[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 24, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4563-H4567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1845
                    THE SCOURGE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fitzpatrick). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2017, the Chair recognizes the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Poe) for 30 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special 
Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this coming Monday, May 29, marks the 
2-year anniversary of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, 
called the JVTA.
  Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and the 
Senate worked together in a bipartisan manner to write this 
comprehensive, massive law to fight human trafficking. Basically, we 
said in this legislation that modern-day slavery will not be tolerated 
in the United States, and that message was made loud and clear when the 
law was signed 2 years ago.
  Since that time, there have been wonderful successes by providing 
victims with help and services that they need to recover, and by 
capturing and charging both the traffickers and the buyers according to 
our law.


                             Debbie's Story

  Mr. Speaker, Debbie grew up in an idyllic American neighborhood.
  The middle child of a close-knit military family living in the 
suburbs, Debbie could have never imagined that she would be forced into 
sex slavery.
  One cool Phoenix night, Debbie's mother thought nothing of letting 
her young daughter meet a friend in their front yard one night to play.
  Busy with dishes and other children inside, her mother didn't realize 
that her young daughter, clad in her cartoon pajamas, was being 
abducted by two men in front of their house.
  These deviants threw Debbie in the car, drugged and gang raped her.
  They held a loaded gun to her forehead and threatened to pull the 
trigger if she ever tried to escape.
   For 60 days she was forced to have sex with countless men.
  Thankfully for Debbie, a lucky anonymous tip led police to a hotel 
room where they found Debbie tied up and stashed under a bed.


                          Cheryl Briggs' Story

  Cheryl Briggs grew up in an abusive home, sexually and physically 
abused by her father.
  Her mother left when Cheryl was very young to escape the abuse.
  At the age of 12, Cheryl didn't know what else to do to get away from 
the father she feared, so she ran away.
  She began hitchhiking with truck drivers and anyone who would take 
her.
  This led her to a ride with a motorcyclist and into human trafficking 
hell.
  He took her to a biker club filled with men who took advantage of 
her.
  He became her trafficker.
  She was forced to dance at a strip club by day and sold on the 
streets at night.
  She was trapped in the world of human trafficking.
  Cheryl didn't know how to get help.
  She had no one to call and no one to provide for her.
  No one came to rescue her.
  That is until a patron at a strip club found out that she was only 15 
and helped her escape.


                              Lena's Story

  In her formative years, Lena wore turtlenecks and baggy clothes to 
school every day.
  Why did she do so?
  To hide the bruises that covered her entire body.
  When her abusive foster mother lost custody, Lena ran away.
  She was just 13 years old.
  After bolting from the front lawn at the Houston middle school, she 
ran into a friendly-looking stranger.
  This man offered to look after her, protect and love her.
  Human traffickers manipulate the vulnerabilities of their victims, he 
knew that Lena would do anything to feel loved.
  For the next 3 months, Lena was trafficked to countless buyers.
  He kept her on the move, switching from motel to motel to evade 
detection.
  Finally, after tracking a BackPage advertisement her trafficker 
posted, police located Lena.
  They arrested her trafficker in the hotel next door. With her help, 
the police ultimately charged her trafficker.
  Debbie, Cheryl and Lena are all human trafficking survivors.
  The things they had to endure are more horrific than most of us can 
even imagine.
  But they survived, they overcame this tragedy.
  It was for survivors like these women that Carolyn Maloney and I 
drafted the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act two years ago.
  This far-reaching legislation, led by Senator John Cornyn and Senator 
Ron Wyden in the Senate, made it clear that Congress would no longer 
turn a blind eye to this scourge in our society.
  We wanted to ensure that victims were treated like victims, given the 
care and help they needed to overcome the evil inflicted upon them.
  We also wanted to make sure that the traffickers and the buyers were 
both brought to justice.


