Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague, the Representative from the Northern Mariana Islands. We have worked on this a long time, and it is worthy of the time spent. Let me close with some heartbreaking statistics to remind my colleagues of why we have done this. The International Labor Organization estimated there were roughly 78 million victims of forced labor across the globe on any given day in 2022. In 2021, more than 10,000 trafficking cases in the U.S. were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of international crime. Roughly one in six endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is likely a victim of child sex trafficking. Clearly, more needs to be done to combat this form of modern-day slavery. One of the biggest obstacles we face in this fight is awareness. H.R. 443 will ensure Department of Labor employees are equipped with knowledge and processes to catch traffickers and keep them from inflicting more harm and abuse on individuals. Lastly, I thank my colleague, Representative Sablan, and his team for their strong partnership and advocacy over the years on this bill. I thank my colleague, and I certainly thank him for Go Blue. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 443, and I yield back the balance of my time.”