[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 17 (Monday, January 28, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H1223-H1227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FIGHT ILLICIT NETWORKS AND DETECT TRAFFICKING ACT

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 502) to require the Comptroller General of the United States 
to carry out a study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces 
are used to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services 
associated with sex trafficking or drug trafficking, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 502

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

[[Page H1224]]

  


     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Fight Illicit Networks and 
     Detect Trafficking Act'' or the ``FIND Trafficking Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 
     2017 National Drug Threat Assessment, transnational criminal 
     organizations are increasingly using virtual currencies.
       (2) In its 2015 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, 
     the Department of the Treasury concluded: ``The development 
     of virtual currencies is an attempt to meet a legitimate 
     market demand. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago 
     economist, United States consumers want payment options that 
     are versatile and that provide immediate finality. No United 
     States payment method meets that description, although cash 
     may come closest. Virtual currencies can mimic cash's 
     immediate finality and anonymity and are more versatile than 
     cash for online and cross-border transactions, making virtual 
     currencies vulnerable for illicit transactions.''.
       (3) Virtual currencies have become a prominent method to 
     pay for goods and services associated with illegal sex 
     trafficking and drug trafficking, which are two of the most 
     detrimental and troubling illegal activities facilitated by 
     online marketplaces.
       (4) Online marketplaces, including the dark web, have 
     become a prominent platform to buy, sell, and advertise for 
     illicit goods and services associated with sex trafficking 
     and drug trafficking.
       (5) According to the International Labour Organization, in 
     2016, 4.8 million people in the world were victims of forced 
     sexual exploitation, and in 2014, the global profit from 
     commercial sexual exploitation was $99 billion.
       (6) In 2016, within the United States, the Center for 
     Disease Control estimated that there were 64,000 deaths 
     related to drug overdose, and the most severe increase in 
     drug overdoses were those associated with fentanyl and 
     fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids), which amounted to over 
     20,000 overdose deaths.
       (7) According to the United States Department of the 
     Treasury 2015 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment, an 
     estimated $64 billion is generated annually from United 
     States drug trafficking sales.
       (8) Illegal fentanyl in the United States originates 
     primarily from China, and it is readily available to purchase 
     through online marketplaces.

     SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.

       (a) Study Required.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall conduct a study on how virtual currencies and 
     online marketplaces are used to facilitate sex and drug 
     trafficking. The study shall consider--
       (1) how online marketplaces, including the dark web, are 
     being used as platforms to buy, sell, or facilitate the 
     financing of goods or services associated with sex 
     trafficking or drug trafficking (specifically, opioids and 
     synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and 
     any precursor chemicals associated with manufacturing 
     fentanyl or fentanyl analogs) destined for, originating from, 
     or within the United States;
       (2) how financial payment methods, including virtual 
     currencies and peer-to-peer mobile payment services, are 
     being utilized by online marketplaces to facilitate the 
     buying, selling, or financing of goods and services 
     associated with sex or drug trafficking destined for, 
     originating from, or within the United States;
       (3) how virtual currencies are being used to facilitate the 
     buying, selling, or financing of goods and services 
     associated with sex or drug trafficking, destined for, 
     originating from, or within the United States, when an online 
     platform is not otherwise involved;
       (4) how illicit funds that have been transmitted online and 
     through virtual currencies are repatriated into the formal 
     banking system of the United States through money laundering 
     or other means;
       (5) the participants (state and non-state actors) 
     throughout the entire supply chain that participate in the 
     buying, selling, or financing of goods and services 
     associated with sex or drug trafficking (through online 
     marketplaces or virtual currencies) destined for, originating 
     from, or within the United States;
       (6) Federal and State agency efforts to impede the buying, 
     selling, or financing of goods and services associated with 
     sex or drug trafficking through online marketplaces or 
     virtual currencies that are destined for, originating from, 
     or within the United States, including efforts to prevent the 
     proceeds from sex or drug trafficking from entering the 
     United States banking system through online marketplaces or 
     virtual currencies; and
       (7) to what extent can the immutable and traceable nature 
     of virtual currencies contribute to the tracking and 
     prosecution of illicit funding.
       (b) Scope.--For the purposes of the study required under 
     subsection (a), the term ``sex trafficking'' means the 
     recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, 
     patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a 
     commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud, or 
     coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act 
     has not attained 18 years of age.
       (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
     United States shall submit to the Committee on Banking, 
     Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report 
     summarizing the results of the study required under 
     subsection (a), together with any recommendations for 
     legislative or regulatory action that would improve the 
     efforts of Federal agencies to impede the use of virtual 
     currencies and online marketplaces in facilitating sex and 
     drug trafficking.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
McHenry) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 502, the Fight Illicit Networks and 
Detect Trafficking Act, which would advance efforts to counter the 
illicit uses of virtual currencies and marketplaces in drug trafficking 
and sex trafficking.
  The study in the report designed to drive action from government and 
its partners is needed now more than ever.
  In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, a 10 
percent rise from the previous year. The percentage of those deaths 
from synthetic drugs like fentanyl and its analogs increased sharply as 
well. It is said that Americans are now more likely to die from opioid 
overdose than a car wreck, dropping our collective life expectancy.
  Further, the International Labor Organization estimates that there 
are 4.8 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally. 
Online marketplaces and cryptocurrencies facilitate this abuse, not 
just abroad, but in our own communities, where victims are exploited by 
bad actors, forcing men, women, and children into horrifying situations 
from which it is difficult to escape.
  The bill would require the GAO to study how online marketplaces and 
virtual currencies are being used for drug and sex trafficking.