                        Houston Super Bowl Story

  This past February, my hometown of Houston, Texas, hosted the 51st 
Super bowl.
  For most Americans the Super Bowl is a fun filled day spent with 
friends and family cheering on a favorite team.
  But for trafficking slaves and potential trafficking slaves, if can 
be a very dangerous time.
  Studies show that big events like Super Bowls create large upticks in 
the trafficking and purchasing of sex trafficking victims.
  In order to counteract this, The Department of Homeland Security, as 
part of its Blue Campaign Initiative, began preparing months in 
advance.
  DHS agents came to Washington, DC and briefed me and other members of 
the Texas Delegation on their anti-trafficking strategy for super bowl 
weekend.
  Through the Blue Campaign, DHS raises public awareness, forges anti-
trafficking partnerships and brings suspected human traffickers to 
justice.
  I commend the Blue Campaign for collaborating with local, state and 
federal law enforcement agencies in preparation for the Super Bowl.
  As a direct result of this large multi-agency operation, over 750 
people were arrested across 15 different states.
  At least 86 victims were rescued, and many more were likely spared 
being forced into the trafficking industry.

[[Page H4564]]

  Having personally worked closely with the Blue Campaign on this, and 
many other operations, I see firsthand the important role DHS has in 
fighting the scourge of human trafficking.
  This DHS Blue Campaign Authorization Act will ensure that this 
critically important program continues to provide safety to victims and 
justice to their traffickers.


