[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12763-12765]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE ACT AMENDMENT

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5111) to improve the response to victims of child sex 
trafficking, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5111

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

     SECTION 1. RESPONSE TO VICTIMS OF CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING.

       Section 404(b)(1)(P)(iii) of the Missing Children's 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(1)(P)(iii)) is amended by 
     striking ``child prostitution'' and inserting ``child sex 
     trafficking, including child prostitution''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Walberg) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 5111.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and rise in support of H.R. 5111.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives continues its 
commitment to providing the necessary tools and policies to help reduce 
child sex trafficking and better serve these victims in the United 
States. I want to thank Congresswoman Joyce Beatty for her leadership 
on this issue and for introducing H.R. 5111, which will improve the 
ability of law enforcement officials and others to respond to and 
assist these victims.
  For too long these victims have been viewed as willing participants 
and have been treated as actors in the criminal scheme. However, we now 
know that oftentimes individuals are trapped as victims by human 
trafficking organizations, and sadly, many of these victims are 
children.
  As previous House efforts have done, the bills today attempt to 
change for the better how we view these victims. Congresswoman Beatty's 
legislation will ensure that we view victims of sex trafficking not as 
participants but as victims, and ensure that child sex trafficking 
crimes are reported.
  Under current law, the National Center For Missing and Exploited 
Children, NCMEC, operates a CyberTipline to provide online users and 
electronic service providers a means of reporting Internet-related 
child sexual exploitation in many areas, including child prostitution. 
However, children who are sex-trafficked or sexually exploited should 
be treated as victims, not criminals. In fact, approximately one out of 
seven runaway youth are likely victims of sex trafficking, and roughly

[[Page 12764]]

one out of three youths are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of 
running away from home.
  For this reason, H.R. 5111 would replace the term ``child 
prostitution'' with ``child sex trafficking'' in the CyberTipline 
reporting categories to reinforce that children who are sex-trafficked 
or sexually exploited are victims whose situation should be taken 
seriously when reported. It would also ensure the public recognizes 
that child prostitution is included in how NCMEC uses the term ``child 
sex trafficking,'' and thus should still be reported to the tip line.
  Again, I want to thank Congresswoman Beatty, along with the Education 
and Workforce Committee and House leadership, for recognizing the need 
to steadfastly address this dreadful practice. Mr. Speaker, I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 5111.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 5111, a bill I introduced which would 
help victims of child sex trafficking by decriminalizing their 
behavior.
  I thank Chairman Kline from Minnesota and Ranking Member Miller from 
California of the Education and the Workforce Committee for bringing 
this important bill to the floor for consideration. I also thank 
Representative Walberg from Michigan, who is managing the bill today 
for the Republicans.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank Senator Portman, whom I partnered 
with on this legislation earlier this year. Together we introduced 
bipartisan, bicameral legislation in order to assist victims of child 
sex trafficking and ensure that they are viewed and treated as victims 
and not criminals. We participated in a roundtable discussion with the 
Dominican Sisters of Peace in my district with diverse stakeholders who 
shared stories of victims and ideas of what we could do to further help 
these children who are trafficked.
  We heard story after story, just like on the House floor today: the 
story of Caroline, in my district; the story of Teresa, who was a 
victim herself at a very young age and now is a national advocate 
against child sex trafficking.
  As we know, human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes in 
the world. In fact, according to the United States State Department, 
human trafficking is the world's second-largest criminal enterprise 
after the illegal drug trade.

                              {time}  1815

  In the United States, some 300,000 children are at risk each year for 
commercial sexual exploitation. Many of them come from family and 
social backgrounds that render them particularly at risk. These are 
children who fall through the cracks in our society.
  Mr. Speaker, many are runaways, homeless, and in and out of foster 
care. These children deserve better. The average age of a traffic 
victim in the United States is 12 years of age.
  Mr. Speaker, this is shameful. At 12 years of age, girls and boys 
should be playing youth sports, participating in their school science 
fair, learning a new language, or just being able to be a child.
  In my home State of Ohio, each year, an estimated 1,078 Ohio children 
become victims of human trafficking, and over 3,000 more are at risk. 
Ohio is the fifth leading State for human trafficking because of its 
proximity to a waterway that leads to an international border and a 
system of interstate highways that allows an individual to exit the 
State within 2 hours to almost anywhere.
  The I-75 corridor--which runs through Toledo, Dayton, and 
Cincinnati--is infamous for subjecting children to the horrors of sex 
trafficking, with reports of victims being repeatedly abused.
  Just last week, my hometown paper, The Columbus Dispatch, reported 
that Ohio children younger than 6 years old have been sexually 
trafficked by their parents in exchange for drugs, for rent, or cash.
  Mr. Speaker, I will enter a copy of this article into the Record.

