[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 31, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E107-E108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      STOP, OBSERVE, ASK AND RESPOND (SOAR) TO HEALTH WELLNESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 31, 2017

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today during National Slavery and Human 
Trafficking Prevention Month, I introduced the Stop, Observe, Ask and 
Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act along with my colleagues 
Representatives Adam Kinzinger, Tony Cardenas and Ann Wagner. It is a 
companion to S. 1446, which was introduced by Senators Heidi Heitkamp 
and Susan Collins. This bipartisan bill supports efforts underway at 
the Department of Health and Human Services to combat human trafficking 
by directing the Secretary to establish a pilot program to be known as 
`Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond to Health and Wellness Training' to 
provide training on human trafficking to health care providers at all 
levels.
  Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that uses force, 
fraud or coercion to lure millions of men, women and children in 
countries around the world annually, including here in the United 
States. Human trafficking includes both sex and labor trafficking, and 
generates billions of dollars in profits each year, making it the 
second most profitable form of transnational crime behind drug 
trafficking.
  Recognizing the key indicators of human trafficking is the first step 
in identifying victims, providing life-saving help and bringing 
traffickers to justice. Human trafficking, however, is a hidden crime 
and victims rarely seek help because of cultural barriers or out of 
fear of their traffickers or law enforcement.
  While victims are often difficult to identify, a reported 68 percent 
of trafficking victims end up in a health care setting at some point 
while being exploited, including in clinics, emergency rooms and 
doctor's offices. Despite this, out of more than 5,680 hospitals in the 
country, only 60 have been identified as having a plan for treating 
patients who are victims of trafficking and 95 percent of emergency 
room personnel are not trained to treat trafficking victims.
  Our bill aims to ensure health care professionals are trained to 
identify and assist victims of human trafficking, and help close the 
gap in health care settings without plans for treating trafficking 
victims. I want to urge my colleagues to pass this important 
legislation so that health care professionals can better identify 
trafficking victims, provide victim centered care and help bring 
perpetrators of human trafficking to justice with the help of law 
enforcement as well as social and victims service agencies and 
organizations.

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