Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator from North Dakota for her very, very strong statement. We sometimes talk about numbers and this and that. It is when you talk about real cases that we understand what we are talking about here. We are going to consider two amendments related to preventing human trafficking of runaway and homeless youth. Senator Cornyn's amendment speaks to this effort, but it is not a meaningful alternative to the comprehensive amendment that Senator Collins and I will offer. Our amendment No. 290, the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act, has the support of 30 bipartisan cosponsors. Senator Cornyn has said that no effort to end human trafficking can be complete without addressing the needs of runaway and homeless youth. I agree and that is why amendment No. 290 is so important. In fact, when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on this legislation last year, it received the vote of almost every single member, including Senator Cornyn. In our hearings since then, I have listened to the stories of survivors. Some have been in my office and some have been in the offices of other Senators, and they talked about this. So many of them begin the same way. They are a homeless or a runaway teen, scared, desperate for affection and a safe place to sleep, especially if they are somewhere in inclement weather. Traffickers know this. They prey on that desperation. They know there are so very few places these children can turn to.…”