John Cornyn: “I want to speak on the resolution that I believe will be passed by unanimous consent of the Senate which pertains to…”

“I want to speak on the resolution that I believe will be passed by unanimous consent of the Senate which pertains to something I thought we would never be talking about now in the year 2004, and that is human slavery and trafficking in human beings. The good work that has been done by the U.S. Congress, since, of course, the ratification of the 13th amendment in 1865 abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude, includes a remarkable tradition, and a bipartisan tradition, I might add, starting, after 1865, in 1909, when the United States Code criminalized slavery. In 2000, the late Senator Paul Wellstone and Senator Sam Brownback joined together as the lead sponsors, together with a number of other Senators and Representatives, to advance legislation to strengthen those laws, specifically the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which was later signed into law by President Bill Clinton. That legislation was reauthorized in 2003 by a bipartisan effort and signed into law by President George W. Bush. I expressly recognize the contributions of Senator Schumer, Senator Graham of South Carolina, Senator Leahy of Vermont, and Senator Clinton, who joined in cosponsoring this resolution. Indeed, this resolution lays out the terrible tale of the fact that as many as 800,000 human beings are literally bought and sold worldwide into some form of slavery or involuntary servitude.”