[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 24 (Thursday, February 7, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H1409-H1413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PUT TRAFFICKING VICTIMS FIRST ACT OF 2019
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 507) to direct the Attorney General to study issues relating to
human trafficking, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 507
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Put Trafficking Victims
First Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. TRAINING FOR PROSECUTIONS OF TRAFFICKERS AND SUPPORT
FOR STATE SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING.
It is the sense of Congress that a portion of the funds
available for training and technical assistance under section
107(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(2)(B)(ii)) should
be devoted to advancing the following goals:
(1) Increasing the personal safety of victim service
providers, who may face intimidation or retaliation for their
activities.
(2) Promoting a trauma-informed, evidence-based, and
victim-centered approach to the provision of services for
victims of trafficking.
(3) Ensuring that law enforcement officers and prosecutors
make every attempt to determine whether an individual is a
victim of human trafficking before arresting the individual
for, or charging the individual with, an offense that is a
direct result of the victimization of the individual.
(4) Effectively prosecuting traffickers and individuals who
patronize or solicit children for sex, and facilitating
access for child victims of commercial sex trafficking to the
services and protections afforded to other victims of sexual
violence.
(5) Encouraging States to improve efforts to identify and
meet the needs of human trafficking victims, including
through internet outreach and other methods that are
responsive to the needs of victims in their communities.
(6) Ensure victims of trafficking, including United States
citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign nationals
are eligible for services.
SEC. 3. WORKING TO DEVELOP METHODOLOGIES TO ASSESS PREVALENCE
OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) Working Group.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation
with other Federal entities engaged in efforts to combat
human trafficking, shall establish an expert working group,
which shall include survivors of human trafficking, experts
on sex and labor trafficking, representatives from
organizations collecting data on human trafficking, and law
enforcement officers. The working group shall, utilizing, to
the extent practicable, existing efforts of agencies, task
forces, States, localities, tribes, research institutions,
and organizations--
(A) identify barriers to the collection of data on the
incidence of sex and labor trafficking; and
(B) recommend practices to promote better data collection
and analysis.
(2) Pilot testing.--Not later than 3 years after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
implement a pilot project to test promising methodologies
studied under paragraph (1).
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation
with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the
Director of the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, shall
submit to Congress a report on--
(A) Federal efforts to estimate the prevalence of human
trafficking at the national and regional levels;
(B) the effectiveness of current policies and procedures to
address the needs of victims of trafficking; and
(C) an analysis of demographic characteristics of victims
of trafficking in different regions of the United States and
recommendations for how to address the unique vulnerabilities
of different victims.
(2) Input from relevant parties.--In developing the report
under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall seek input
from the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking,
victims of trafficking, human trafficking survivor advocates,
service providers for victims of sex and labor trafficking,
and the President's Interagency Task Force on Human
Trafficking.
(c) Survey.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in coordination
with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, and
private organizations, including victim service providers and
expert researchers, shall develop and execute a survey of
survivors seeking and receiving victim assistance services
for the purpose of improving the provision of services to
human trafficking victims and victim identification in the
United States. Survey results shall be made publicly
available on the website of the Department of Justice.
(d) No Additional Funds.--No additional funds are
authorized to carry out this section.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON PROSECUTORS SEEKING RESTITUTION IN
TRAFFICKING CASES.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall
submit to Congress a report on efforts to increase
restitution to victims of human trafficking.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ENCOURAGING STATES TO ADOPT
PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING.