                              {time}  1715

  It will examine the participants in these trafficking supply chains 
and how they cash in and out of their digital marketplaces, returning 
their illicitly gained proceeds to the formal banking system.
  The study will also tell us about existing Federal and State efforts 
to impede such activities, so we can identify how to better tackle 
these crimes.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Vargas and Congresswoman Wagner for 
introducing this bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 502, the FIND Trafficking Act.
  Consider this: In 2017 alone, more than 47,000 Americans died from 
opioid overdoses. Additionally, it is estimated that the total number 
of human trafficking victims in the U.S. reached into the hundreds of 
thousands.
  These shocking numbers point to a deep, systemic issue happening 
right in our backyards, where bad actors use any means necessary--even 
financial products--in order to lure people into horrible situations. 
One of the ways they do this is by using virtual currencies to evade 
the oversight of institutions, like government agencies.
  While virtual currencies may possess a great opportunity for society, 
we don't quite know the extent of their utility in human trafficking.
  Mr. Speaker, these virtual currencies are one of the most versatile 
payment options available today, yet they are among the least 
understood. We need to do more work in order to understand their 
utility and their opportunity.
  It is precisely this lack of understanding that risks making virtual 
currencies ripe for exploitation by these bad actors engaged in human 
trafficking and the sale of illicit drugs. In its 2017 National Drug 
Assessment, the

[[Page H1225]]

