Human Trafficking Legislation
Floor Speech
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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, deep in shadow, there is a specter that haunts our country. In dark corners it claims thousands of victims every year--quietly, stealthily, maliciously. It is hard for many Americans to believe that human trafficking could happen where they live, but it does, right here in the United States--in all 50 of our States. And many of these victims are children.
In Kentucky alone the Commonwealth has been able to identify more than 100 victims since it began keeping relevant records in 2013. While this kind of abuse often begins around the age of 13 or 14, there have been reports of victims in Kentucky as young as 2 months old. It is just about the most morally offensive thing you can imagine.
These victims need a voice, they need justice, and the new Congress is determined to give them both. That is just what the bill we are considering this week, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, aims to do.
I particularly want to thank Senator Cornyn for his hard work on this legislation. He has been a tireless advocate for it. I also want to note that this legislation has always been a bipartisan exercise. I want to thank the 13 Democratic cosponsors of the bill.
It is a bill that received a hearing in the Judiciary Committee earlier this year and was reported without a single negative vote. It has been thoroughly vetted and carefully crafted, which explains its bipartisan support in the Senate. That also explains the long list of endorsements outside the Senate, with organizations such as Shared Hope International, Rights4Girls, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children among its many supporters.
Here is what one of the broad coalitions backing this bill had to say about it. ``The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act provides unprecedented support to domestic victims of trafficking, who are too often invisible and underserved,'' they wrote. ``This legislation is vital.''
I hope now that it has been brought to the floor, this bill continues to enjoy its strong record of constructive bipartisan support. It is similar to a measure that was passed by the House of Representatives.
The version before us also contains some additional provisions as well. For instance, Senator Portman has offered ideas to improve the way we find missing kids and to strengthen law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute those who commit sex trafficking crimes.
It is good to see such a strong and bipartisan piece of legislation because victims of human trafficking should be treated as victims--not as criminals--because they should have the services and resources they need to rebuild their lives and because law enforcement should have the tools it needs to protect them and to combat these crimes. This bill aims to ensure these things actually happen, and I look forward to the Senate's good work to pass it.
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