On the recordDecember 9, 2010
Although the Subcommittee on Human Rights held a hearing on child prostitution this year, it did not fully explore the effectiveness of existing law and grant programs, and whether there are loopholes or problems that need to be fixed in order to make the Federal Government's efforts more effective. There are multiple programs for trafficking victims under existing law, but some of them remain unclear and confusing. In fact, many of them have never received congressional funding. Thus, while I agree with the Senator from Oregon that there seems to be a disparity between the resources provided to domestic victims and those provided to international victims, I conveyed to him in our negotiations that I question whether we cannot already provide most of those resources under existing law. As a result, I am committed to vigorous oversight of these issues during the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, TVPRA, which expires next year.
