resources needed by victims, child welfare workers, law 
enforcement and service providers. Still, this is an important step 
toward making sure that vulnerable foster children are protected from 
pimps, Johns and traffickers.
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