Congress recognizes and applauds the State legislative
bodies that have taken tremendous steps to adopt protections
and services for victims of trafficking. Congress encourages
States to--
(1) uphold the dignity of human trafficking survivors;
(2) ensure the safety, confidentiality, and well-being of
victims of trafficking, while recognizing symptoms of trauma
and coping mechanisms that may impact victims' interactions
with law enforcement, the justice system, and service
providers;
(3) implement screening mechanisms to identify and extend
appropriate services to children in the custody of child
protective services agencies, the juvenile justice system, or
the criminal justice system who are victims of trafficking;
(4) promote greater access to child welfare services for,
rather than criminalization of, child victims of sex
trafficking;
(5) develop a 24-hour emergency response plan by which
victims of human trafficking may receive immediate
protection, shelter, and support from a victim assistance
coordinator when those victims are first identified;
(6) adopt protections for adult victims of trafficking,
such as protection if the victim's safety is at risk,
comprehensive trauma-informed, long-term, culturally
competent care and healing services, mental health services
to relieve traumatic stress, housing, education (including,
where appropriate, vocational training and employment
assistance), mentoring, language assistance, drug and
substance abuse services, and legal services;
(7) ensure that child sex trafficking victims are treated
as children in need of child protective services and receive
appropriate care in the child welfare, rather than juvenile
justice, system;
(8) encourage the adoption of procedures for human
trafficking victims that are consistent with those afforded
to victims of sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse, or
incest to allow human trafficking victim to clear records,
expunge convictions, and vacate adjudications related to
prostitution and nonviolent offenses that arose as a direct
result of being trafficked, including protections for foreign
nationals who are being removed and those who are losing or
determined to be inadmissible for immigration benefits as a
result of the aforementioned human trafficking victim related
conviction or arrest; and
(9) ensure victims of trafficking, including United States
citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign nationals
are eligible for services.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Bass) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
[[Page H1410]]
Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 507, the Put Trafficking Victims First
Act, with my colleague, the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner).
I thank Mrs. Wagner for her hard work over the years on this
important legislation. We are here today because of her dedication and
willingness to work in a bipartisan manner to address the problems
faced by victims of trafficking. We both recognize that Congress must
do more to combat this heinous crime.
H.R. 507 is designed to ensure that survivors of human trafficking do
not go unnoticed. First, it expresses the sense of Congress that law
enforcement set aside a portion of the funds they receive for combating
human trafficking to ensure that victims receive support that is trauma
informed and victim centered. This will provide victims with a better
chance of recovering from their experiences.
Second, this legislation addresses the tremendous need for expanded
victim services, improved data gathering on the prevalence and trends
in human trafficking, and effective mechanisms to identify and work
with victims in an effective and respectful manner.
It directs the Attorney General to form a broadly representative
working group to assess the status of the collection of data on human
trafficking and recommend best practices, conduct a survey of providers
regarding the provision of services to them, as well as prepare a
report to Congress on Federal efforts to estimate the prevalence of
human trafficking, the effectiveness of current policies addressing
victims' needs, and analyzing the demographic characteristics of
trafficking victims, and recommendations on how to address their unique
vulnerabilities.
The bill also directs the Attorney General to implement a pilot
project testing the methodologies identified by the working group and
requires the Attorney General to report on efforts to increase
restitution to victims of human trafficking.
With this type of information in hand, Congress can provide
appropriate oversight of efforts to combat human trafficking; and
researchers, advocates, and law enforcement agencies will all have a
shared resource as they continue to develop innovative approaches to
stop traffickers.
Finally, the bill expresses the sense of Congress that States should
implement trauma-informed, victim-centered care for all trafficking
victims.
Forced labor and human trafficking are among the world's fastest
growing enterprises. Globally, these inhumane practices generate an
estimated $150 billion a year in profit. That is three times the amount
that the top Fortune 500 companies made in 2016.
Criminals are profiting from the systematic abuse of vulnerable
people around the globe. Sadly, women and girls represent approximately
71 percent of these victims.
The U.S. State Department estimates that between 14,000 and 17,000
people are trafficked into our country from other nations every year.
These victims are part of the estimated hundreds of thousands of
victims of trafficking currently living within our communities.
My home State of California has the ninth largest economy in the
world. It is also one of the Nation's top four destinations for human
traffickers, especially for child sex trafficking.
In 2018, of the 5,000 reports to the National Human Trafficking
Hotline, 760 of them were from California. As the founder of the
Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I am very aware of the risks to
vulnerable youth. Foster youth, along with runaways and homeless youth,
are at the highest risk of being sex-trafficked.
