Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in December of 2008, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act became law. The act includes a provision that I put in the bill with Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, to address the problem of child soldiers, specifically the Child Soldier Prevention Act. The goal of this language was simple and straightforward: U.S. military assistance should not go to finance the use and exploitation of children in armed conflict. The law not only expresses American values by rejecting any use of child soldiers by foreign governments, but also provides leverage through our Foreign Military Assistance Program to encourage governments to address this heinous practice. Moreover, under the Child Soldiers Accountability Act and Human Rights Enforcement Act, it is unlawful to knowingly provide material support to the use of child soldiers. Tragically, according to Amnesty International, hundreds of thousands of children around the world are still being used as child soldiers. These boys and girls wield automatic weapons on the front lines of combat. They serve as human mine detectors. They participate in suicide missions. They carry supplies, they act as spies, messengers, lookouts, and sex slaves. They endanger their own health and the lives of others and sacrifice their childhood in the process. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Human Rights and the Laws Subcommittee, one of the first hearings we held was focused on the scourge of child soldiers.…”