Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator from Illinois, who has worked on this throughout his career, both in the House and in the Senate. It means a lot. I will state what one survivor, Tina Frundt, a survivor of human trafficking who now helps counsel other young trafficking victims, said: It is not for us to judge the type of services a survivor of sex trafficking needs. We need the basic rights of medical services without judgment. I think, instead of our trying to be political about this, we should listen to survivors such as Tina. We can't pass a bill that ignores the requests of the various survivors it is designed to help. Experts across the political spectrum who treat survivors of trafficking are telling us to remove the language. I heard, for example, from a group called HEAL Trafficking, an organization of health care professionals who treat survivors. These are physicians, nurses, and counselors. They wrote a letter to me and said: ``We implore the Senate to pass S. 178 without the inclusion of Hyde amendment language, which would place limits on trafficking survivors' access to vital health services.'' I also heard from the service providers, whom I know and respect, at the Vermont Coalition of Runaway and Homeless Youth. They work with young people who are exceptionally vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation.…”