[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 42 (Thursday, March 12, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1476-S1478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HUMAN TRAFFICKING LEGISLATION
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we have been working on the issue of human
trafficking on a bipartisan basis for almost a year, and it is usually
bipartisan.
I know when we included my amendment on the Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act, most Senators voted for it. Only 20
current Republican senators voted against that victims act, and the
rest voted for it. All the Democrats voted for it.
But on this issue today, the Judiciary Committee reported out a
comprehensive bill with strong bipartisan support. We did that last
fall. This year we reported out a less comprehensive bill with fewer
protections for those at risk of human trafficking, and despite that
setback, I agreed to keep working across the aisle to make it stronger,
including the crucial prevention piece that was in last year's
committee-reported bill.
We have been on this bill for 3 days. I think we can all admit the
progress has been thwarted by the inclusion of a divisive provision
that would limit the services available to victims of human
trafficking.
I wish to propose a way forward. I know all Senators want to work
together to end human trafficking. And just as we saw on my bill, the
Violence Against Women Act, 78 Senators voted for that act with its
provision on trafficking. We want to support a bill that will pass the
Senate.
I filed a substitute amendment, Senate Amendment 300, to get us
around
[[Page S1477]]
our current impasse. It includes three things. First, the Klobuchar-
Cornyn bill as reported earlier this month by the Judiciary Committee;
second, the Cornyn-Klobuchar bill, also reported earlier this month by
the Judiciary Committee, but without the divisive language that limits
victims services; third, the Leahy-Collins-Murkowski-Ayotte amendment
that was filed yesterday to protect runaway and homeless youth from
trafficking.
This trafficking prevention bill was reported by the Judiciary
Committee last year with the support of Senator Grassley, Senator
Cornyn, and nearly all of the other Judiciary Committee members, but
has been narrowed here at the request of Republicans this year.
I hope the combination of these three bills--and I do it in good
faith--can bring us together. More importantly, it is responsive to the
requests of survivors and the many dedicated people who work with them
to remove the unnecessary partisan provision that has resulted in this
impasse. They need us to find a way forward. They need the Senate to
stop playing politics and pass a meaningful bill.
With that, I ask unanimous consent that letters written by a number
of groups and others who support the removal of this divisive provision
so that we can move forward on this trafficking legislation be printed
in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
The National Network for Youth,
March 11, 2015.
Hon. Patrick Leahy,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Leahy: The National Network for Youth is
grateful for your leadership on human trafficking which is a
dark mark on our modern society. Slavery has no place in
America and we stand proudly with you to prevent and end
human trafficking in America.
The National Network for Youth, founded in 1974, champions
the needs of runaway, homeless, and other disconnected youth
through strengthening the capacity of community-based
services, facilitating resource sharing, and educating the
public and policy makers. NN4Y members work collaboratively
to prevent youth homelessness and the inherent risks of
homelessness, including exploitation, human trafficking,
criminal justice involvement, and death.
Human trafficking is a bipartisan and nonpartisan issue.
Together, we stand united against modern day slavery,
including both sex and labor trafficking. Presently, we are
at an important moment in the Senate with both parties
unified to take a strong stand against human trafficking,
from prevention to law enforcement, and service provision to
survivors. We are so pleased that the Runaway and Homeless
and Youth Trafficking Prevention has become a part of this
important conversation and we thank you for your support of
that legislation last Congress.
The National Network for Youth is writing this letter with
the hope that the U.S. Senate will remove the partisan piece
of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. This
legislation is desperately needed and we cannot let this
moment pass us by because of the addition of partisan and
divisive provisions.
Respectfully, thank you for your work. Please work across
the aisle to ensure that this critical trafficking
legislation becomes the law of the land.
Best regards,
Darla Bardine, J.D.,
Executive Director, National Network
for Youth.
____
Vermont Coalition of Runaway & Homeless Youth Programs,
Montpelier, VT, March 11, 2015.
Senator Patrick Leahy,
Russell Senate Building, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Leahy, The Vermont Coalition of Runaway and
Homeless Youth Programs wishes to express our ongoing
appreciation for your efforts to move the Runaway and
Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act. As a
longstanding champion of Federal support for efforts to
assist vulnerable runaway, homeless and trafficked young
people, I know that you must be as frustrated as we are in
recent efforts to insert an element of partisanship into what
should be a broadly bi-partisan effort to protect victims of
human trafficking. The Runaway and Homeless Youth and
Trafficking Prevention Act and the broader legislation it's
amended to should be important opportunities for citizens of
the United States and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to
unite in moral outrage over the realities of victims of human
trafficking.
Difference of opinion and the deliberative role of the
Senate is part of what makes our democracy strong, but
sometimes unity of purpose should prevail, particularly in
efforts involving protections for the most vulnerable among
us. There should be no doubt that legislation involving the
well-being of individuals who have been victimized by the
most base of human behavior should be free of partisan
wrangling. It's disappointing and deeply distressing that
this isn't always the case.
I write this letter to encourage your efforts to remove
partisan language from the Justice for Victims of Trafficking
Act in an effort to ensure that the Act and the RHY amendment
that Senator Collins and you introduced move forward
unimpeded.
Again, thank you for your efforts on this issue.
Sincerely,
Kreig Pinkham,
Executive Director, Washington County Youth Service Bureau/
Boys & Girls Club, VT Coalition of Runaway & Homeless Youth
Programs Board Member.
____
Human Rights Campaign,
Washington, DC, March 12, 2015.
Dear Senators: On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign's
(HRC) more than 1.5 million members and supporters
nationwide, I write to support the Leahy substitute amendment
to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act which would
ensure critical protections for victims of trafficking and
add necessary protections for runaway and homeless youth that
does not include an expansion of the Hyde Amendment language.