                     Success of JVTA at 2 Year Mark

  Over the last two years, more than 65 defendants have been charged 
with federal human trafficking violations.
  Of those, 10 were buyers.
  Without demand, there would be no market.
  JVTA gives law enforcement the critical tools it needs to capture and 
prosecute criminals who purchase sex from minors or trafficking 
victims.
  Long gone are the days where buyers could anonymously purchase sex 
from trafficking victims and simply return to their normal lives.
  JVT also allows a federal judge to impose an additional assessment of 
up to $5,000.
  This money then goes into the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund.
  This fund provides victims with increased access to services and 
resources.
  It forces the criminals to pay the rent on the courthouse, forces 
both the buyer and the trafficker to pay for the system they created.
  They inflicted pain and suffering on innocent people, they should be 
the ones to pay.
  JVTA also clarified that the U.S. Marshals Service can assist local, 
state and federal law enforcement in the search and rescue of missing 
children.
  Since the implementation of JVTA, U.S. Marshals have helped rescue 
102 children.
  As JVTA continues to be implemented, and prosecutors and judges are 
trained on the new tools it offers them, we will continue to see more 
and more traffickers and buyers held accountable for their crimes.
  We will also see a system that treats victims like victims, providing 
them with the care and support they need to become survivors.
  And that's just the way it is.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Tonight we have this Special Order, and we have 
several Members who are going to speak on this. The first Member who 
will speak is Representative Wagner. She has served in the House since 
2013, and she has, herself, worked extensively on human trafficking 
issues. She is a cosponsor of the Shame Act that I have sponsored, and 
we have worked together. I am honored to introduce her as our first 
speaker on this very important issue of the human trafficking after 2 
years of the legislation being signed. I yield to the gentlewoman.
  Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for the 
opportunity to co-lead this Special Order with my dear colleague, 
Congressman Ted Poe, for Human Trafficking Awareness Week.
  I was thrilled, Mr. Speaker, that yesterday the House passed my 
legislation, the Put Trafficking Victims First Act. Together, we can 
get victims of trafficking out of dangerous and abusive situations and 
create better, more accessible trauma-informed services. Victims don't 
just need to be rescued. They need opportunities to rebuild and sort 
through trauma and to live well.
  My bill advances a survivor-centered approach to addressing human 
trafficking that ensures the safety, confidentiality, and the well-
being of victims. It encourages stakeholders to recognize symptoms of 
trauma and coping mechanisms that may impact victims' interactions with 
law enforcement, the justice system, and service providers.
  One of the key ways we can address the upsetting realities of human 
trafficking in the U.S. justice system is by giving victims a pathway 
to vacate and expunge their criminal records for offenses that they 
were forced to commit. I have met with many survivors in my home State 
of Missouri and across our great country who struggle to rebuild their 
lives because they are trailed by criminal records. Traffickers and 
pimps intentionally push victims to commit crimes as a means of 
control.
  My heart breaks for these women who have suffered horrendous abuse 
and bear the mark of a record on top of it. Criminal records make it 
difficult for survivors to get jobs, medical care, education, and even 
housing assistance. These records haunt survivors and can even lead to 
revictimization.
  Mr. Speaker, if we are serious about giving survivors of trafficking 
a second chance, we must enact serious, foolproof vacatur laws that 
erase the collateral consequences of treating trafficking victims like 
criminals. This is why I introduced, along with the support of many of 
my colleagues, the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act. This bill would 
give victims of trafficking relief from Federal or D.C. criminal 
convictions or arrests.
  We know well that Federal courts are not--and I underscore ``not''--
infallible, and that many victims are trafficked within the District. 
These women don't deserve criminal records. They deserve restitution, 
civil damages, and the empowerment to walk with their heads held high.
  I am adamant that these women get a second chance at life, that they 
find housing, therapy, jobs, new friends, and new chances. I am adamant 
that the United States of America will no longer punish people for 
trauma that most of us cannot even imagine. I am adamant that the 
United States Congress will have the moral aptitude to enact the 
Trafficking Survivors Relief Act. I am adamant that not one more victim 
of trafficking will be mistreated in our criminal justice system. Mr. 
Speaker, I am adamant that we pass this bill into law.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. I would like 
to ask a couple of questions if she doesn't mind. I know she has other 
appointments, but I wanted to ask her a couple questions. I would like 
to know how has the trafficking situation in her home State of Missouri 
decreased, or how has this legislation helped?
  Mrs. WAGNER. Well, I will tell the gentleman that the legislation 
that he and I have worked on for a number of years and that he has 
spent the better part of a lifetime as a judge and as a legislator on 
is saving lives; but, sadly, my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, would 
be ranked in the top 20 counties or cities in the Nation for human 
trafficking. So the problem is prevalent. It exists still.
  What breaks my heart most of all are those children who have been 
victimized, whether it is by online predators or other means, those who 
are the most vulnerable in our society. We have been able to work with 
many of the safe houses, with our prosecutors, with our law 
enforcement, with our advocacy groups.
  As Congressman Poe and I both know, we can't always legislate all the 
ills of society away. What I appreciate about the work that we do is 
not only passing laws and legislation to help those victims, but also 
the education and awareness that is so very important. So anything that 
we can do to lift those advocates up, to bring a spotlight to this 
modern-day slavery is so very important.
  I commend the gentleman from Texas for his work and for the Special 
Order here tonight. I look forward to a day when this heinous crime, 
this modern-day slavery no longer exists in the United States of 
America.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I also 
wanted to compliment her on her tenacious work of going after 
backpage.com and making that resource unavailable for those traffickers 
and those buyers. I want to commend her for that.
  Mrs. WAGNER. I thank the gentleman. I would say, Mr. Speaker, that 
these online predators are the bane of our existence. It is a dark 
underbelly of the human trafficking and sex slavery trade that is out 
there, and it is absolutely unconscionable that crimes can be committed 
online that would not be allowed to be committed offline. We are going 
to go to the heart of the Communications Decency Act with my next piece 
of legislation that so many attorneys general and States and 
prosecutors and law enforcement and advocacy groups are begging for 
Congress to act to make sure that there is clarity so that States and 
the Federal Government can prosecute, and to make sure that we make the 
changes that are necessary in a very specific and narrow way to make 
sure that those online predators are not victimizing the children, 
women, and young boys of our land.

  I look forward to working with the gentleman and my colleagues on 
much more work in this arena.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman being 
here and making such powerful comments.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Gabbard). She is an Iraqi 
war veteran and a former member of the Hawaii House of Representatives. 
She is working specifically, among other things, in the area of the 
juvenile justice system, trying to reform that.

