Louise Slaughter: “Mr. Speaker, in June 1994, I first introduced legislation addressing the growing problem of Burmese women and children…”

“Mr. Speaker, in June 1994, I first introduced legislation addressing the growing problem of Burmese women and children being sold to work in the thriving sex industry in Thailand. This legislation responded to reports indicating that thousands of Burmese women and girls were being trafficked into Thailand with false promises of good-paying jobs in restaurants or factories and then forced to work in brothels under slavery-like conditions. Some of the victims were as young as 5 years old. As I learned more about this issue, it became clear that it was not limited to one particular region of the world. In fact, in the wake of the discovery of a prostitution ring of trafficked women in Florida and the Carolinas, as well as a group of Thai garment workers held captive in California, I soon realized that this was an issue that must be dealt with in our own backyard as well. Six years later I am proud to be standing here today to support this important legislation. H.R. 3244 sets forth policies not only to monitor but to eliminate trafficking here in the United States and abroad. More importantly, it does so in a way that punishes the true perpetrators, the traffickers themselves, while at the same time taking the necessary steps to protect the victims of this heinous crime.”