Orrin Hatch: “today, we are continuing our consideration of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. I should note from the outset…”

“today, we are continuing our consideration of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. I should note from the outset this is a bill that essentially every Senator--every single one of us--supports. How could we not? Right now in this country there are thousands of human beings living as slaves--stolen from their homes, stripped of their God-given rights, and robbed of their human dignity. A disproportionate number of these victims are women and children, often forced into sex slavery. These are crimes that shock the conscience, and every single one of us should do everything in our power to stop this scourge and help make the victims whole again. The legislation we are currently considering makes important steps toward achieving those goals. It treats children trapped in these horrible circumstances for what they are--victims, not criminals. It imposes stiff penalties on traffickers, exactly the sort their despicable crimes merit. It establishes an effective means of restitution for the victims, helping them to begin to rebuild their lives in the wake of enormous suffering. I applaud the majority leader for his commitment to getting this bill passed. It is exactly the sort of legislation the Senate should be considering. While this may seem an obvious point, it is worth spelling out why this is true. The majority leader's traditional right to be recognized first gives him control over what sort of legislation we consider.…”