[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMMEMORATING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr., and his life of service to our Nation.
  Next week, on January 20, we will observe Martin Luther King's 
birthday. We know that Dr. King was the most influential civil rights 
leader in our Nation's history among so many great civil rights 
leaders, such as our own Congressman   John Lewis.
  Dr. King's commitment to public service brought historic change to 
our Nation, affected our entire country and society, and reshaped the 
way we interact. So it is fitting that we observe the 25th anniversary 
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as ``A Day On, Not a Day Off.''
  It serves to remind us to ask ourselves: What are we doing for 
others? Dr. King called this ``life's most persistent and urgent 
question.'' What are we doing for others in our country?
  As a public servant for the past 40 years, I firmly believe that 
every individual has an ability and an opportunity to make a change. 
Communities across the United States will host events to commemorate 
Dr. King's achievements and give back to the community, including in my 
own district in the San Joaquin Valley.

  I will proudly participate in the Martin Luther King Day Community 
March in Fresno and Merced, as well. My office will join the city of 
Fresno at an awards ceremony to recognize individuals and organizations 
for their outstanding service to give back to our communities in the 
spirit of Dr. King.
  I urge all Americans to find ways to help others in communities on 
Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. You can find those options at 
NationalService.gov, a way for us all to give back. Because in the 
words of Dr. King: ``The time is always right to do what is right.''


  Recognizing National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today also to recognize National 
Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month to raise awareness about 
this atrocity that plagues our Nation and the world.
  There are estimated to be more than 40 million victims of trafficking 
across the planet. It happens in all of our communities here, and 
because of the geographic location that I represent in California's San 
Joaquin Valley, my district sees a disproportionately high amount of 
human trafficking.
  The fighting of this atrocity requires all of us to be involved, and 
we must do more. Every year, I work hard to secure additional funding 
for the Crime Victims Fund and to strengthen our efforts to stop human 
trafficking.
  We were successful in getting an additional $2 billion to support 
investigations and operations to prevent human trafficking and another 
$2.6 billion to improve services for these victims in the spending bill 
that passed just last month. This helps organizations like Breaking the 
Chains in Fresno, which is crucial to survivors.
  We must understand that these trafficking victims are just that; they 
are victims of crime. We also need to bolster our efforts to prevent 
this from continuing to occur, from supporting law enforcement efforts 
to holding perpetrators accountable to educating our children about the 
dangers, especially in this day and age, when the internet, sadly, is 
oftentimes a tool for traffickers.
  It is estimated that less than 1 percent of the survivors of human 
trafficking cases are identified. That is an astounding number, I 
think: less than 1 percent of the survivors of human trafficking are 
actually identified.
  Last year, as co-chairs of the bipartisan Crime Survivors and Justice 
Caucus, which I helped found with Congressman Ted Poe, Congressman Pete 
Olson and I introduced a resolution in the House to prevent, eradicate, 
and raise the awareness of human trafficking as today's modern slavery. 
It calls for the Federal Government to coordinate efforts to fight 
human trafficking between agencies and with State and local governments 
and other organizations that are out there trying their best.
  Just yesterday, I met with John Cotton Richmond, the State 
Department's Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in 
Persons, both here and abroad, to discuss how we can work together to 
fight this injustice.
  I promise you, we must fight this injustice. As a member and a co-
chair of the Victims' Rights Caucus, for survivors of these kinds of 
crimes, we will continue to put this among our highest priorities. The 
Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus will continue to lead this 
bipartisan fight to end modern slavery and human trafficking in all its 
forms.

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