Political Quotes

“I thank Mr. Reichert and Mr. Doggett for bringing this legislation to the floor and for their leadership on this very, very important issue. In 2013, the FBI conducted raids on sex trafficking operations in 70 U.S. cities. Perhaps the most startling finding in the aftermath of these raids was that 60 percent of rescued child trafficking victims had lived in foster care or group homes. This finding has taught us a very important lesson: to comprehensively address such horrific injustice, we must both improve the state of children and family services, and increase the efforts in the Justice Department. This legislation works to address human trafficking by helping us to ensure that the over 400,000 youth currently in foster care have the security and resources they need to become fully integrated contributors to American society. Though human trafficking is a global issue, we must remember that it is happening throughout America, sadly even in places like my home State of Missouri. Just last November in Jefferson City, a 28-year-old man was indicted for sex trafficking of a child under the age of 14. Also, earlier this year, a Springfield man pleaded guilty to trafficking of a 17-year-old girl with learning disabilities. Stories like these remind us that this crime against humanity is a real threat all across the U.S., one that is not limited to big cities or high-crime areas.…”