Rob Portman: “I wish to talk about a couple of amendments on the legislation that we are considering this week, which is the human…”

“I wish to talk about a couple of amendments on the legislation that we are considering this week, which is the human trafficking legislation. Up to this point, this has been a bipartisan exercise. In fact, Senator Blumenthal, the Senator from Connecticut, and I started a caucus here in the Senate on human trafficking about 3\1/2\ years ago, understanding that there was an increasing concern and awareness about this issue around the country, and we wanted to bring colleagues together to talk about the issue. We now have many other Members of the Senate who are a part of that. We had monthly meetings--holding up people who were doing great things around the country--describing the problem so that all of us, Members of the Senate and their staff, understand the seriousness of this issue and why we need to address it. That has always been nonpartisan--not just bipartisan but nonpartisan. I think it is time for us to move forward with this debate and to have these amendments offered and to actually vote on this legislation that would help to deal with this problem all around the country, and unfortunately it is everywhere. Often people think that this is an international issue, that the only human trafficking concern we should have would be in Africa or Asia or other countries. But it actually happens right here, and it happens in my home State of Ohio.…”