[[Page H4565]]

  

  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague for his 
leadership on this and many other issues, really taking up this cause 
and being a champion for the voiceless.
  Last month I was in my district in Hawaii, and we traveled all across 
the State, on every island, holding townhall meetings on a variety of 
issues, but one of the meetings and forums that I participated in was 
at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and it was specifically around 
this issue of human trafficking, of sex trafficking.
  In this small community in Hawaii, many people had gathered--it was a 
full room--trying to increase their own awareness and share more 
information about the prevalence of this issue, not just in places in 
other parts of the world, but in our communities right here at home. I 
think that is something that surprises a lot of folks that I talk to, 
is you can read about these human trafficking problems in cities in 
Asia or other parts of the world, but very rarely do people think that 
it is happening in their own backyard, in their own hometown, when the 
reality is that this is a very real issue that exists in far too many 
of our hometowns and our communities all across the country.
  In my own home State of Hawaii, girls as young as 11 years old have 
been recruited from schools, from beaches, from malls through an 
intricate network of sex traffickers. In 2016, last year, 30 cases of 
human trafficking were reported to the human trafficking hotline in 
Hawaii. Almost all of them had to do with the exploitation of women for 
sex and labor, and in 10 of these cases the individuals targeted were 
minors.
  Now, what we know and what is terribly disturbing is how 
underreported this actually is, that these numbers are not at all 
representative of the reality that exists in our community because 
trafficking is more common than the number of cases reported.
  Now, too often those who are victims of and those who are forced into 
trafficking are charged as criminals and are forced to live with this 
criminal record for the rest of their lives, never being able to escape 
the shackles of nonviolent crimes committed in the course of their 
being victims of human trafficking. This often inhibits them from 
getting the care and assistance that they really need, to be free, to 
be able to move on with their lives.
  Our current criminal justice system is broken in so many ways, and in 
so many ways perpetuates a cycle of crime, exploitation, and poverty, 
stripping the most exploited and vulnerable individuals in our society 
of a fair chance for a new life and healing from unimaginable abuses 
perpetuated by truly evil criminals.
  Now, at the local level in States like Hawaii, we have passed 
legislation that bans sex trafficking and classifies it as a class A 
felony, but that is not enough. That is why I am so proud to be a 
cosponsor of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, because it creates 
this promise of freedom for those survivors from the shackles of their 
past. It establishes a process to vacate convictions and expunge 
arrests for those charged with criminal offenses related to human 
trafficking, finally putting survivors on a path to rehabilitation and 
healing rather than a life of continued exploitation and abuse.
  I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to get this 
legislation passed and actually enact this change so it helps those in 
our communities who need it the most.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii 
for her work on this. As you can tell, this is a bipartisan effort. 
When we took this legislation 2 years ago and brought it to the House, 
there were 11 bills that came to the House of Representatives, and they 
almost all passed unanimously. Then they were sent to the Senate, and 
the Senate combined them into two bills. The same over there, almost 
unanimous; and then back over to the House, and the final passage was 
almost unanimous once again. It is a bipartisan effort, and I thank the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii for her work on this and her service to our 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Smucker). He is one of our newest, if not the newest, Members of 
Congress. He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate for a good number 
of years.
  Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Judge Poe for the work that he is 
doing this evening to bring attention to a critical problem that 
desperately needs our attention and needs our solutions, that of human 
trafficking.
  The three largest international crime industries are drug 
trafficking, arms trafficking, and human trafficking. It is 
uncomfortable to talk about, but we can't shy away from talking about 
the fact that in the world today, young boys and girls are being sold 
across the globe for an average price of $90. It is not just in remote 
parts of the globe. More than 14,000 people are trafficked into the 
United States each year. It is happening all across America, and in 
Lancaster, Berks, and Chester Counties, the district that I represent 
in Pennsylvania.

