Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. CORNYN):

S. 2925. A bill to establish a grant program to benefit victims of sex trafficking, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join today with my colleague from Texas, Senator CORNYN, to introduce the Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2009.

This bill addresses a serious problem that is modern day slavery, pure and simple--human sex trafficking. You could almost call it a war, where all too often, children are the casualties.

The statistics on minors involved in sex trafficking are shocking. Experts estimate that over 100,000 children in the U.S. are at risk for prostitution. The average age of entry into prostitution is 12. The children at greatest risk of becoming involved in sex trafficking are what they call ``repeat runaways''--kids who have run away over and over again. They need help right away if they are going to avoid being caught by pimps. One third of run-away children are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home and 75 percent of minors caught in this web of prostitution have a pimp.

This problem is on the rise because criminal gang members are increasingly turning to pimping. Gang members have discovered that they are less likely to get prosecuted for trafficking a person than trafficking drugs. While drugs can only be sold once, a pimp can sell a person over and over. It is just as lucrative. A pimp can make $200,000 a year on one trafficking victim.

This situation is horrifying and totally unacceptable. The bill I am introducing today will bring a smart strategy that will give some teeth to the efforts law enforcement across the country have made to combat sex trafficking. It will give them additional resources they need to lock up pimps and sex traffickers. It will also help victims break away from their abusers and get the treatment and services they need to take their lives back.

Let us be absolutely clear about this--the pimps who prey upon vulnerable young people are criminals, and they should be put behind bars. The young women, girls, and sometimes boys who are trafficked are not criminals--they are victims of crime. They don't need to be prosecuted. They need all the help they can get to escape the clutches of pimps.

Unfortunately, until now, the government has been a step behind. Right now, it is very difficult for law enforcement officers and prosecutors to build criminal cases and crack down on pimps. The Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act would change that.

Here is how it would work: The bill would establish a pilot project of 6 block grants in locations in different regions of the country with significant sex trafficking activity. The block grants would be awarded by the Department of Justice to State or local government applicants that have developed a workable, comprehensive plan to combat sex trafficking. The grants would require a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to addressing trafficking problems. Applicants for the grants would have to demonstrate they can work together with local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers to achieve the goals the bill would set out for them.

Government agencies that get the grants would be required to create shelters where trafficking victims would be safe from their pimps, and where they could start getting treatment for the trauma they have suffered. The shelters would provide counseling, legal services, and mental and physical health services, including treatment for substance abuse, sexual abuse, and trauma-informed care. The shelters would also provide food, clothing, and other necessities, as well as education and training to help victims get their lives on track.

It is going to take this kind of comprehensive plan to finally turn the tables on pimps who, right now, just wait for their victims to be released from jail so they can put them back out on the streets to make money for them. Once those girls are out, they don't come back to testify against their pimps--they're just gone.

This bill fixes that problem by giving the young victims a safe haven. It is only by addressing the needs of these victims that law enforcement officers will be able to work with them to build criminal cases against their pimps. The block grants will also provide for specialized training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors to help them learn how to handle trafficking victims and build trafficking cases.

This bill would also strengthen reporting requirements for runaway or missing children, and authorize funding to the FBI to enhance the National Crime Information Center, NCIC, database, which is where missing child reports are filed. This would give law enforcement officers better information on the children at greatest risk of being lured in to sex trafficking by being able to show a tally of how many times a child has run away, and can flag them as ``repeat runaways'' who are at high risk of being lured into prostitution.

Sex trafficking is a complex issue that requires the comprehensive, wrap-around approach that this bill would deliver. As daunting as this problem is, there are bright examples of how to address the challenge, such as the achievements of Sergeant Byron Fassett of the Dallas Police Department. Just listening to Sergeant Fassett, who spoke at a recent congressional briefing that I hosted, is an education in how to do this right. The lessons he has learned in over 20 years of combating sex trafficking are a primer for how to get victims out of the clutches of pimps and build cases to put pimps away. Sergeant Fassett is not the only officer out there who's attacking this challenge the right way. In my home town of Portland, the officers on the human trafficking task force are doing excellent work. But right now, they simply don't have the resources to crack this problem. The Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act would deliver the training and resources they need.

I want to also thank the many individuals and organizations who attended the briefing and participated in efforts to craft this legislation. I particularly want to acknowledge the Polaris Project and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, for their instrumental roles in this effort.

I look forward to working with Senator CORNYN and other colleagues to move this important legislation forward. There are children out on the streets tonight who shouldn't have to wait for the help this bill can give. Let us end this appalling war on those kids. Let us give them the help they need by passing this piece of legislation with all the speed possible.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD

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