On the recordFebruary 1, 2016
I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, my coauthor on this bill is the ranking member, Eliot Engel of New York, and I wanted to thank him as well and our 27 bipartisan cosponsors for their support. This is the Trafficking Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act. As many of our colleagues are aware, we just observed Human Trafficking Awareness Month, shining a spotlight on what is now tens of millions of victims every year of what is modern-day slavery. One of the goals here was increasing the awareness of these crimes against human dignity. The scourge of human trafficking now is a worldwide challenge. Although the vulnerability may be greatest in the developing world, these crimes also occur here in our own communities. I am very proud of the work being done in southern California by members of our Human Trafficking Congressional Advisory Committee where advocates, law enforcement, service providers, faith-based groups, and trafficking survivors themselves meet regularly to converse, coordinate, and plan how to combat human trafficking. Out of that working group come a lot of good ideas. I want to acknowledge Sara Catalan who helps me in leading that task force. This bill is intended to close a gap that exists in protection. The United States cannot be too careful in ensuring that our overseas employment practices do not inadvertently support debt bondage, because that debt bondage is one of the tools of human traffickers.…