                              {time}  1900

  Four out of five people trafficked in the world today are trafficked 
for sexual exploitation. Eighty percent are female and half are 
children.
  Antitrafficking groups gather in our churches, restaurants, and 
schools all across Pennsylvania and across the country. Those 
individuals, and the victims of trafficking, should know that they have 
allies in Congress.
  My office has been in contact with organizations in my district like 
Safe Berks, the Chester County Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, and 
law enforcement officials to discuss ways that we can work together to 
help victims.
  I am also very pleased to cosponsor the bipartisan Trafficking 
Survivors Relief Act, introduced by my colleague Ann Wagner, who was 
here with us this evening, from Missouri, a leader on this issue.
  Victims of trafficking are forced to commit crimes like prostitution, 
drug dealing, and money laundering. We cannot punish these victims for 
crimes committed because of coercion and under the threat of violence 
or death.
  We must ensure that we are doing all we can to help victims recover 
from these unthinkable experiences. This legislation will help to do 
that by providing more judicial discretion for victims to clear their 
names of any wrongdoing.
  I am proud to stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
support this legislation that helps end this barbaric practice.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania for his comments, and now for his work on this issue of 
trafficking.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), 
another Ted here in Congress. Ted Yoho is serving Florida's 
Congressional District 3. He is vice chairman of the U.S. House Foreign 
Affairs Committee, and the chairman of U.S. House Asia and the Pacific 
Subcommittee. He has supported many bills on this issue of trafficking 
and has worked very hard in his home State of Florida to bring 
awareness to this.
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Judge Poe for his tireless work on 
this issue. And I appreciate the leadership, and Lloyd Smucker. And as 
he has talked about, this is a bipartisan issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to modern-day slavery, 
because that is what this is, in the form of human trafficking.
  Most people believe human trafficking only occurs at home. It is a 
foreign crime that would never happen in our community, let alone their 
own backyard. To that I say: Let me tell you about human trafficking in 
rural America.
  I come from a district that is very rural. We had several summits on 
this issue. We talked to the local sheriffs and to the local police 
departments, and they said: Do you know what, we don't have that 
problem here. We are okay.
  We invoked the help of the Department of Homeland Security, and they 
have got a great campaign called the Blue Campaign. We encouraged these 
officers to show up. And I am happy to say that most of the people that 
we talked to--the counties and the sheriffs--showed up.
  And it wasn't more than about 2 weeks that I started getting calls 
from the sheriffs. And they said: Do you know what, that is happening 
right here.
  It is an awareness campaign. And Ms. Gabbard from Hawaii mentioned 
how underreported it is. Of course, it is, if

[[Page H4566]]

people aren't aware of it. But when you bring awareness through 
campaigns like the Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign, 
people wake up to this issue. And I love their motto: If you see 
something, say something. Let people know this is going on.
  So let me tell you about our home community. In March of this year, a 
special needs student in Jacksonville, Florida, was kidnapped. Her 
captors placed her under house arrest, basically. They incarcerated her 
for human trafficking. They placed an advertisement online offering her 
sexual services, which is quite possibly the only reason the police 
were able to find her. These people were advertising on the internet.
  Also, in March of this year, 15 men were arrested in my hometown of 
Gainesville, Florida, on child solicitation charges. These men were 
discovered as part of an undercover operation that led them to believe 
they were communicating with young girls. The men believed the girls' 
guardians were allowing them to commit sexual acts with underage girls.
  Only 2 months prior to this arrest, a Gainesville man was sentenced 
to 25 years in prison for sex trafficking an adult.
  A month prior to that, Polk County--another rural county--detectives 
arrested 114 suspects in a human trafficking and prostitution ring. At 
least four of them were immediately identified as human trafficking 
victims. And merely 3 months later, an additional 104 were picked up in 
a second sting for human trafficking, including those soliciting sex 
from minors.
  These are but a few examples of human trafficking-related crimes that 
have occurred in my community in the last 6 months. Florida is 
estimated to have the third highest rate of human trafficking in the 
country, following only behind California and New York--third in the 
Nation. That is not something any State wants a designation for. All 
three of these States are ideal because of their access to ports and 
interstate highways, allowing victims to be transported across State 
lines easily.
  And it is estimated today--and I, again, sit on the Foreign Affairs 
Committee with Judge Poe, and we have seen these numbers too often. It 
is estimated that 21 million people are trafficked around the world, 
resulting in an estimated $150 billion in profits--profits from the 
sale of a human individual that goes to the traffickers who are often 
drug smugglers or terrorist organizations.
  The 13th Amendment to our Constitution abolished slavery in this 
country. However, it still exists, and it is right in our own backyard. 
Because of this, we need to do all that we can to eradicate this.