Drug Enforcement Administration concluded that transnational criminal 
organizations are increasingly using virtual currencies for illicit 
activities, including drug trafficking. This includes illicit 
transactions with China, as well as the sale and purchase of narcotics, 
including those involved in our country's opioid epidemic.
  This bipartisan legislation before us is an instrumental first step 
toward analyzing how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are 
used to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods and services 
associated with human and drug trafficking.
  By directing the Government Accountability Office to study how 
virtual currencies are linked to the supply chain of drugs and human 
trafficking, this bill will give lawmakers insight in how to sever that 
link. We need to know how virtual currencies are being used; the scope 
of their use; and, most importantly, how our Federal and State agencies 
must respond, and can respond, to impede their use for illicit 
activities.
  Let me add, Mr. Speaker, that nothing in this legislation is meant to 
demonize the use or the development of virtual currencies for 
legitimate economic activity. As my colleagues know, there are few 
Members more committed than I am to how new technologies can facilitate 
commerce and growth. But in order for such technologies to flourish, we 
need a rigorous discussion on the risks in enabling new routes for 
illicit finance.
  We need to understand that as policymakers. This bill is important 
because it enables us to have the measurement tools necessary for us to 
smartly legislate in this area. Mainstream acceptance of innovation 
depends on mainstream forms of accountability, and this bill does just 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Vargas) for 
his sponsorship of the bill. I thank my vice ranking member on the 
Financial Services Committee, my second in command on the Financial 
Services Committee, Mrs. Wagner of Missouri, for her sponsorship and 
leadership on this important issue of human trafficking that she is so 
very committed to and so smart on legislating around. I thank them both 
for setting the right tone for our committee jurisdiction, smart 
legislating, and reaching across the aisle. I know they will continue 
to lead the fight against trafficking as Members of the House Financial 
Services Committee this Congress, as they have in previous years as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Vargas), the sponsor of the bill.
  Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 502, 
the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act, or, as you 
heard, the FIND Trafficking Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry for 
their support and their guidance of this legislation.
  I also especially thank my colleague, Representative Wagner, for her 
leadership on this issue and for agreeing to co-lead this commonsense, 
narrowly tailored legislation. I thank her for her guidance and her 
leadership.
  As you may know, a virtual currency is a digital representation of 
value that can be digitally traded. Since the creation of bitcoin, the 
first and most widely known example of a cryptocurrency, thousands of 
cryptocurrencies have emerged that are designed to serve a variety of 
purposes.
  Some forms of virtual currency provide a digital alternative to cash 
that lacks the oversight of a government or a central bank, and, 
potentially, offers greater anonymity than conventional payment 
systems.
  Just as virtual currencies have grown in use in legitimate commerce, 
as we heard from the ranking member, they have also, unfortunately, 
become an increasingly popular financial payment method for criminals.

  Virtual currencies have been, and continue to be, exploited to pay 
for goods and services associated with illicit sex and drug 
trafficking. These are two of the most detrimental and troubling 
illegal activities sold online.
  According to the DEA 2017 National Drug Assessment, transnational 
criminal organizations are increasingly using virtual currencies, due 
to their ease of use and the anonymity they provide. While evidence 
points to a growth of virtual currencies as a payment method for 
illicit sex and drug trafficking, the true scope of the problem and 
potential solutions have not been fully established.
  According to the International Labour Organization, in 2016, 4.8 
million people in the world were victims of forced sexual exploitation, 
and, in 2014, the global profit from commercial sexual exploitation was 
$99 billion.
  Unfortunately, virtual currencies are also being used as a payment 
method for transnational drug traffickers. As we all know too well, and 
as was stated here, the United States is struggling to combat the 
rising number of lives cut short by tragic opioid use. In 2016 alone, 
the CDC estimated that there were 64,000 deaths in the U.S. related to 
drug overdose, and the most severe increase in drug overdoses were 
those associated with fentanyl and fentanyl analogs.
  Fentanyl is an extremely deadly opioid, about 50 to 100 times more 
potent than morphine. Fentanyl is being illicitly manufactured in China 
and Mexico, with most of the illegal fentanyl in the United States 
originating primarily in China, and it is readily available to purchase 
through online marketplaces.
  If we are to craft effective regulatory and legislative solutions to 
combat these transnational criminal organizations, we need to fully 
study and analyze how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are 
used to facilitate sex and drug trafficking to determine how to best 
eliminate their use.
  H.R. 502, the FIND Trafficking Act of 2019, requires the Comptroller 
General of the United States to: one, carry out a study on how virtual 
currencies and online marketplaces are used to facilitate sex or drug 
trafficking; and, two, make recommendations to Congress on legislative 
and regulatory actions that would impede the use of virtual currencies 
and online marketplaces in facilitating sex and drug trafficking.
  It is my sincere hope that this bill is a first step, as we heard, 
toward crafting bipartisan legislation to impede and, eventually, 
eliminate the use of virtual currencies by transnational criminal 
organizations to facilitate drug and sex trafficking.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for the bipartisan nature of this 
bill--in particular, again, Representative Wagner--and I urge my 
colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), the vice ranking member of the House Financial 
Services Committee, who will be the ranking member of the Subcommittee 
on Diversity and Inclusion on the Financial Services Committee as well.
  Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the vice ranking member for 
yielding. And I thank my friend and colleague from California for his 
leadership and support on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the FIND 
Trafficking Act. The fight against online sex trafficking has been one 
of the most important endeavors since I first came to Congress. I have 
worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to update our 
Nation's laws to effectively combat contemporary methods used to 
exploit our Nation's women and children.
  The fact of the matter is that sex trafficking has moved from the 
streets to the internet. Traffickers advertise, buy, and sell women and 
children, using online marketplaces with impunity.
  Last April, my Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or FOSTA, became 
law, and many websites engaged in sex trafficking shut down to avoid 
liability for their crimes. This was a tremendous step forward, but our 
job is not finished.
  The reality is that sex and drug trafficking are extremely 
profitable, and there are still websites that are knowingly 
facilitating criminal activity. Traffickers are increasingly using the 
anonymity of virtual currencies, like bitcoin and others, to finance 
their networks of exploitation, both online and off-line. These 
criminals use virtual currencies to avoid detection and

