IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 66 

Expressing the sense of the Congress that children trafficked in the United 

States be treated as victims of crime, and not as perpetrators. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

Mr. REICHERT (for himself, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. PAULSEN, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, 

Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. BLACK) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Congress that children trafficked 

in the United States be treated as victims of crime, 

and not as perpetrators. 

Whereas, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of American 

children are at risk for commercial sexual exploitation; 

Whereas this risk is even greater for the up to 30,000 young 

people who are emancipated from foster care each year; 

Whereas many of these children are girls previously or currently living in foster care or otherwise involved in the 

child welfare system; 


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•HCON 66 IH 

Whereas flaws in the child welfare system in the United 

States, such as an over-reliance on group home and barriers to youth engaging in age-appropriate activities, contribute to children’s vulnerability to domestic sex trafficking; 

Whereas the average age of entry into sex trafficking for girls 

is between just 12 and 14 years old; 

Whereas many child sex trafficking victims have experienced 

previous physical and/or sexual abuse—vulnerabilities 

that traffickers exploit to lure them into a life of sexual 

slavery that exposes them to long-term abuse; 

Whereas many child sex trafficking victims are the ‘‘lost 

girls’’, standing around bus stops, in the runaway and 

homeless youth shelters, advertised online—hidden in 

plain view; and 

Whereas many child sex trafficking victims who have not yet 

attained the age of consent are arrested and detained for 

juvenile prostitution or status offenses directly related to 

their exploitation: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That the Congress— 

3 (1) finds that law enforcement, judges, child 

4 welfare agencies, and the public should treat chil5 dren being trafficked for sex as victims of child 

6 abuse; 

7 (2) finds that every effort should be made to 

8 arrest and hold accountable both traffickers and 

9 buyers of children for sex, in accordance with Fed10 eral laws to protect victims of trafficking and State 


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1 child protection laws against abuse, in order to take 

2 all necessary measures to protect our Nation’s chil3 dren from harm; 

4 (3) supports survivors of domestic child sex 

5 trafficking, including their efforts to raise awareness 

6 of this tragedy and the services they need to heal 

7 from the complex trauma of sexual violence and ex8 ploitation; 

9 (4) recognizes that most girls who are bought 

10 and sold for sex in the United States have been in11 volved in the child welfare system, which has a re12 sponsibility to protect them and requires reform to 

13 better prevent domestic child sex trafficking and aid 

14 the victims of this tragedy; 

15 (5) believes that the child welfare system should 

16 identify, assess, and provide supportive services to 

17 children in its care who are victims of sex traf18 ficking, or at risk of becoming such victims; and 

19 (6) supports an end to demand for girls by de20 claring that our Nation’s daughters are not for sale 

21 and that any person who purchases a child for sex 

22 should be appropriately held accountable with the 

23 full force of the law. 

Æ 


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