Political Quotes

“Madam President, today I have submitted a resolution with Senator Kirk recognizing January as National Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month. We are pleased to be joined by Senators Leahy, Toomey, Klobuchar, Coons, Rubio, Murray, Wyden, Brown, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Kaine, Heitkamp, King, and Markey in sponsoring this resolution. January 1 is the anniversary of the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation, and February 1 is the anniversary of the date that President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution sending the Thirteenth Amendment--which abolished slavery--to the States for ratification. In 2009, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution I introduced to establish January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. That resolution was made to raise awareness of, and opposition to, the human trafficking. It is important that we continue to bring attention to and raise awareness of this horrific practice. Human trafficking is a crime in which persons are forced to work against their will in sweatshops, prostitution rings, farms, private homes, and other enterprises. The traffickers use force, threats of force, and coercion to ensure that their victims believe they have no other choice but to work for their captors. Frequently, human trafficking goes undetected because the victims are not only afraid of their traffickers, but they have been taught by their traffickers to fear law enforcement.…”