Erik Paulsen: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, it is easy and comfortable to think that sex trafficking only happens…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, it is easy and comfortable to think that sex trafficking only happens in countries outside the United States. The truth is that more than 100,000 are at risk of being trafficked for commercial sex here in the United States each and every year, here in America. We have a word for a situation when one group of people is dehumanized and has their basic human rights snuffed out for someone else's economic gain. That word is slavery. The problem we have today is not a thing of the past. It is not from some remote corner of the world that you can't find on a map. Slavery in the form of human trafficking is happening right now. It is happening in our cities, suburbs, and rural communities. It is happening in each and every one of our congressional districts. I am sad to say that Minneapolis, Minnesota, my home State, has actually been listed as one of the 13th largest centers for sexual exploitation of children in the entire country. I realize how critical it is to educate our community about what I have learned from talking to victims like Dayanna, who became a 13- year-old trafficking victim. Dayanna didn't get a lot of love and attention from her mother or family. While she took it upon herself to take care of her brothers and sisters, she longed for someone to give her love and attention. She ended up being seduced by a man who promised to be her ``boyfriend.'' Guess what?…”