On the recordJuly 23, 2014
I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass) for her tireless commitment to the children of our Nation's child welfare system and for extending time to speak on this timely and important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the House's legislative efforts to combat human trafficking, a very cruel form of modern-day slavery. I urge all my colleagues to support the legislation before us, including H.R. 5081, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act, a bill that seeks to improve the child welfare response to trafficking by requiring States to have procedures for identifying, assessing, and documenting child victims of trafficking. H.R. 5081 would also help identify, assess, and document child victims of sex trafficking throughout the United States. Unfortunately, human trafficking is a big, booming business, and I cannot--and I will not--stand idly by and watch as our country becomes the center for smuggling human beings and human sexual exploitation. We have a major crisis on the border of our Nation and in big cities like New York and others across the Nation that have been exacerbated and enabled by highly organized crime syndicates. If we understand the methods these groups use and begin by eliminating their sources of revenue, we can save people from human rights abuses and exploitation.…