  The runaway child is picked up within 48 hours and forced within the 
sex trade. This is something that, if you believe in the 13th 
Amendment, we all need to stand up, take an active role in this, and we 
do this by the legislation that is up.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Judge for being a strong advocate and always 
being there for this.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, how many minutes do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 8 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
Wisconsin (Ms. Moore). She, like the women in Congress, who I have 
given a lot of credit for all of this trafficking legislation, is very 
concerned about victims of family and domestic violence.
  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as an original cosponsor 
of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2017, and I urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this truly bipartisan 
piece of legislation.
  We have come a long way in this country in recognizing and 
acknowledging the problems of sex trafficking; and not just laying the 
blame at the seat of a so-called prostitute but understanding that this 
is a crime where the persons being trafficked, as you have heard my 
colleagues say, are imprisoned in sex trafficking. And why is it?
  You heard them talk about the $150 billion impact that this has. 
There is a huge incentive to sell these women over and over and over 
and over again. Because unlike drugs, you can resell these products of 
these victims again.
  Survivors of sex trafficking can't just walk away. They are in 
prison. They endure violent beatings, brainwashing, sexual assault, 
psychological control, and control of their purses and their 
identification. But then they find themselves arrested and convicted 
for prostitution, labeled as sex offenders, and then just revictimized 
by a system that doesn't understand that they were prisoners of this 
lucrative operation.
  These survivors face long-term negative consequences. They are denied 
access to employment, housing resources, and student financial aid that 
is needed to develop a sustainable safe and stable life. The 
Trafficking Survivors Relief Act offers survivors postconviction relief 
from criminal charges stemming from nonviolent offenses committed as a 
direct result of being a victim of human trafficking.
  Mr. Speaker, believe it or not, an estimated 300,000 children become 
victims of sex trafficking every year through fraud, force, and 
coercion. Many of them think, You know, I am going to be taken out to 
dinner by someone who loves me, and find themselves imprisoned at that 
very moment. Many of them are then arrested for these crimes that they 
are forced to commit.
  In my State of Wisconsin, 79 percent of human trafficking cases 
reported in Wisconsin occur in my district, I am ashamed to say.
  In the city of Milwaukee, last year, as an example, Mr. Speaker, two 
sisters, ages 16 and 17, were rescued during the FBI's Operation Cross 
Country. They told an undercover Federal agent that their mother had 
forced them into prostitution. Had they been arrested, instead of 
recovered from their mother, who imprisoned them, would they have 
deserved to be branded for life with a criminal record?
  Imagine every time that they applied for housing or for financial aid 
or for a job, that they would be denied on the basis of their criminal 
record; and they were coerced into this act as minors by their own 
mother. Imagine the re-traumatization and further devastation that 
repeated denial would have caused them.
  It just makes these people so vulnerable, and it deserves a 
legislative solution that we are proposing here today.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her strong 
comments. I know where she stands on the issue of victims of violence.
  Mr. Speaker, the 2-year anniversary of the Justice for Victims of 
Trafficking Act will be Monday. As a former judge and co-chairman of 
the Victims' Rights Caucus, with Jim Costa from California, this is an 
important issue. I bet most Americans have never heard of the Justice 
for Victims of Trafficking Act because it was passed with bipartisan 
support, overwhelming support. Things like this don't make the news 
because we are not fussing and feuding between the two sides.
  But it is a very important piece of legislation for our country. It 
goes after the trafficker. It makes sure they get arrested, and they go 
to prison where they belong. It also goes after the buyer, the person 
who hides and tries to buy young children on the marketplace of sex 
slavery. But it rescues victims and turns them into survivors. That is 
why this legislation is important.
  The average age of a trafficking victim in the United States is 13. 
That means some are younger than 13. And it is a menace and a scourge 
that we, in the House of Representatives, along with our friends in the 
Senate, are going to make sure that the legislation is appropriate to 
solve this epidemic. That is why we are reminding individuals that we 
have this piece of legislation that is passed, and other pieces of 
legislation as well.
  The last thing I wanted to mention is part of the Justice for Victims 
of Trafficking Act allows Federal judges to impose a fee on the 
trafficker or the buyer, and that money goes into a fund that helps 
victims of trafficking. That is a great idea. Make the criminals pay 
the rent on the courthouse by this type of restitution program.
  I want to thank all of the people who helped out tonight. There is a 
lot more to be said about the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. 
We are going to continue to bring awareness of it to the American 
public.

