Ted Yoho: “I would like to commend Chairmen McCaul, Engel, and my colleague Mr. Castro for bringing up this strong bipartisan bill.…”

“I would like to commend Chairmen McCaul, Engel, and my colleague Mr. Castro for bringing up this strong bipartisan bill. Human trafficking is an issue which is still alive and well today, unfortunately. It is modern-day slavery. The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking worldwide today. The global human trafficking market is estimated to be a $150 billion per year industry, and I hate to call it an industry. The profits from these nefarious and heinous acts only go to fund corrupt governments and organizations to rain more terror, pain, organ harvesting, and suffering on the world's most vulnerable populations. As of 2020, the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative shows globally 108,613 individual cases of human trafficking; 164 countries of exploitation; and 175 nationalities. The LIFT Act will ensure adequate time for preparation of the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report. It will also require timely provisions on information to the State Department on the number and location of visa denials based wholly or partially on grounds related to human trafficking. One of the greatest challenges in developing targeted counter-traffic responses and measuring their impact is the lack of reliable, high- quality data related to the scale of human trafficking and the profile of the victims.…”