Political Quotes

“in March of this year, I--along with Senator Lugar--introduced S. 559, the Protection of Vulnerable Populations During Humanitarian Emergencies Act of 2005, a bill to make vulnerable people, especially women and children, a priority of our foreign assistance programs. The Committee on Foreign Relations approved the bill in March as part of its omnibus authorization bill, S. 600. Unfortunately, S. 600 was pulled from floor consideration in April, and remains stalled. In the last few days, I have attempted to add the provisions of S. 559 as an amendment to H.R. 972, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was approved by the other body just last week. I support the trafficking bill, which addresses a serious problem in many parts of the world, including this country. I have been told, however, by my friends on the other side of the aisle that my amendment is not acceptable at this time. Several reasons have been given, foremost among them that it will unduly delay enactment of the trafficking bill, because the other body has essentially closed up shop for the year. But as my colleagues know we have another problem--victims of sexual exploitation and abuse who are not trafficked--such as those who are forced to seek sanctuary in refugee or internally displaced camps. The trafficking bill deals with people who are trafficked from those camps. But it does not address the need to protect those left behind.…”