Ed Royce: “I would just mention, Mr. Speaker, that 20 years ago, human trafficking was unknown, I think, to most Americans and…”

“I would just mention, Mr. Speaker, that 20 years ago, human trafficking was unknown, I think, to most Americans and there was little public awareness of the severity of what we are calling here today modern-day slavery. Seventeen years ago, Congress led on this issue by passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. We had very strong bipartisan support, and the rankings, the sanctions, the programs created by that law have been instrumental in building the momentum and awareness that exists out there today. And with each reauthorization, those laws have been fine-tuned, they have been strengthened. This bill continues that tradition. It is time to recommit ourselves to this noble fight against slave-like labor and sexual exploitation of underage children. I have asked some of the victims why it is that so many of these criminal gangs move from drug running and other kinds of activity into this kind of behavior, and part of the response is: Because, you know, in a drug war, a gang member can get himself killed, but it is a lot easier to exploit a 14-year-old underage girl, it is a lot easier to be in that kind of business than it is in the more dangerous business. We have got to overcompensate for this reality by passing legislation which allows these additional tools to be used to close down these criminal syndicates and to create real deterrence for those gang members who consider going into this line of work.…”