Each of the components of this substitute amendment has
strong bipartisan support.
This amendment will help many vulnerable populations
including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
community. LGBT individuals are particularly impacted by
human trafficking and are at an increased risk for
victimization globally. In fact, 10 percent of all
trafficking victims identify as LGBT. They also make up a
disproportionate amount of the total homeless youth
population. Recent studies have found that while LGBT youth
comprise only 10 percent of the total youth population, up to
40 percent of youth living on the streets today identify as
LGBT.
Increased incidence of homelessness and family rejection
make LGBT individuals--especially youth--particularly
vulnerable to trafficking. According to the Department of
Health and Human Services Administration for Children and
Families, one in four LGBT youth is rejected by their
families because of their sexual orientation or gender
identity. Due to this rejection, many LGBT youth find
themselves homeless and living on the streets. Once on the
street, these youth are targeted for exploitation and
trafficking.
Because homelessness can often lead to trafficking,
inclusion of protections for runaway and homeless youth will
result in a more effective Justice for Victims of Trafficking
Act. Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs provide critical
funding for support systems that serve youth who become
homeless. The programs funded by the act--including emergency
shelters, street outreach, transitional living and assistance
for homeless youth in rural areas--can serve as critical,
final safety nets for youth who would otherwise become
victims of trafficking.
According to the American Bar Association, for LGBT people
who are trafficked the societal stigma around their sexual
orientation or gender identity is an additional factor that
prevents them from accessing help or reporting abuse. This
amendment provides important protections against
discrimination for LGBT youth by prohibiting any program
funded by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act from
discriminating on the basis of actual or perceived race,
color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity,
sexual orientation, or disability.
We greatly appreciate your commitment to improving the
lives of young people across America, including those who are
LGBT. Thank you for your leadership on this critical issue.
Sincerely,
David Stacy,
Government Affairs Director,
Human Rights Campaign.
____
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Contact: Planned Parenthood Action Fund media office: 212-
261-4433
Planned Parenthood Condemns Effort to Insert Extreme Anti-Abortion
Agenda into Bill on Human Trafficking
Washington DC.-- Planned Parenthood Action Fund condemned
efforts by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to advance an extreme
abortion restriction as part of important bipartisan efforts
to establish greater protections for victims of human
trafficking. Following is a statement by Cecile Richards,
President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
``It's outrageous that some politicians are using a bill to
protect victims of sex trafficking to push an extreme anti-
abortion, anti-immigrant agenda. This is politics at its
worst. A bill that was supposed to help women is instead
being used to hurt women.
``The Senate should protect victims of human trafficking
but should not do so at the expense of women's access to safe
and legal abortion. The majority of human trafficking victims
are women and girls, and they need access to the full range
of reproductive health care services without barriers.''
[[Page S1478]]
____
Legal Momentum,
Washington, DC, March 12, 2015.
New York, NY.--Today, Legal Momentum, the Women's Legal
Defense and Education Fund, urged that a provision harmful to
women's health be removed from a human trafficking bill being
considered by the Senate, the Justice for Victims of
Trafficking Act of 2015 (S. 178).
``The intent of this bill--to support survivors of
trafficking--will be subverted if the provision is left
intact. Human trafficking survivors--survivors of the worst
kind of exploitation, which our government has called `modern
slavery'--who were raped and became pregnant should have
access to the full spectrum of health services, including
abortion,'' said Legal Momentum's President and CEO, Carol
Robles-Romaan.
Legal Momentum fully supports the aims of the bill minus
the troubling provisions. The bill would enhance services for
runaway and homeless victims of youth trafficking, improve
the response to victims of child sex trafficking, and
establish an interagency task force to monitor and combat
trafficking. Harmful provisions that deny health care to
victims, restrict women's health options, are harmful to
immigrants, or fail to adequately protect the LGBT community,
should be removed so that the bill can help victims of one of
the most heinous crimes, human trafficking, which has been
condemned by the whole world. We urge all senators to vote
for the Leahy Comprehensive Substitute Amendment, which
adheres to the bi-partisan compromises made when the JVTA was
reported out of the Judiciary Committee.
____
Give Way to Freedom,
Essex Junction, VT, March 11, 2015.
Hon. Patrick Leahy,
Russell Senate Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Leahy, Thank you for your ongoing leadership
in the fight to protect victims of human trafficking and
ensure that they receive full support and services to which
they are entitled under federal law. Give Way to Freedom is a
private operating Foundation based in Vermont that works with
victims of trafficking throughout New England and southeast
New York. Through this work we see first-hand the complex
needs of victims of trafficking.
As Vermont and New England continue to build our response
to this heinous crime it is vital that victims remain the
core focus of all efforts. We applaud your dedication to this
principal, and support your efforts to ensure that victims of
trafficking receive the full range of support and services
they need to recover and rebuild their lives.
Sincerely,
Edith Klimoski,
Director.
____
Center for American Progress,
Washington, DC, March 12, 2015.
Ranking Member Patrick Leahy,
Senate Judiciary Committee, Russell Senate Building, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Ranking Member Leahy, I write today to thank you for
your leadership in helping victims of trafficking and
resolving the unacceptable situation with the Justice for
Victims of Trafficking Act (S. 178). The Center for American
Progress extends our deep support for your Comprehensive
Substitute Amendment that removes abortion restrictions for
the funds to help victims of trafficking and retains
nondiscrimination provisions in the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act.
Thank you again for your leadership in moving these
important pieces of legislation forward without harmful
restrictions.
Sincerely,
Donna Barry,
Director of Women's Health and
Rights Program.
Mr. LEAHY. I yield the floor, and I thank the Senator from
Mississippi for his courtesy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, the distinguished Senator from Vermont is
quite welcome, and I am glad we were able to accommodate each other.
____________________