Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I am pleased to report that the appropriations package is currently being finalized. I will have more to say once the bill has been filed, but I am proud to announce it will meet a number of vitally important objectives. This includes the largest year-on-year increase in funding for our servicemembers in 15 years, along with major steps forward for law enforcement and border security, for the fight against opioid addiction, for our veterans, and for a number of other priorities.

Madam President, before we take up that measure, the Senate has a very important piece of business to tackle. This afternoon we will vote on the anti-sex trafficking legislation we have been considering this week. I want to thank Senator Portman, who has worked hard to advance this reform, and Chairman Thune, for shepherding it through the Commerce Committee.

Many of us have paid careful attention to the scourge of child trafficking over the years. It has been a high-priority issue for me, for example, since before I arrived in the Senate. But as traffickers move their crimes from the street corner to the smartphone, the data tell us unambiguously that more action is required.

The legislation before us reforms a misused provision in a 1996 telecommunications act, which currently shields companies that facilitate and profit from the disgusting exploitation of women and children.

Later today, my colleagues will have the opportunity to implement commonsense reform with the potential to change vulnerable children's lives for the better.

I urge every one of us to vote to pass it. Tax Reform

Now, Madam President, on a final matter, we have been talking for months about the ways tax reform is helping to jump-start the economy, bolster family budgets, and make life better for millions of Americans. Just a few months in, many such stories have already made front-page news--the tax reform bonuses, raises, and benefits for 4 million workers and counting; the new investments and new hiring from businesses large and small; the bigger paychecks for middle-class Americans as the IRS withholds less of their money.

Other exciting parts of this once-in-a-generation reform aren't receiving the attention they deserve. Today, for example, is an initial deadline for States to nominate areas they would like to be designated as ``opportunity zones.'' This is thanks to a provision incorporated into tax reform through the unflagging dedication of our colleague, Senator Scott.

The premise here is simple. The best way to breathe new life into struggling communities is not to invent some new Federal program; it isn't to throw government money into one more top-down, tax-and-spend scheme. No. The best way to help rural areas, small cities, and suburbs left behind by the Obama-era policies is to get the government's foot off the brake and let the free enterprise system flourish. It is to make those communities attractive places to do business, open new facilities, and create good-paying jobs. This is exactly what tax reform does by deferring capital gains taxes on income that is invested in distressed areas that receive this ``opportunity zone'' designation.

As one estimate has it, three-quarters of all the jobs created from 2010 to 2016 went to major metropolitan areas. Only 3 percent went to rural America. This provision could help change that.

I know there is a lot of excitement in my State of Kentucky. From coal country to farming communities and everywhere in between, Obama- era overregulation was holding our economy short of its full potential. These opportunity zones offer a shot at real relief. According to the Cabinet for Economic Development, Kentucky may designate as many as 144 new zones, prioritizing growth in areas that need it most.

Or take West Virginia. As my friend Senator Capito recently noted, her State understands the problem all too well. One recent study suggested that West Virginia has the third highest proportion of its population living in economically distressed communities. Opportunity zones will make a difference to her State. Of course, so will the rest of tax reform.

A few weeks back, Senator Capito reported that Worldwide Equipment in West Sulphur Springs plans to reinvest $8 million in its operations, including more than 1,000 employee bonuses--all thanks to tax reform.

I imagine West Virginians are quite glad that Senator Capito used her vote to make tax reform a reality. It is a shame their senior Senator didn't follow suit. It is a shame that he and every other Democrat tried to block it from taking effect. Fortunately, this President and this Congress didn't let that stop us. We accomplished tax reform anyway because we are committed to fighting for all Americans.

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