              [From the Columbus Dispatch, July 11, 2014.]

                Ohioans Selling Sex With Their Own Kids

                           (By Alan Johnson)

       Ohio children younger than 6 have been sexually trafficked 
     by their own parents in exchange for drugs, rent and cash, a 
     new report indicates.
       Information from the Ohio Network of Children's Advocacy 
     Centers shows that 51 minors from across the state were 
     potential human-trafficking victims--five of them age 6 or 
     younger--over a nine-month period. The network has a state 
     contract to screen children referred by law enforcement, 
     children's services agencies and others, to determine whether 
     they may have been trafficked.
       Statistics from July 2013 to March 2014 showed all but five 
     of the 51 minors reported were 13 to 18 years old. Only one 
     case involved a male. They came from both urban and rural 
     areas of the state.
       ``I'm most shocked that families are doing this to their 
     own children,'' said the director of the advocacy center that 
     originally detected three of the cases involving the youngest 
     children. She asked not to be identified for this story to 
     avoid pinpointing specific details about the cases that might 
     cause problems for the children, or jeopardize legal 
     proceedings.
       ``We think it happens to young girls who are runaways. But 
     with these youngest kids, it's their actual families who are 
     trafficking them.''
       She said more information about what happened to very young 
     children gradually comes out over time as they are in 
     counseling and other therapeutic programs.
       Information on at least three of the five youngest victims 
     indicated they were trafficked sexually by one or both of 
     their parents in ``exchange for drugs, rent, goods or 
     money,'' said Amy Deverson Roberts of the children's advocacy 
     network.
       She said some cases have been referred for prosecution and 
     others are pending. She could not release specifics about any 
     cases.
       The suspected victims were referred for help to law 
     enforcement, children's services, mental-health providers and 
     other agencies as needed, Roberts said.
       ``It's all about collaboration to provide the best services 
     for victims,'' Roberts said.
       The network last year received a $523,000, two-year grant 
     from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to 
     provide training to detect signs of trafficking, to put on 
     education programs, and to handle child referrals. The grant 
     came from a trafficking task force created in an executive 
     order by Gov. John Kasich.
       Officials estimate that 1,100 children are forced into the 
     sex trade each year in Ohio; 13 is the most common age for 
     children to be victimized.

  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, more must be done to assist these children, 
these children who are victims, not criminals, and need our help.
  We know that no single system can successfully combat trafficking. 
Preventing, identifying, and serving victims of trafficking requires a 
multicoordinated approach across all levels of government. We need to 
encourage all people, when they see something, say something.
  Currently, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 
operates a CyberTipline, which receives leads and tips regarding 
suspected crimes of sexual exploitation committed against children. 
More than 2.3 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation 
have been made to the CyberTipline between 1998 and March of this year.
  In identifying the types of sexual exploitation that should be 
reported to the CyberTipline, current law does not specifically mention 
``child sex trafficking'' as one of its reporting categories, even 
though the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 
encounters child victims of sex trafficking and currently uses this 
term on its Web site in order to encourage the public's reporting of 
these types of crimes.
  Instead, the statute uses the term ``child prostitution,'' which we 
know does not fully and accurately capture these types of crimes 
against children.
  My bill would add the phrase ``child sex trafficking,'' including 
``child prostitution'' to the section b(1)(p) of the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act.
  Working with my colleagues on the Education and the Workforce 
Committee and Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey, we have crafted 
legislation in order to improve and update the law in order to reflect 
the current state of Federal law and to reinforce that children who are 
sex-trafficked or sexually exploited are victims and not criminals.
  Mr. Speaker, children in sex trafficking situations are often 
misidentified as ``willing'' participants. We know there is widespread 
lack of