Experts agree that the foster care system is yielding a
disproportionate number of human trafficking victims. Nearly 60 percent
of all child sex trafficking victims have histories in the child
welfare system. We cannot allow this to continue.
Washington, D.C., is home to the most powerful government in the
world, yet even in D.C., women and girls are being trafficked.
Organizations like Courtney's House are working to improve the
outcome of trafficking survivors.
H.R. 507 will improve the implementation of the Justice for Victims
of Trafficking Act of 2015.
Trafficking victims face many challenges, even after they are freed
from trafficking rings, ranging from access to social services and
utilizing assistance programs. Survivors face difficulties navigating
social services and assistance programs.
A component of H.R. 507 encourages law enforcement and prosecuting
agencies to make every attempt to determine whether an individual has
been a victim of human trafficking before charging them with offenses
that are the result of their victimization. This is of particular
concern to communities of color.
Mr. Speaker, Congress' intent is clear. Protecting victims from the
heinous crime of human trafficking is of the utmost concern. I am proud
to have worked across the aisle with Congresswoman Wagner on this
important legislation, and I urge our colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
507, the Put Trafficking Victims First Act of 2019.
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery, which has taken
its toll on communities across our Nation. It is a multibillion-dollar
criminal industry that denies freedom to nearly 25 million people
around the globe.
Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other
horrendous tactics to force people to engage in commercial sex or to
provide labor or services against their will. This creates an enormous
need for expanded victims services, improved data on the prevalence and
trends of human trafficking, and effective mechanisms to identify and
rescue trafficking victims.
H.R. 507 expresses the sense of Congress that a portion of the funds
available under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act
of 2000 should be devoted to increasing the safety of victim service
providers, many of whom are threatened because of their positions. It
also promotes a trauma-informed, evidence-based, and victim-centered
approach for providing services to the victims of trafficking.
Additionally, H.R. 507 promotes the effective prosecution of human
traffickers and individuals who patronize or solicit children for sex.
It encourages States to improve efforts to identify and meet the needs
of human trafficking victims.
The bill also establishes a working group to identify barriers to the
collection of data on the incidence of sex and labor trafficking and
recommended practices to promote better data collection and analysis.
Finally, H.R. 507 will provide assistance to trafficking victims
seeking restitution, many of whom still face many obstacles in Federal
court. The bill directs the Attorney General to report on efforts to
increase mandatory restitution for victims by providing Congress with
the relevant data.
Mr. Speaker, this has been an issue in my home State of Georgia. It
is one that I am very proud to know that, under Governor Deal, our
previous Governor, and continuing under Governor Kemp, that around,
especially, the city of Atlanta, a very international city, it has
also, unfortunately, become an area in which sexual exportation and
human trafficking was something that became a scar and is still
affecting our city. We saw that around the Super Bowl and the several
arrests that took place.
This is something that needs to be erased from our vocabulary. This
is something that does not need to be talked about. Again, human
trafficking anywhere in the world is wrong and, hopefully, will be
relegated to the annals of the history books at some point.
I want to commend the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass) and also
my friend, the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), for their
tireless devotion to continuing this path and bringing this forward
each Congress.
I am looking forward to this actually becoming law during this
session, and I would urge all of my colleagues to support this.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas, (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very much, and
I acknowledge the words of the
[[Page H1411]]
ranking member of the full committee and acknowledge the work of the
chairman, Mr. Nadler, of the committee.
I am glad that these bills that we have just debated and one coming
up that I know is Mr. Collins' bill dealing with the fees to provide
resources to those who file lawsuits, justified lawsuits, and have no
recourse, these bills are coming out of the Judiciary Committee in a
bipartisan manner.
This is a very important statement that we are making with the new
majority and working with the minority on very important issues.
This is an issue that has claimed our attention for decades, the fact
that we are working every day to improve and, as Mr. Collins has just
indicated, to never to have to talk about sex trafficking, human
trafficking again. If we can eliminate this scourge, I think all of us
will find peace.
