[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3109-S3110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Human Trafficking

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I am happy to announce that soon I will be 
introducing legislation that reauthorizes several critical provisions 
to help fight human trafficking and bring us one step closer to ridding 
our country of this heinous crime.
  The Abolish Human Trafficking Act is chiefly a bill about getting 
human trafficking victims the help they need by focusing on ways to 
support them as they rebuild their lives. To me, one of the most 
shocking things about this terrible crime that victims of human 
trafficking need most is a safe place to live because without that, 
they will not be able to escape the people who have enslaved them, nor 
will they be able to begin the steps of the long road to recovery.
  This legislation reauthorizes the Justice Department's Domestic 
Trafficking Victims' Fund, which we established when we passed the 
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, a bill I authored that was 
signed into law last Congress. This fund--like a crime victims 
compensation fund--provides critical resources to help victims get the 
services they need to recover.
  Part of the fund is financed through fines collected on convicted 
traffickers. It is a clear way we can use these fines to do some good. 
Last year, the fund provided almost $5 million in victims services. By 
reauthorizing it, it can continue to serve more victims.
  The bill also empowers victims by permanently reauthorizing the Human 
Trafficking Advisory Council--a group of survivors who annually advise 
the government on ways to combat this crime and lend a hand.
  This bill goes a long way to help victims who should be at the 
forefront of any of our conversations about human trafficking. There is 
also no question that our Nation's law enforcement officials need more 
support to track down the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to 
justice. Certainly, law enforcement needs more training to better equip 
them to serve victims too. This bill also does that.
  It requires the Department of Homeland Security to implement 
screening protocols across law enforcement anti-trafficking task 
forces. One of the hardest things about human trafficking may be, in 
fact, being able to identify that it is occurring when it occurs right 
in front of your eyes.
  This training will impact the work of law enforcement at the Federal, 
State, and local levels. That way, law enforcement at every level of 
government can learn how to better spot trafficking victims and will 
have the adequate training to connect victims to the services they need 
in order to recover.
  The legislation will also direct the Department of Health and Human 
Services to continue a pilot program to train healthcare providers 
about human trafficking. Healthcare providers, after all, are likely to 
come in contact with human trafficking victims as well, and they need 
to know the telltale signs that will alert them so they can report this 
to the appropriate authorities.
  I have noted before that so much of the battle is about educating 
professionals but not just professionals. I would say all of us as 
ordinary citizens need to be on the lookout for signs of human 
trafficking.
  Sadly, I learned a few years ago, when the Super Bowl was held in 
Texas, that one of the premier trafficking events in the Nation each 
year

[[Page S3110]]

is the Super Bowl, sad and as tragic as that sounds.
  There is a role for all of us to play as regular citizens in 
identifying the telltale signs of human trafficking, and then when we 
see something wrong, to say something about it so hopefully they can be 
investigated.
  Through pilot programs like this one, my hope is that more people 
will better understand it. The more people who understand trafficking 
and its warning signs, the more we can do to help those trapped in this 
modern-day slavery.
  The legislation will also give law enforcement more resources to 
target criminal street gangs who profit from human trafficking. They 
view human beings as just another commodity that they can make money 
from, and going after criminal street gangs who profit from human 
trafficking is really important. We would also enhance the penalties 
for several human trafficking-related offenses as well.
  Finally, the Abolish Human Trafficking Act will improve and update 
the national strategy to fight human trafficking across the country by 
requiring the Department of Justice to add a demand reduction 
component. This will build on legislation passed in the last Senate by 
a vote of 99 to 0, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
  I know by reading the newspaper and watching TV, people think nothing 
happens in Washington that is truly nonpartisan or bipartisan in 
nature. This is an example of why that is wrong. Certainly, this is a 
cause that every Member of the Senate can get behind, and there is no 
reason we shouldn't be able to pass this legislation soon with similar 
strong bipartisan, literally overwhelming bipartisan support.
  I am grateful to our friend and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee, Chairman Grassley, for his focus on doing all we can for 
victims of human trafficking. In addition to his support for the 
Abolish Human Trafficking Act, I know he also plans to introduce 
complementary anti-trafficking legislation, the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act.
  I am hopeful both bills will be considered soon so we can prove the 
Senate is united in our opposition to human trafficking and so we can 
lend more support to the victims who so desperately need it.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Ernst). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.