[[Page H1226]]

prosecution, a practice that creates an unprecedented challenge for 
financial regulators and law enforcement.
  This is a new playing field, and we need better enforcement of 
existing laws and more information about how criminals are using 
virtual currencies to finance their operations. We need to know how 
illicit funds are being repatriated into the formal banking system. We 
need to understand whether Federal and State agencies have the tools 
they need to stop criminal profits from entering our financial system. 
We also need to know how drug traffickers are using the internet to 
sell opioids, including deadly fentanyl. We need to understand how 
websites are using payment methods to facilitate the sale of illegal 
activities.

  This is why Congressman Juan Vargas and I have introduced the FIND 
Trafficking Act. The legislation would give us valuable data on how 
traffickers are anonymously transferring money to facilitate sex and 
drug trafficking.
  The FIND Trafficking Act will help construct a web of intelligence 
necessary to protect victims and to prosecute traffickers. Congressman 
Juan Vargas has been a tremendous leader in this space, and I thank him 
for all the work that he is doing to stop criminal enterprises from 
exploiting vulnerable populations.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join us in standing with the 
hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been affected by drug and 
sex trafficking.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters for yielding time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the FIND Trafficking 
Act.
  Human trafficking is pervasive across the United States and the 
world. My own home State of Michigan ranks in the top 10th of States 
when it comes to this issue.
  Sex and drug trafficking is a horrific experience for some of the 
most vulnerable populations, including children and those who have 
experienced trauma and violence in the past.
  Human trafficking takes form in many ways, ways that we sometimes may 
not even know exists. With virtual currency becoming more and more 
common, along with the vast, unknown happenings on the dark web, it is 
important for us to have access to information to stop this kind of 
illegal trafficking.