[[Page 12765]]

awareness and understanding of trafficking.
  By adding the term ``child sex trafficking,'' including ``child 
prostitution,'' the Missing Children's Assistance Act will continue to 
fight the perception that sex trafficking is a voluntary, victimless 
crime.
  Child sex trafficking is an issue of abuse and exploitation of 
children.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and, Mr. Speaker, I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass).
  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5111, a 
bill to improve the response to victims of child trafficking.
  First, I would like to commend my colleague, Representative Joyce 
Beatty, for her commitment to transforming the language that we use to 
discuss child victims of sex trafficking and for taking the lead on 
this important legislation.
  While antitrafficking advocates and organizations have worked 
tirelessly over the years to ensure that the framework and language 
that we use to describe child victims of trafficking recognize that 
they are, in fact, victims, we still have a long way to go.
  For example, men who exploit the children, we call them ``johns.'' We 
arrest the traffickers, we arrest the victims, but the men are seldom 
arrested, and when they are, it is for soliciting.
  As we change the way we speak about the girls, we must change the way 
we speak about the men, the men who are not johns, but child molesters.
  Representative Beatty's bill is another critical building block to 
transforming the framework and dialogue around child victims of sex 
trafficking. I look forward to continuing to change the conversation 
and urge my colleagues in the House to support this important 
legislation.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me conclude by saying that I urge all of my colleagues, Democrats 
and Republicans, to support H.R. 5111.
  This is a very important piece of legislation that will help the 
victims of child sex trafficking. It will decriminalize their behavior. 
It will help rescue them from the horrible situations that we have 
heard tonight.
  Let me also share that it is not only about H.R. 5111, but it is 
about all of the bills that we are hearing tonight that I ask this 
House to support.
  I would certainly be remiss if I did not thank the House leadership 
on both sides of the aisle for allowing us to bring these important 
bills forward and also my entire staff, but specifically my legislative 
director for all of her hard work.
  Lastly, to Congresswoman Bass, let me say thank you for being someone 
who has led this charge and has been willing to work with me and others 
on helping bring all of our bills forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.
  The passage of this legislation, Mr. Speaker, shows the House's 
commitment to not only bolstering enforcement efforts against human 
traffickers, but also ensuring that we properly identify victims.
  I urge all Members to lead efforts in their districts, to continue 
the conversation, as I have done in mine, about human trafficking, to 
learn what more we can do in our communities to curtail this hideous 
crime.
  During the human trafficking roundtables I have held in my district, 
law enforcement officials have consistently raised the need to make 
community members aware of the real and present threat of human 
trafficking. We must work to not only educate children, but also 
families and the general public about the safety risks.
  H.R. 5111 is another step to educating our communities about human 
trafficking victims, and it continues our work to ensure that we are 
doing what we can to help reduce this horrible crime.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5111, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5111, ``An 
Act to Improve the Response To victims Of Child Sex Trafficking.'' I 
would like to congratulate Representative Beatty for her work.
  Youth sexual exploitation and trafficking is a major issue in this 
country that affects more than 293,000 young Americans.
  As a Representative of Texas, this issue is close to my heart as my 
state is plagued by this problem. For example, multiple sporting 
events, conventions, and other large festivities make Houston a prime 
location for trafficking.
  Another metric demonstrating the high level of trafficking in Houston 
is the high volume of calls to National Trafficking Hotline coming from 
Houston.
  I have worked on this issue for a very long time as a member of the 
Anti-Human Trafficking Caucus and recognize the enormous damage that 
human trafficking does to its victim and to society.
  There have been many efforts made to improve how our system addresses 
the issue of sex trafficking. However, there is still a great deal of 
work to be done to reframe the issue as one of abuse and exploitation 
of children rather than one of teenage prostitution.
  The legal definition of sex trafficking states that ``any individual 
induced or caused to engage in commercial sex activity who is under 18 
is a victim of trafficking,''
  But what about those who are teenagers and voluntarily engage in this 
sort of activity?
  We need to update the Missing Children's Assistance Act so that it 
better recognizes these young people as victims of a serious crime and 
reports the information accordingly.
  Under current law, (42 U.S.C. 5773 (b)(1)(P)), the National Center 
for Missing and Exploited Children operates a cyber tipline to provide 
online users and electronic service providers a means of reporting 
Internet-related child sexual exploitation in many areas, including 
child prostitution.
  Children, who are sex trafficked or sexually exploited, even if they 
are in their teens, are victims. They are not criminals and should not 
be categorized as such.
  H.R. 5111 would replace the term ``child prostitution'' with ``child 
sex trafficking'' in order to reinforce that children who are sex 
trafficked or sexually exploited are victims whose situation should be 
taken seriously when reported on the online tipline.
  I believe that this bill is a step in the right direction for 
recognizing the broad impact of sex trafficking in the United States 
and assisting those who are exploited by it.
  I urge all members to join me in supporting H.R. 5111 so we can all 
work towards a society where we no longer have to worry about our 
children being exploited by the sex trade.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5111, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. BEATTY. 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.

                          ____________________