    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [January 10, 2006]
    [Pages 38-40]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
    Act of 2005
    January 10, 2006

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. I appreciate you
    all being here. In a moment, I'll have the honor of signing the
    Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
        Human trafficking is an offense against human dignity, a crime in
    which human

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    beings, many of them teenagers and young children, are bought and sold
    and often sexually abused by violent criminals. Our Nation is determined
    to fight and end this modern form of slavery. And this bipartisan bill
    will help expand our efforts to combat this brutal crime that steals
    innocence and destroys lives.
        I want to thank the Members of the United States Congress who have
    joined me here. I appreciate Senator Sam Brownback, Chris Smith, Deborah
    Pryce, and Carolyn Maloney for their hard work on this important legislation.
        I appreciate the Secretary of State,
    who has joined us here, and the Attorney General, Al Gonzales, and his wife.
        In today's world, too often, human traffickers abuse the trust of
    children and expose them to the worst of life at a young age. It takes a
    perverse form of evil to exploit and hurt those vulnerable members of
    society. Human traffickers operate with greed and without conscience,
    treating their victims as nothing more than goods and commodities for
    sale to the highest bidder. Recent years, hundreds of thousands of
    people around the world have been trafficked against their will across
    international boundaries, and many have been forced into sexual
    servitude. Thousands of teenagers and young girls are trafficked into
    the United States every year. They're held hostage. They're forced to
    submit to unspeakable evil. America has a particular duty to fight this
    horror, because human trafficking is an affront to the defining promise
    of our country.
        We're attacking this problem aggressively. Over the past 4 years,
    the Department of Homeland Security has taken new measures to protect
    children from sexual predators, as well as pornography and prostitution
    rings. The Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with
    faith-based and community organizations to form antitrafficking
    coalitions in 17 major cities across our country. The Department of
    Justice has more than tripled the number of cases brought against these
    traffickers.
        The bill I sign today will help us to continue to investigate and
    prosecute traffickers and provide new grants to State and local law
    enforcement. Yet, we cannot put the criminals out of business until we
    also confront the problem of demand. Those who pay for the chance to
    sexually abuse children and teenage girls must be held to account. So
    we'll investigate and prosecute the customers, the unscrupulous adults
    who prey on the young and the innocent.
        We also have a duty to reach out to victims of trafficking, some of
    whom were smuggled into this country as children. The legislation I sign
    today will help us provide important new services to these victims,
    including appointing a guardian for young victims and providing access
    to residential treatment facilities to help victims get a chance at a
    better life.
        We'll continue to call on other nations to take action against
    trafficking within their own borders. Three years ago at the United
    Nations, I asked other governments to pass laws making human trafficking
    a crime. Since then, many have risen to the challenge. Secretary
    Rice and I will continue to press the
    others to rise to the challenge. We are working with the nations of
    Southeast Asia and others to crack down on sex tourism. America is a
    compassionate and decent nation, and we will not tolerate an industry
    that preys on the young and the vulnerable. The trade in human beings
    continues in our time, and we are called by conscience and compassion to
    bring this cruel practice to an end.
        For those of you who've worked on this bill, thank you very much.
    For those of you who are involved in this important struggle, I
    appreciate your efforts, continue to do so. For those of you who are
    providing the compassionate care to those who've been affected by human
    trafficking, thank you for your love. And for those of

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    you in Congress who've worked to make this reality, good work.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:33 p.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to
    Rebecca Turner Gonzales, wife of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.
    H.R. 972, approved January 10, was assigned Public Law No. 109-164.