                              {time}  1730

  We must find ways to limit financial options for those who seek to 
exploit and harm others through trafficking. The FIND Trafficking Act 
will allow us to understand virtual currencies and online marketplaces, 
especially on the dark web, and how it has contributed to the rise of 
sex and drug trafficking across this country.
  With the popularity of virtual currency, it is important for us to 
make sure that it is not being used for this in the fight against 
trafficking. It is my hope that we all stand in support of this bill.
  They can try to hide, Mr. Speaker, behind the dark web and these 
faceless currencies, but under the leadership of Chairwoman Waters, 
Member Vargas, and Member Wagner, we hope to find you and to stop you 
from harming our residents.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Riggleman), a new Member of Congress from Afton, 
Virginia, and a new member of the Financial Services Committee.
  Mr. RIGGLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to speak in support of 
H.R. 502, the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act, or the 
FIND Trafficking Act.
  First, I would like to commend Representative Vargas for sponsoring 
this bipartisan legislation, and I would also like to thank my 
colleague from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), for her important work on this 
bill.
  As the father of three daughters, including one at James Madison 
University, who is currently working on a project utilizing technology 
to combat human trafficking, it is deeply concerning to me that sex 
traffickers and drug smugglers have seamless access to the financial 
system through the use of virtual currencies.
  Virtual currencies were created to meet legitimate market demand, but 
have increasingly become the preferred method of payment for illicit 
goods and services facilitated by the dark web. Virtual currencies 
appeal to criminals because of their versatility and ability to provide 
anonymity during transactions.
  According to the International Labour Organization, in 2016, 4.8 
million people in this world were victims of forced sexual 
exploitation. In 2014, the global profit from commercial sexual 
exploitation was $99 billion. Additionally, a 2015 Treasury Department 
report estimated that $64 billion is generated annually just from the 
United States in drug trafficking sales.
  This bill calls for the Comptroller General to conduct a study on how 
virtual currencies and online marketplaces are being used to facilitate 
sex and drug trafficking, and how these funds are repatriated into the 
banking system.
  By enacting this legislation, Congress will be taking a much-needed 
step to better understand the methods and tactics used by criminals. 
This information will be critical to law enforcement efforts to thwart 
sex traffickers, drug dealers, terrorists, and other bad actors. Mr. 
Speaker, I strongly support this bill.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).
  Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters for her lifetime 
of service and commitment to those who are ignored, left out, and left 
behind.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 502, the FIND 
Trafficking Act. Moreover, I rise today on behalf of the survivors of 
sex trafficking in my district, Massachusetts' Seventh Congressional 
District, and across our Nation.
  The sex and drug trafficking industry is a $150 billion industry 
across the globe and throughout our communities. This bill would bring 
us one step closer to combating this pervasive and insidious industry.
  I rise today to lift up the lived experience of one of its survivors: 
Casey, a 13-year old who grew up in the care of the child welfare 
system after surviving an abusive home. Before being referred to My 
Life My Choice, a program in my district that is survivor led that 
works with those impacted by trafficking, Casey had been placed in 
multiple residential programs.
  Just this year, Casey went missing for 1 week. Casey describes an 
experience that is harrowing and, unfortunately, not unique. Craving 
friendship, companionship, and safety, she built relationships online 
that turned into in-person meetings.
  Those meetings did not provide the safety or support Casey hoped for; 
rather, they led to her exploitation. She found herself at parties 
where men she trusted demanded she have sex with other men. She lived 
in fear, and endured many indignities. Her safety was compromised and 
her humanity marginalized.
  To Casey and survivors across the Nation watching, I affirm loud and 
clear: What happened to you is not your fault. We believe you and we 
are here fighting for you.
  We know that trafficking is enabled by many factors. Broken systems 
destroy the lives of too many. I would like to thank Representative 
Vargas and Representative Wagner for their bipartisan leadership to 
tackle these issues, and to shed light on the ways that virtual 
currencies are being manipulated by traffickers to commit horrific 
human rights abuses, and contributing to our country's drug crisis.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Massachusetts.
  Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, the FIND Trafficking Act will require the 
Federal Government to investigate the ways in which sex and drug 
trafficking rings are capitalizing on the anonymity, such as bitcoin, 
to finance the worldwide industry of modern-day slavery and sexual 
exploitation without fear of detection. This would provide policy and 
regulatory recommendations on ways to crack down on these horrendous 
abuses.
  It is estimated that more than 45 million men, women, and children 
are affected by sex and human trafficking across the globe. Since 2011, 
my home

[[Page H1227]]

State of Massachusetts has been working to tackle this growing 
industry. We have been working to end this modern-day slavery and 
exploitation through coalitions and innovative partnerships between 
survivor-led, community-based organizations, businesses, and local 
and State government agencies.