[[Page H4567]]

  I can tell you one thing, though, traffickers and buyers know about 
this legislation. With the help of local and State and Federal law 
enforcement, we are going to stop this sale of our children and adult 
women here in the United States for money.
  And that is just the way it is.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, this week, as the House of Representatives 
considers human trafficking legislation, I am proud to continue working 
with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to raise awareness on the 
heinous practice of human trafficking and to work together to eradicate 
it from our communities.
  I thank my friend and classmate, Congresswoman Ann Wagner of Missouri 
(MO-02) for organizing tonight's Special Order Hour.
  Human trafficking--where people profit from the control and 
exploitation of others--occurs both here at home and abroad on a daily 
basis.
  In fact, the International Labour Organization estimates that there 
are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally--68% of them are 
trapped in forced labor, 26% of them are children, and 55% are women 
and girls.
  And in my home state of Ohio, human trafficking for sex and labor is 
on the rise.
  According to recent reports from the Polaris Project, a nonprofit 
that tracks trafficking in the U.S. and abroad, 375 Ohio trafficking 
cases were reported from 1,352 calls to the National Human Trafficking 
Hotline in 2016. In 2015, there were 289 cases based on 1,070 calls. 
The 2016 numbers reflect a nearly four-fold increase over the Ohio 
figures from 2013.
  While the overall increase in reporting can be partly attributed to 
greater awareness of the national hotline, we know, and officials 
confirm, that trafficking is, unfortunately, chronically under-
reported.
  We must do more to help trafficking victims and to encourage people 
when they see something that looks like an individual is being 
trafficked, that they say something.
  Victims of human trafficking often live in the shadows of our 
society, so it is up to all of us to help identify and rescue victims 
of trafficking.
  While human trafficking spans all demographics, there are some 
circumstances or vulnerabilities that lead to a higher susceptibility 
to victimization.
  Runaway and homeless youth, as well as victims of domestic violence 
or sexual assault, are frequently targeted by traffickers.
  Men and women, boys and girls, who are all alone, abused, and often 
believe they have nowhere to go.
  Well, we can help. We must do more to assist victims of trafficking 
and provide them with the services and treatment necessary to regain 
control of their lives.
  We must also ensure the investigation and prosecution of human 
trafficking crimes is focused on the traffickers, the people assisting 
the traffickers, and the purchasers--the individuals who are the real 
criminals in the enterprise.
  Almost two years ago, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act--or 
the JVTA--was signed into law. The JVTA is helping to update efforts to 
combat the scourge of human trafficking and provided essential 
resources to survivors and law enforcement officials.
  I am proud to have had a provision included in this comprehensive 
legislation and to have taken part in its drafting, passage, and 
enactment.
  Mr. Speaker, since the JVTA's enactment, we have witnessed important 
achievements, but we cannot stop here.
  We must continue to work together to eradicate human trafficking and 
support the victims. Tonight, I pledge to continue to working with my 
colleagues to raise awareness and fight back against human trafficking, 
because as we all know, one victim of human trafficking is one too 
many.

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