Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the End Human Trafficking in Government Contracts Act ensures that Federal agencies are not paying for or participating in human trafficking or human sex trafficking through grants or contracts. This is a particular concern for overseas contracts in which some unscrupulous companies may take advantage of vulnerable third-country workers. Congress has acted before to address this problem. Unfortunately, both the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Defense Inspector General have found that trafficking by contractors and grantees continues. This bill moves to send a clear message: Trafficking will not be tolerated. Under current law, agencies are already required to refer allegations of human or sex trafficking to the Inspector General for investigation. If found to be true, that agency has a number of options to deal with the situation, but this bill requires all substantiated cases be reported to the agency's suspension and debarment official. In the contracting world, this is serious business. After due process, a contractor could be prohibited from receiving future government contracts or other government benefits. This bill ensures all current or would-be grantees or contractors take all measures necessary to stop human or sex trafficking.…”