Just a few years ago, as the ranking member on the Homeland Security
Committee, we did the first human trafficking hearing with then-
Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Thompson in Houston, Texas, to
listen to many who claimed and documented that Houston, Texas, was the
epicenter of human trafficking in that region, in the Nation.
It is not something that we are proud of, but we are proud of the
advocates who work without ceasing with law enforcement to put, again,
a red stop sign in front of this travesty.
So I acknowledge the work that has been done by many of my
colleagues, the work that has been done by Congresswoman Wagner and
many others who gathered.
That hearing was the first in history in that community, and the
first field hearing that was addressing that question. It was quite a
few years ago.
But I want to acknowledge from my hometown Jackie Aluotto, who has
found and saved lives of victims of human trafficking in our own
community; Kathryn Griffin, who, likewise, has been at the forefront of
stopping human trafficking, and particularly of young children sex
trafficking, and has been a refuge for many who have suffered;
Constable Alan Rosen; Constable May Walker; Sheriff Gonzalez; Mayor
Sylvester Turner, who has an outstanding program in the city of
Houston.
So I rise to support H.R. 507 for several reasons, not the least of
which being how much it will impact the local community and the work
that is being done. This measure will strengthen the effectiveness of
the 2017 act in various ways, which I am very proud to have supported.
{time} 1345
The 2017 act directed the Attorney General to study issues related to
human trafficking in response to trafficking concerning services and
benefits for victims, criminal justice, domestic sex trafficking of
children, and interagency coordination and training.
For example, H.R. 507 increases the personal safety of victim service
providers who may face intimidation or retaliation for their
activities. While many of us may not realize, sometimes these providers
within the context of the law, may have one or two of these individuals
at their own homes, or have secreted them somewhere, so they are in the
eye of the storm.
As I indicated, we had the first human trafficking hearing of any
committee in Houston, Texas, several years ago under the auspices of
the Homeland Security Committee.
I am proud of the facts that came out, giving the local people the
opportunity to talk about the difficulties and challenges that they
face trying to stop the scourge of human trafficking, particularly with
young people.
Our committee determined this very point, that the safety of these
victims should be our number one concern. Innocent people who have been
turned into human trafficking products by the heinous traffickers
deserve our protection. As such, this training and funding is critical
to ensure that human trafficking victims are treated as victims and
afforded justice, respect, and dignity.
Second, H.R. 507 ensures that law enforcement officers and
prosecutors make every attempt to determine whether an individual is a
victim of human trafficking before arresting the individual for or
charging the individual with an offense that is a direct result of
victimization of that individual.
This will ensure that law enforcement officers do not add trauma and
pain to the victims that have already endured an enormous amount of
suffering.
Let me remind my colleagues, that human trafficking, even beyond the
scourge of drugs, is a product that can be used or is used over and
over again. How devastating, how deadly, how heinous it is that these
individuals can be used in human trafficking, sex trafficking, and the
acts that they may be called upon to do over and over again.
As a result, H.R. 507 will ensure that most effective practices are
standardized so that sex trafficking victims are ultimately protected
and treated with respect at all times.
Lastly, the legislation ensures the effective prosecution of
traffickers and individuals. For these reasons, I would say that this
would be a bill that all of us support. Let's put up more than a stop
sign and fight human trafficking and sex trafficking.
Support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 507, which directs the
Attorney General to study issues relating to human trafficking, and for
other purposes.
Madam Speaker, it is of the upmost importance that we pass this
important legislation and uphold the ideals of this country by
protecting human trafficking victims.
This bill is intended to improve the implementation of the Putting
Trafficking Victims First Act of 2017.
The 2017 act directed the Attorney General to study issues relating
to human trafficking in response to trafficking concerning services and
benefits for victims, criminal justice, domestic sex trafficking of
children, and interagency coordination and training.
I support H.R. 507 for several reasons. This measure will strengthen
the effectiveness of the 2017 act in various ways, which I was proud to
support.
