Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, over the past several years, my eyes have really been opened to the disturbing type of slavery that we have seen across the world and here at home. I have heard about human trafficking before and young children being sold for sex overseas, but I guess I didn't really realize how much it was happening here in the United States and even in my home State of South Dakota. The more I learned about human trafficking and the risk that it posed to our kids, the more I became convicted that I needed to do something about it. The average age of a child that is trafficked is just 11 to 14 years old. Many times, the trafficker will lure these children in, pretending to be their friend or their boyfriend, control them through the use of drugs or alcohol, and give them the comfort and stability that they may be lacking at home. After they have them isolated and dependent, they sell them for sex. It is heartbreaking for me as a mom, as an aunt of many nieces and nephews, as a 4-H leader, and as a person who works with our youth every single day to think about the innocent children that are being forced into this disgusting industry and becoming slaves to these predators. Every year, hundreds of thousands of children are at risk to being trafficked here in the United States, so this isn't a problem that is far away. It is a problem that is right here in our backyards.…”