Political Quotes

“And I rise in strong support of H.R. 357, the Human Trafficking Prevention Act. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my friend and colleague, the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney), for introducing this important piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Its victims are robbed of both their freedom and dignity. Human trafficking violates the founding principles of the United States--life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness--and humanity's very fundamental principle of respect. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, almost every nation in the world is affected by trafficking. There are at least 152 countries of origin and 124 countries of destination affected by human trafficking, totaling over 510 trafficking flows around the world. Human trafficking victims often pay to be illegally transported into various countries, only to find themselves at the mercy of their captors, deprived of their freedom. They are forced into various forms of servitude to repay their debts. Frighteningly, the U.N. also reports that 1 in 3 known victims of human trafficking is a child. In some areas of the world, such as Africa and the Middle East, children constitute 62 percent of their human trafficking incidents.…”