For example, H.R. 507 increases the personal safety of victim service
providers, who may face intimidation or retaliation for their
activities.
We had the first human trafficking hearing of any committee in
Houston, Texas, several years ago under the auspices of the Homeland
Security Committee.
Our committee determined this very point: that the safety of these
victims should be our number one concern.
Innocent people who have been turned into human traffic products by
the heinous traffickers deserve our protection.
As such, this training and funding is critical to ensure that human
trafficking victims are treated as victims and afforded justice,
respect, and dignity.
Second, H.R. 507 ensures that law enforcement officers and
prosecutors make every attempt to determine whether an individual is a
victim of human trafficking before arresting the individual for, or
charging the individual with, an offense that is a direct result of the
victimization of the individual.
This will ensure that law enforcement officers do not add trauma and
pain to the victims that have already endured an enormous amount of
suffering.
As a result, H.R. 507 will help ensure the most effective practices
are standardized so that sex trafficking victims are ultimately
protected and treated with respect at all times.
Lastly, the legislation ensures the effective prosecution of
traffickers and individuals who patronize or solicit children for sex
and facilitate access for child victims of commercial sex trafficking
to the services and protections afforded to other victims of sexual
violence.
H.R. 507 identifies a broad range of important initiatives that
States should undertake that would provide meaningful assistance to
these victims: increasing victims' personal safety, ensuring the
correct treatment of human trafficking victims by law enforcement and,
ensuring the effective prosecution of all traffickers.
Each of these initiatives should help ensure that these victims are
not revictimized and help enable them to be guided back to a normalized
life.
Mr. Speaker, for all of these reasons, I am pleased to support this
bill.
This legislation is all about pointing out, finding, saving the
victims, making sure they get treatment, and making sure that human
trafficking is identified.
I am also pleased that this measure, maintains the commitment to
maintaining a report on State safe harbor laws.
As we all know, safe harbors play a critical role in preventing
youth, forced into the sex trade, from being revictimized again and
stigmatized a second time by the criminal justice system, almost
similar to the little girl who was looking for love.
Instead, she got victimized and turned into a human trafficking
product.
[[Page H1412]]
H.R. 507 also fosters better collaboration among the Federal, State,
and local law enforcement in the fight against sex trafficking and
encourages States to adopt protections for trafficking victims by
providing rehabilitation and recovery services for victims of human
trafficking.
Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this measure and, as
well, to be reminded of all those children who will be helped and
saved.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may
consume to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner). She is someone
to whom this has been a tireless call. She has been a sponsor of this,
and outspoken on this, a fighter on this, along with the other folks
who have talked about this.
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member very much for
his voice on this issue and so many others, and I thank my dear friend
from California, Karen Bass, for her leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the Put
Trafficking Victims First Act, which I wrote and introduced in the last
Congress with Congresswoman Karen Bass.
The bill passed unanimously in May of 2017, and I hope that the House
will again stand with the victims of human trafficking. Too often,
trafficking victims are overlooked and underserved.
In my home State of Missouri, I have met with many survivors and
listened to their painful stories. They need help to rebuild their
lives and that is exactly what this legislation will do.
America's courtrooms need to adopt victim-centered practices oriented
towards justice and recovery. While victims technically have access to
mandatory restitution in Federal courts, the sad reality is that
according to one estimate, sex trafficking victims get restitution in
only 14 percent of Federal sex trafficking cases. This is unacceptable,
Mr. Speaker.
This legislation will direct the Attorney General to work on
increasing restitution and to adopt victim-friendly procedures in
criminal cases. We believe the trauma-informed care helps victims
recover and cooperate with law enforcement so we may put pimps and
buyers behind bars.
Lack of help for victims in the justice system can lead to
revictimization, or even result in victims being criminalized for
offenses that they were forced to commit.
The Putting Trafficking Victims First Act of 2019 encourages training
for agencies, law enforcement, and prosecutors across the country to
implement victim-centered approaches to investigating and preventing
trafficking.
