Amy Klobuchar: “I am also here today to address something entirely different; that is, a bill we would like to get done before the end…”

“I am also here today to address something entirely different; that is, a bill we would like to get done before the end of the year in the Senate. It is a bill I have with Senator Cornyn, and it is called the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2013. It has 19 bipartisan cosponsors. I note the year is 2013. We have been waiting nearly 2 years to get this done. A version of the bill which is very similar to ours passed the House this summer. Senator Cornyn and I initially wrote the bill. We worked with all the sex trafficking groups. It is a very important bill, and their No. 1 priority this year is to get it done. I thank Majority Leader Reid for his work on this, as well as Senator Leahy for helping to get the bill to the floor. We have also been working with Senators Heitkamp and Kirk, and Senator Wyden has been an incredible partner on these issues. Senator Portman has been supportive. In the House, Congressman Paulsen called me to sponsor this bill. He took it on and, with the help of Representative Cantor and Representative McCarthy and the Speaker, was able to get that bill passed through the House. So this is one of those instances where people have come together and have been moving a very important bill. We have support from the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Cindy McCain--the wife of Senator McCain--and I and have done a lot of work on this issue. We spoke to their national conference this year. They have endorsed this bill.…”