Date: 2015-05-18
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me join my friend and colleague. the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. and thank him for his leadership in making sure that this bill would come to the floor. Along with the ranking member. Mr. CONYERS. subcommittee chairman. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. and myself as the ranking member. we are grateful for the leadership of our colleagues in working through the human trafficking legislation. I would associate myself with the words that all of us have said very often. Tragically and heinously. sex trafficking. human trafficking. and the trafficking of children keeps on giving in an ugly. horrible. disastrous way that ruins the lives of innocent victims for they are used over and over again. I stand here recognizing that Houston ranks very high among those cities that have the scourge of human trafficking. In fact. as I rise to support S. 178. the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. I recognize that human trafficking is a scourge that impacts greatly on my home district in Houston. Texas. Houston currently ranks number one among the U.S. cities with the most victims of human trafficking. On the House bill. I congratulate Congressman POE. my neighbor in Houston. and CAROLYN MALONEY. a member from New York. who worked together to bring about this bipartisan legislation. I want to thank my colleagues as well from the Homeland Security Committee. Judge POE joined us in the first human trafficking hearing that I held in Houston. Texas. to further emphasize the coming together of law enforcement and social service advocates for the importance of this legislation. In fact. as I recall this bill being written. there were so many different groups from faith organizations putting on walks to talk about trafficking. Houston recognized that they had a problem they need to fix. In the backdrop of this legislation. as it was making its way through the House. we even had a massive human trafficking raid. if you will. where there were 20 to 30 persons in a home just a short distance from downtown. A couple of the individuals were minors. We know what their end would be. Twentyfive percent of all human trafficking victims are in my home State of Texas. Currently. 30 percent of all human trafficking tips to the national rescue hotline come from Texas. but this is a national problem. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that one of every seven endangered runaways reported to the center are likely victims of minor sex trafficking and that at least 100.000 American children are victims of sex trafficking each year. It is our duty to rescue these children. shelter them. and help them recover from the trauma that has been inflicted upon them. It is also our duty to prevent those crimes before they happen and to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to combat human traffickers. This bill will be a significant weapon in the war against sex trafficking which. unfortunately. is the fastest growing business of organized crime in the United States. generating an estimated $9 billion annually. Mr. Speaker. we have said it continues to generate income and revenue. I am very glad that there are a number of legislative initiatives incorporated into this final legislative document and that this will go to the Presidents desk and be signed. I am glad it includes language I submitted in the Judiciary Committee that puts Congress squarely on the record in the sense of Congress. that we stand together on the issue of opposing human trafficking and viewing it as a dastardly deed. Although not perfect. this is a comprehensive bill that includes a variety of measures intended to strike at the problem of child sex trafficking through prevention. law enforcement. and rehabilitation services for victims. What I like most of all is that it puts the United States Congress and. ultimately. the President of the United States and the laws of the land on the side of children and on the side of victims who have been trafficked or victims of sex trafficking. The bill strikes at the demand for this business by adding criminal prohibitions for those who solicit and advertise human trafficking. Law enforcement across the U.S. has identified online sex acts as the number one platform for buying and selling of sex with children and young women. These men can sit idly and relaxed in their homes and victimize individuals. This is an important step forward for law enforcement. to have the tools to reach those predators wherever they are. This legislation provides the tools to rebuild the lives of those exploited by this business. and it specifically addresses the needs of thousands of homeless children. many of whom are on the streets of Houston. I say to them today that they will be embraced with a document that stands on their side. many who have fled physically and sexually abusive homes. only to be victimized again by sex traffickers. Mr. Speaker. I am delighted that this bill is moving. and I reserve the balance of my time.