Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this is the start of another busy week in the Senate. We have a lot to accomplish for the American people.

This week, we will take up an omnibus that builds on the bipartisan funding agreement we reached back in February. It will provide our Armed Forces with the stable funding they need to meet emerging challenges.

Among other important matters, it will also strengthen our fight against the scourge of opioid addiction--an issue the President has already declared a public health emergency and is continuing to address today up in New Hampshire.

We have several concrete opportunities to make America safer and more secure. First, we will vote on the confirmation of Kevin McAleenan, the President's nominee for Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mr. McAleenan is a 16-year veteran of the CBP. He served under administrations of both parties. His nomination carries the unflinching support of a bipartisan group of leaders and was thoroughly vetted in committee. Ensuring our national security means steady control over what and who comes across our borders. I would urge everyone to join me in voting to confirm him later today.

Later this week, the Senate will turn to another important matter relating to America's safety and security. We will take up legislation to combat the evil of sex trafficking. Keeping children safe from exploitation has been a key focus for several of us going back some years. In 1984, I advocated the passage of the Missing Children's Assistance Act. In the 1990s, I was proud to introduce measures that mandated centralized reporting for missing children's cases and created a national database and screening system to identify abusers. In 2003, I joined a number of colleagues as founding members of the Senate Caucus on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children. As recently as 2015, the Senate passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. This week, it is time to build on those achievements and take another step.

It is time to confront the reality that trafficking has largely moved from the street corner to the smartphone. From 2010 to 2015, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children saw reports of suspected child sex trafficking increase more than eightfold. Last year alone, more than 8,500 cases were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Part of the problem is a 1996 communications law that is being misused to protect websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking. The legislation before the Senate will reform that law and ensure these institutions can be held accountable for facilitating these heinous crimes. Senator Portman has worked long and hard on this subject. He has helped assemble a broad, bipartisan coalition.

I would urge everyone to join me in voting to advance this legislation later this afternoon. Tax Reform

Mr. President, now, on one final matter, the good news about tax reform keeps piling up. Here is one important headline from just a few days ago. ``U.S. consumer confidence hits 14-year high.'' That is right; tax reform is contributing to a dynamic, growing economy, and Americans are taking notice. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, ``Optimism improved markedly for households in the bottom third of income distribution.'' Remember that the next time my friends across the aisle claim tax reform is only helping the big guys. It is just a political talking point.

In the real world, businesses large and small are thriving. In my home State of Kentucky, Goodwood Brewing Company has crunched the numbers and expects a tax reform savings of $30,000. They are planning to use it to purchase new equipment and hire new employees. According to the CEO, Ted Mitzlaff, tax reform is offering ``a significant benefit--hardly crumbs.''

Last Wednesday, President Trump visited a Boeing manufacturing facility in St. Louis to hear how tax reform is helping those Americans. For Boeing's workers, tax reform means a new $300 million investment in workforce development, training, philanthropy, and workplace improvements, but the President didn't just hear from the hometown crowd.

Bonnie Brazzeal works in the cafeteria at the College of the Ozarks-- that is in Southwest Missouri, more than 250 miles away from St. Louis. Bonnie made the trip to tell President Trump: ``I work in the cafeteria at [the] College of the Ozarks alongside the hard-working students and I am grateful for the bonus. . . . I put mine in savings for my retirement.'' Renee Crooker, also at the College of the Ozarks, said: ``This bonus could not have come at a better time.'' Her daughter was gravely ill but out of the country. Renee's tax reform bonus enabled her to fly to her daughter's bedside. Brandon Pister is a supervisor at Mid-Am Metal Forming. He received a tax bonus too. It helped him afford the deductible when his 2-year-old son needed surgery.

These Americans' tax reform stories are amazing and so is the fact that only one Senator from Missouri voted to help all this good news happen. Their senior Senator joined Democrats in a party-line vote to block tax reform and keep Washington's foot on the brake of our economy. When Democratic leaders called these historic middle-class tax cuts crumbs, the senior Senator from Missouri followed suit and called them scraps.

I am proud that Republicans, including Missouri's junior Senator, looked past this partisan rhetoric and stood up for the middle-class families who deserve to keep more of their own money. Because we did, Bonnie, Renee, Brandon, and millions more hard-working Americans are already reaping the benefits.

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