[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4884-4885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING VEDNITA CARTER, CNN HERO

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a truly remarkable 
woman and my guest at this year's State of the Union address, Vednita 
Carter.
  Vednita was recently recognized as a 2014 CNN Hero for her work 
combating sex trafficking and is truly deserving of this recognition. 
Her organization, Breaking Free, provides food, clothing,

[[Page 4885]]

and support for women who are victims of sex trafficking to help them 
escape from their tragic situations. Breaking Free has helped over 
6,000 women leave sex slavery.
  Studies have shown, Mr. Speaker, that women who are trafficked often 
come from difficult home situations and are vulnerable to exploitation. 
For many of these victims, Vednita is the first person to reach out and 
try to help them.
  With over 100,000 children estimated to be involved in the sex trade 
in the United States, Vednita's efforts should serve as a guide to how 
we can combat this trafficking problem on a wider scale.
  Congratulations, Vednita Carter, and thank you for positively 
impacting so many exploited women's lives and for inspiring so many 
others.

                          ____________________