[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 29, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H6987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HUMAN TRAFFICKING PRIORITIZATION ACT

  (Mr. HULTGREN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Human 
Trafficking Prioritization Act, H.R. 2283, and commend my friend and 
colleague from New Jersey, Representative Chris Smith, for introducing 
it.
  The State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in 
Persons, or J/TIP, does a fantastic job of maintaining U.S. leadership 
and accountability in the worldwide effort to combat human trafficking.
  More than 130 countries have created or strengthened their 
antitrafficking laws largely due to J/TIP's work. Among other 
provisions, this bill raises the status of the J/TIP office to that of 
a bureau, preventing countries and other bureaus from gaming the tier 
ranking system. It also achieves this without any additional 
bureaucracy or cost to the taxpayers.
  As a member of the Congressional Human Trafficking Task Force, 
working with the congressional leadership, J/TIP, and antitrafficking 
groups, I know it is crucial to keep this fight from being consumed in 
a bureaucratic shuffle.
  I thank Congressman Smith for his leadership and look forward to 
Senate passage of H.R. 2283.

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