Political Quotes

“Today I rise to condemn the horrific tragedy of human trafficking. Globally, there are 20.9 million people who have been trafficked. Not one U.S. State has been spared--sadly men, women and children in every state have been victimized. This is not just a global problem, it is an American problem and it is right here in our own backyards. I witnessed this problem first hand while working in Washington State for the King County Sheriffs Office. All too often, I spoke to young girls on the street one day, urging them to get off the streets, and the next they had disappeared. This was allowed to happen for far too long, because for many of us, these girls and even many boys are invisible. We do not want to see the problem and so we too often choose to look the other way and pretend it isn't real--not in our communities. We have to make the problem--and the solutions--visible. Last year, I introduced and passed legislation which became law that helped--will help--prevent the sex trafficking of youth in foster care. The children in federal and state care are often the most vulnerable to becoming trafficking victims. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited children, as many as 6 in 10 of the young women forced into selling their bodies on the streets are current or former foster children. I was honored to have been able to lead the efforts to change that reality last Congress.…”