We also encourage law enforcement to make every attempt to determine
whether an individual's participation in trafficking is free from
force, fraud, and coercion before arresting or charging them.
The lack of good data on how to find and rescue victims of
trafficking is another major challenge in the United States. We don't
really know how best to identify and locate victims; what proportion
are coming from foster care; or their ages; ethnicity; or other
characteristics. We can't help victims if we can't find them, and we
desperately need to improve victim outreach.
The Putting Trafficking Victims First Act of 2019 establishes a
national working group to develop a public survey of survivors and
robust methodologies to estimate the prevalence of trafficking. This
will help us understand how and where victims are accessing help to
improve service provision.
Finally, victims of trafficking are mostly served at the State level.
So it is critical that States improve how they respond to victims. We
need to make sure that all child trafficking victims receive the same
level of care that any other child abuse survivor would receive. The
bill encourages States to improve outreach, screen children entering
child welfare services and the justice system, screen foreign nationals
who will be labor trafficked, create safe harbor laws, and develop
emergency response plans.
Together, we can get victims of trafficking out of dangerous and
abusive situations and make trauma-informed services more accessible.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to put trafficking victims first
and join Congresswoman Bass and myself in voting for this legislation.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Bass for yielding. I just wanted
to stand on this bill because this is an important area and I want to
commend Representative Bass for bringing it.
I am happy to be a cosponsor, but I particularly thank Congresswoman
Ann Wagner. When we had a bill last year, the SOAR Act, Stop, Observe,
Act and Respond, to Health and Wellness Act, a pilot program to train
healthcare workers who come into contact with people who have been
sexually trafficked, they oftentimes do see healthcare workers because
they have either been beaten up by their pimps or they have gotten a
venereal disease.
They might have to go in for birth control or for some other reason
sexually related, oftentimes health related, so that we need to train
health workers to observe and to know when they were seeing somebody
trafficked to stop, to observe, to see if that person might be in that
situation, and then to ask them, and then to send them to an agency
that can help them.
This was an important bill that we were able to pass in the Senate
and make law.
Representative Kinzinger helped, Representative Cardenas helped, but
Representative Wagner was my star, and I want to thank her so much for
working with us and helping on the Senate side, particularly, to get it
passed.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill. I also want to mention
that Representative Burchett is a strong sponsor and supporter of this
type of legislation, and a great American.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, much has been said about this bill. I think all of it is
very timely, and I think, again, as we look at this, this is a time in
which we all come together and make a very strong statement in support
of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support it, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Organizations like Courtney's House are working to improve the
outcomes for sex trafficking survivors. Tina Frundt, the director of
Courtney's House right here in D.C., asserts that African American and
Latino communities are not immune to human trafficking. Her
organization provides trauma-informed services to sex trafficking
survivors between the ages of 12 and 19.
Tina is also a child sex trafficking survivor. As a 9-year-old girl
in foster care, she was sex trafficked. By the time Tina was 14, she
became one of 2 million children who run away from home each year.
Nearly 200,000 of them will be sex trafficked.
In Tina's case, her adult abuser was more than twice her age, and
forced her to become a child sex worker. It took her years to escape.
Now Tina helps children like her recent client, a 12-year-old girl
whose 25-year-old abuser called himself her boyfriend rather than her
trafficker.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 507 supports efforts to stop human trafficking. We
are making progress in protecting those who have been caught up in this
horrific criminal activity, and this bill is a great example of what we
can accomplish when we focus on helping the most vulnerable among us.
We have an obligation not only to end human trafficking, but to
support people who undergo horrific experiences like these. This bill
is yet another step in the right direction.
Once again, I would like to thank Congresswoman Wagner and
Congresswoman Jackson Lee for all of their efforts in this regard. I
was very pleased to team up with Congresswoman Wagner again on this
legislation, and hope that we can continue to work on these issues in
the future.
Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting this bill today, and 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. Bass) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 507.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
[[Page H1413]]
Ms. BASS. 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.
____________________