  While these coalitions are making progress, they cannot do it alone. 
The Federal Government has a critical role to play in providing 
resources and research to guide this work. The FIND Trafficking Act 
will shed much-needed light in the ways that technology-based 
currencies have fueled and financed these human rights abuses. We will 
not rest until every survivor receives justice, and we dismantle these 
systems of oppression and exploitation that drive trafficking and 
abuse.
  To all survivors: We see you. We believe you, and we are fighting for 
you.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean).
  Ms. DEAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the FIND Trafficking Act, H.R. 502. 
Over the last several years, the work of law enforcement has gotten 
significantly harder. One difference, cryptocurrencies; virtual 
currencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, and others, have changed 
consumers' relationships with money in profound ways, allowing them to 
conduct anonymous transactions outside the traditional banking sector.
  Criminal networks have taken advantage of these new tools using 
virtual currencies to carry out drug sales and sex trafficking 
operations. That is why the FIND Trafficking Act is so important.
  This bipartisan bill would require the Comptroller General of the 
United States to study how virtual currencies enable criminal activity 
and propose solutions to stop it.
  Based on these findings, Congress would design legislation to 
regulate virtual currencies. Our law enforcement officials are already 
working hard to tackle this challenge.
  In November of 2016, for example, during an investigation into an 
illegal fentanyl operation, Federal law enforcement seized $2 million 
in virtual currency. Nonetheless, human traffickers and drug dealers 
have gravitated to virtual currencies because they provide an 
unprecedented level of secrecy and anonymity.
  According to DEA, online marketplaces now use virtual currencies to 
sell fentanyl, a prime contribution to America's deadly opioid crisis. 
We are now living and dying through the consequences.
  According to the CDC, in 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from 
drug overdoses. My own State of Pennsylvania is ravaged with the third 
highest rate of overdose-related deaths and untold suffering for 
families in our communities.
  The bottom line is we know that virtual currencies are being used to 
fund sex and drug trafficking, but we don't know the true scope of the 
problem, nor do we have a full set of tools to address the challenge. 
That is why we need H.R. 502.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I think it is important that Congress 
understand. The objective of this bill is to understand the contours of 
human trafficking that occur here in the United States, and to 
understand the contours of how drugs are financed. It is incumbent that 
we have the proper data and the public have the proper data so we can 
understand how to respond.
  That is what this measure is about, the plight of those human-
trafficking victims, and the plight of those who are suffering the 
impairments and the devastating consequences that opioids have brought 
in our society. We know those in our community.
  What we have to understand is the deeper issues around the movement 
of money, which is what the Financial Services Committee can do. It 
doesn't fix the full problem, and we should focus on fixing the larger 
issues around human trafficking and drug overdoses, and the horrible 
effects of illicit drugs on our society.
  But what we can do here is understand the contour so we can cut off 
that siphon of money that is fueling this epidemic in our communities 
all across America.
  I want to thank Mr. Vargas and Mrs. Wagner, who just departed, for 
their work on this important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 502, the FIND Trafficking Act, is an important bill 
in the fight against human trafficking and drug trafficking. There are 
millions of victims trapped in forced sex exploitation globally, and 
there were over 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 
2017.
  This bill will study how virtual currencies and online marketplaces 
facilitate human trafficking and drug trafficking, and it will study 
the participants who are abusing these mediums. The research that 
results from this bill will assist Congress in finding effective 
measures to address these harmful, illicit trades.
  Lives can be saved because of this legislation. Once again, I thank 
Congressman Vargas and Congresswoman Wagner for introducing this 
bipartisan legislation.
  Again, this is the second bill that we have here on the floor today 
where we have bipartisan cooperation. They are great bills that both 
sides can support. Again, I am very grateful for the vision of 
Congressman Vargas and Congresswoman Wagner, in introducing this 
legislation, and I urge support for the bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 502.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________