[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.