John Kline: “I thank the gentleman for yielding, and for his dedicated and hard work in combating sex trafficking. Mr. Speaker, each…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding, and for his dedicated and hard work in combating sex trafficking. Mr. Speaker, each year an estimated 300,000 innocent children fall victim to sex trafficking right here in the United States. The victims can be homeless or runaway youth. Others are simply taken from their parents in the blink of an eye. The victims' families are our neighbors, our friends, and our loved ones. As a father of two and a grandfather of four, for me it is impossible to fathom the pain and suffering they must feel knowing their son or daughter is trapped in a modern-day slave trade filled with darkness and hopelessness. While we will never fully comprehend the grief these families are forced to bear, we can, as a Nation, fight this heinous crime with every tool available. {time} 1730 There are heroic efforts underway right now to locate victims of youth sex trafficking and return them to their families. Last week, the Education and Workforce Committee had an opportunity to hear from John Ryan, who is the head of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The center plays a vital role in a national effort to protect vulnerable youth, leading a partnership among law enforcement, government agencies, and private ventures like Honeywell, Google, and Lifetouch. In my home State of Minnesota, the center has helped resolve cases involving 1,699 endangered runaways and 373 family abductions.…”