[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3345]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HUMAN TRAFFICKING LEGISLATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, deep in shadow, there is a specter that 
haunts our country. In dark corners it claims thousands of victims 
every year--quietly, stealthily, maliciously. It is hard for many 
Americans to believe that human trafficking could happen where they 
live, but it does, right here in the United States--in all 50 of our 
States. And many of these victims are children.
  In Kentucky alone the Commonwealth has been able to identify more 
than 100 victims since it began keeping relevant records in 2013. While 
this kind of abuse often begins around the age of 13 or 14, there have 
been reports of victims in Kentucky as young as 2 months old. It is 
just about the most morally offensive thing you can imagine.
  These victims need a voice, they need justice, and the new Congress 
is determined to give them both. That is just what the bill we are 
considering this week, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, aims 
to do.
  I particularly want to thank Senator Cornyn for his hard work on this 
legislation. He has been a tireless advocate for it. I also want to 
note that this legislation has always been a bipartisan exercise. I 
want to thank the 13 Democratic cosponsors of the bill.
  It is a bill that received a hearing in the Judiciary Committee 
earlier this year and was reported without a single negative vote. It 
has been thoroughly vetted and carefully crafted, which explains its 
bipartisan support in the Senate. That also explains the long list of 
endorsements outside the Senate, with organizations such as Shared Hope 
International, Rights4Girls, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children among its many 
supporters.
  Here is what one of the broad coalitions backing this bill had to say 
about it. ``The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act provides 
unprecedented support to domestic victims of trafficking, who are too 
often invisible and underserved,'' they wrote. ``This legislation is 
vital.''
  I hope now that it has been brought to the floor, this bill continues 
to enjoy its strong record of constructive bipartisan support. It is 
similar to a measure that was passed by the House of Representatives.
  The version before us also contains some additional provisions as 
well. For instance, Senator Portman has offered ideas to improve the 
way we find missing kids and to strengthen law enforcement efforts to 
investigate and prosecute those who commit sex trafficking crimes.
  It is good to see such a strong and bipartisan piece of legislation 
because victims of human trafficking should be treated as victims--not 
as criminals--because they should have the services and resources they 
need to rebuild their lives and because law enforcement should have the 
tools it needs to protect them and to combat these crimes. This bill 
aims to ensure these things actually happen, and I look forward to the 
Senate's good work to pass it.

                          ____________________