[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 11, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1397-S1398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HUMAN TRAFFICKING LEGISLATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, every year in America countless 
innocent victims, including children, are bought and sold into modern-
day slavery. This heinous crime of human trafficking is shameful and 
disgraceful, and the Senate can do something about it by passing the 
bipartisan human rights legislation before us today.
  The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, introduced by Senator 
Cornyn and his Democratic colleague Senator Klobuchar, would give 
voices to the voiceless and justice to the children suffering in the 
shadows. Their bipartisan human rights bill may not be that long, but 
it sure is effective, and it is transparent. This bill has been 
available for any Senator and any member of the public to read since 
January. This bipartisan legislation was considered and strengthened in 
an open and transparent committee process. This human rights bill 
conforms with longstanding bipartisan law that so many of our 
Democratic friends have supported repeatedly. It is no wonder that once 
Senators have read the bill, they can't seem to help but support it.
  We welcome the 13 Democratic cosponsors of this human rights bill. We 
welcome the messages of support our Democratic friends have delivered 
as well.
  Here is what one Democratic Senator from New York had to say just a 
few days ago. ``We should pass Senator Cornyn's Justice for Victims of 
Trafficking Act,'' she said. She explained that this bipartisan bill 
would ``support programs for survivors of human trafficking and child 
pornography and ensure that the johns who are buying trafficking 
victims are actually prosecuted in Federal court.'' She is right. All 
of those measures are contained in the text of this bipartisan bill.
  We also heard the Democratic Senator from North Dakota who called on 
me to bring ``S. 178, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, to 
the floor for a vote.'' I was happy to do it. I am appreciative of her 
support.
  I am appreciative of the support from so many from across the aisle 
who have read and support this bill. The children who suffer from such 
terrible oppression and injustice must appreciate their support too. 
They must appreciate our Democratic friends closely examining this 
bipartisan human rights bill of modest length and then voting 
unanimously to support it in the Judiciary Committee.
  On Monday they must have appreciated seeing our Democratic friends 
join with us to unanimously advance the same bipartisan human rights 
bill. Here is what the Democratic leader had to say that day--right 
after I called for strong bipartisan backing for our human rights 
legislation. ``On human trafficking, I underscore, appreciate, and 
agree with the statement of the Republican leader. I feel very 
confident we will clear on our side moving to that. I think it would be 
a waste of the

[[Page S1398]]

Senate's time to have a vote on a motion to proceed and a waste of time 
afterward. . . . I doubt there will be problems on my side,'' the 
Democratic leader said. ``If there are, I will work to clear them.'' I 
was very appreciative of my good friend making that statement after 
examining this bipartisan legislation.
  This bipartisan human rights bill may not be that long, but it is 
critical to helping lift innocent victims out of the shadows.
  A broad coalition--everyone from the NAACP to the National Domestic 
Violence Hotline--has called it ``vital.''
  They wrote:

       The [Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act] provides 
     unprecedented support to domestic victims of trafficking who 
     are too often invisible and underserved.

  They continued:

       As leaders in the anti-trafficking, anti-violence, child 
     welfare, civil rights, runaway and homeless youth, and human 
     rights movements, we urge Congress to pass this critical 
     piece of legislation.

  So I would urge Members on both sides of the aisle to help pass this 
transparent and bipartisan human rights legislation overwhelmingly.

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