[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1543]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SEXUAL SERVITUDE

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, human sex trafficking 
continues to be a major problem plaguing both America and countries 
around the globe.
  The Department of Homeland Security cumulatively estimates there are 
approximately 1.4 million victims of sexual servitude at any one time 
on an international scale; furthermore, the FBI has estimated that over 
300,000 American children are at risk of sexual exploitation and 
trafficking annually.
  Last week, the House moved forward on several pieces of legislation 
aimed at preventing and combating this horrific fact. I am proud to 
have cosponsored and voted in favor of several bills last week which 
diverted more financial and labor-intensive resources to countering 
these atrocities.
  These bills include H.R. 514, the Human Trafficking Prioritization 
Act, and H.R. 469, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to 
Trafficking Act, among others. Each of these bills passed with 
overwhelming bipartisan support and will be commonsense steps in the 
path towards shutting down these operations.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle to support further actions that will further 
protect these vulnerable populations.

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