Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the vice ranking member for yielding. And I thank my friend and colleague from California for his leadership and support on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the FIND Trafficking Act. The fight against online sex trafficking has been one of the most important endeavors since I first came to Congress. I have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to update our Nation's laws to effectively combat contemporary methods used to exploit our Nation's women and children.

The fact of the matter is that sex trafficking has moved from the streets to the internet. Traffickers advertise, buy, and sell women and children, using online marketplaces with impunity.

Last April, my Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or FOSTA, became law, and many websites engaged in sex trafficking shut down to avoid liability for their crimes. This was a tremendous step forward, but our job is not finished.

The reality is that sex and drug trafficking are extremely profitable, and there are still websites that are knowingly facilitating criminal activity. Traffickers are increasingly using the anonymity of virtual currencies, like bitcoin and others, to finance their networks of exploitation, both online and off-line. These criminals use virtual currencies to avoid detection and prosecution, a practice that creates an unprecedented challenge for financial regulators and law enforcement.

This is a new playing field, and we need better enforcement of existing laws and more information about how criminals are using virtual currencies to finance their operations. We need to know how illicit funds are being repatriated into the formal banking system. We need to understand whether Federal and State agencies have the tools they need to stop criminal profits from entering our financial system. We also need to know how drug traffickers are using the internet to sell opioids, including deadly fentanyl. We need to understand how websites are using payment methods to facilitate the sale of illegal activities.

This is why Congressman Juan Vargas and I have introduced the FIND Trafficking Act. The legislation would give us valuable data on how traffickers are anonymously transferring money to facilitate sex and drug trafficking.

The FIND Trafficking Act will help construct a web of intelligence necessary to protect victims and to prosecute traffickers. Congressman Juan Vargas has been a tremendous leader in this space, and I thank him for all the work that he is doing to stop criminal enterprises from exploiting vulnerable populations.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join us in standing with the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been affected by drug and sex trafficking.

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