Ed Royce: “Let me say that, for republics in Europe and our United States, we credit our civilizations with having eradicated…”

“Let me say that, for republics in Europe and our United States, we credit our civilizations with having eradicated slavery some 150 years or more ago, but clearly Judge Poe uses the right word here: Slavery is, in fact, what is committed in these acts. I can tell you, my chief of staff, having worked in relief efforts in south Asia and in Cambodia with underaged girls as young as the ones described by Judge Poe--7, 8, 9 years old--the most vulnerable people on this planet are being sold into slavery. As long as force and fraud, coercion is used to prey upon the most vulnerable, as long as profits from these victims suffering from the ill-gotten gains are used to build out criminal networks to snare more and more of these children, as long as trafficking in persons is a global crime that extends beyond the capacity of certain governments, then it requires a global response and, again, as my colleagues have said, requires that the United States, therefore, lead. {time} 1830 So this bill targets human traffickers around the world through the Department of State's successful reward programs by offering rewards for their capture anywhere on Earth, it lets the victims of human trafficking know we will not stop until they are free, and it tells the predators that we will not stop until they are behind bars. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore.…”