[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 83 (Wednesday, May 25, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 25, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it happened right under the entire 
community's nose. Eight year old Jen Spry was raped and tortured on a 
daily basis.
  She was not kidnapped by a stranger in a dark alley. She was 
trafficked just a few doors down from her mother's house.
  It was not just Jen who was trafficked. Her younger sister, a male 
cousin, and a whole group of kids from her hometown of Norristown 
Pennsylvania were victims as well.
  No one ever went looking for the children, simply because they never 
went missing. From 3-6 p.m. every day she was forced to have sex with 
strangers, because, as she describes it, it was her job.
  The children were coerced into participating and threatened into 
keeping it a secret. The trafficking finally ended when she was about 
10 when the neighbor suddenly moved away.
  Jen went to great lengths to hide the abuse from her single mother, 
who never found out about the tragedies that Jen experienced. In fact, 
Jen did not speak out about what happened until after her mother passed 
away.
  Stories like Jen's drove us to write JVTA. As did stories like Tina 
Frundt's, who joins us today.
  She is a huge part of the solution with her organization Courtney's 
House and her membership on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human 
Trafficking created by JVTA as well as the persistence of many of the 
groups present today.
  The United States views itself as a leader in the fight against human 
trafficking. Even going as far as to grade other countries on their 
efforts to combat trafficking in persons.
  Yet, before the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA) became 
law, I heard about common issues from survivors and anti-trafficking 
organizations on the national, state, and local levels, as well as law 
enforcement and local leaders. Some of the common concerns included:
  The federal government barely funds efforts to combat trafficking in 
the United States. Trafficking victims are often arrested and treated 
as criminals, but buyers are often not.
  Many Americans including those that interact with trafficking 
victims--law enforcement, educators, medical professionals, and others 
--do not know about human trafficking or understand how to identify 
victims. Hearing this message loud and clear, a bipartisan, bicameral 
group of Members of Congress set out to write a bill using the survivor 
experience to guide us and learning from programs around the country 
that are working to fight trafficking and serve victims.
  Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York and I lead the effort on 
JVTA in the House. Congresswoman Maloney and I hardly speak the same 
language.
  Being from New York she thinks I talk funny and as a Texan I can 
hardly understand her either the effort was led by another unusual pair 
in the Senate.
  A Texas Republican, Senator John Cornyn and an Oregon Democrat, 
Senator Ron Wyden. 11 anti-trafficking bills passed through the House, 
including those led by some of the wonderful women here today.
  The bills were combined in the Senate, came back to the House, passed 
overwhelmingly and were signed into law. The law addresses the common 
problems we heard from the field. We created a Domestic Trafficking 
Victims Fund that makes those who harm vulnerable people pay for the 
damage they have caused.
  A $5,000 special assessment is collected from those convicted of 
human trafficking and other related charges, and goes into a Fund to 
provide resources to victims and those fighting trafficking.
  A fundamental goal of JVTA is for victims of human trafficking to be 
treated as victims and not criminals. This is addressed in a number of 
provisions in the law, including a newly created community-based block 
grant.
  We also focus on the demand--buyers, those that exploit women and 
children. While many call these people ``johns,'' I call them child 
molesters.
  John is a name from the Bible, a good guy, not someone who pays money 
to abuse a fellow person.
  JVTA clarifies that those who buy sex from trafficking victims are 
human traffickers, can and should be punished under federal law, and 
are subject to the same penalties as sellers.
  JVTA has done a lot to change the mindset of people in this country. 
But we need the law to be fully implemented by all the agencies charged 
with executing the law including DOJ, HHS, and DHS.
  In order to truly be the leader in the fight against modern day 
slavery. We anxiously await the response to our letter. A society will 
be judged by how it treats the most vulnerable.
  And that's just the way it is.

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