Reauthorization of the Soar to Health and Wellness Training Program

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the recognition and the cosponsorship and support.

Mr. Speaker, this bill came from a meeting I had in Memphis with nurses at the University of Tennessee. They were discussing human trafficking and ways that victims could be identified, and the idea came to fruition through the work of the University of Tennessee Nursing School.

Human traffickers exploit tens of thousands of people in the United States. When we talk about human trafficking here, we are basically talking about sexual trafficking. I mean, the trafficking of workers, the trafficking in a variety of occupations, but these are women who are trafficked for sex.

The actual number is difficult to determine, but it is one of the reasons we introduced the SOAR Act several years ago. I am pleased it passed, and it has done much good.

It has shown that, when nurses are trained, they can identify victims of sexual trafficking. Oftentimes they end up in health facilities because they get beaten by the people who put them into this position. They have wounds, and they have to come to emergency rooms. The nurses are there to observe. If they are trained, they are the initial source. They can then get these women out of the human trafficking and prevent this scourge on human society.

This bill expanded the training program under the Department of Health and Human Services to train these workers, health and social service providers, to identify potential human-trafficking victims, work with law enforcement to report and facilitate the communication with such victims, refer victims to social or victim service agencies and organizations, and provide victims with coordinated care tailored to their circumstances.

The program has been successful. In September 2017 and September 2023, the Office of Trafficking in Persons hosted 222 events through which they trained over 263,000 healthcare professionals. After receiving the training, 91.4 percent of the participants indicated they had high or very high confidence in their ability to identify and respond to human trafficking.

The SOAR to Health and Wellness Program has made tremendous strides to train healthcare professionals on the signs of human trafficking and the appropriate steps to be taken once they identify the victim.

As Members of Congress, we should continue to support this program so that more people could be trained to properly identify and assist victims of human trafficking. Pass the reauthorization bill here, and let our constituents know that, if they are being trafficked or are suspicious that someone they know is being trafficked, help is available.

The Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line is 866-347-2423, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline is 888-373-7888.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill to reauthorize the SOAR Act, and I thank the committee ranking member and the committee chair for bringing the bill to the floor.

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