Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I thank my good friend and colleague for her efforts. We have worked together on so many human rights issues, including combating anti- Semitism and other important human rights issues and trafficking. She was a star when we had our hearings on this. I thank her for her eloquent defense of the victims, as well as trying to stop the perpetrators of these horrible crimes. At a congressional hearing--one of the ones I was talking about just now with my good friend and colleague--that I chaired last May, a woman by the name of Gina Cavallo, an amazing, courageous woman from my home State of New Jersey, told us how she suffered unspeakable violence, including rape, beatings, coercive drug abuse, and other torture as her traffickers sold her like a commodity from one buyer to another. This is only a part of her testimony, but it goes right to the heart of what we are talking about. She testified: ``It is so critical that survivors are heard.'' She said that the Frederick Douglass Act is a result of listening. We listened to her and other human trafficking victims, and much of what we have here tonight has been informed by their insights. Gina Cavallo told us that she is a survivor of domestic violence and childhood abuse. That experience as a child led me to a place where I felt ashamed, unloved, and rejected. It also led me to being trafficked.…”