On the recordJanuary 11, 2017
Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, an issue close to my heart. Human trafficking is nothing more than modern-day slavery. Last Congress, the Foreign Affairs Committee shined a light on this scourge that affects millions around the world and passed into law the International Megan's Law, which attacks child sex tourism by child sex offenders, improves international law enforcement cooperation, and improves notices of child sex offenders traveling to the U.S. We have come a long way in creating awareness, but more must be done. According to the Polaris Project, from 2007 to 2015, over 25,000 cases of human trafficking were discovered in the United States, and 7,700 of these were minors. Over 100,000 calls were made to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline. We all know this is an issue that does not discriminate. It can affect everyone. In north Florida, over Christmas, a man was arrested for trafficking a woman across five county lines. This case started with him luring her to Florida over the Internet and ended when law enforcement were able to save the victim after seeing her in adult advertisements online. I want to thank all those who were involved in bringing this person to justice. On this National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, we in Congress will not look away. We will continue to fight the scourge called human trafficking. ____________________
