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Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, for several years, we have known about financier Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking ring that targeted young girls. This is something that appears to have been quite a far- ranging international ring. What we know is that this was a large network of high-profile, high-dollar predators who abused untold numbers of minors.

Only one person has been prosecuted for these crimes, and that is Ghislaine Maxwell. What she did was to recruit and groom many of the victims and then bring them into the Epstein orbit. But we know many more people were involved in this scheme in addition to Ghislaine Maxwell. What we do not know is the extent of that involvement. The recent release of documents by a Federal judge exposing part of Epstein's potential client list is a step in the right direction to help bring some visibility and some accountability to these predators and also to bring justice for the victims.

It is so important that, as we look at this issue, we keep in mind that this is about justice for these victims, making certain that they are able to tell and share and see the FBI take action on the information they are giving them. These women deserve justice.

The court unsealed the names of more than 170 associates who were named in a lawsuit against Maxwell by one of Epstein's alleged victims. The names are a mix. Some of them are just reference--they are not accused of any wrongdoing. Some of them are accused of wrongdoing. Some of the names in this lawsuit have accused Epstein and Maxwell of wrongdoing. Some of these names are potentially people who were aware of wrongdoing but said nothing. The documents also reveal some details about Epstein's alleged abuse, including that he and his associates would target underage girls in nightclubs--didn't pursue them, didn't recruit them, didn't groom, then--and, as the pattern goes, bring them into the Epstein orbit.

The release of this information is just the first step to uncovering the truth. The latest documents come from just 1 case with 1 victim, and there are 170 named. There are countless others who were targeted, trafficked, and abused. That is why I have repeatedly requested a subpoena for the complete, unredacted Epstein flight logs and Ghislaine Maxwell's unredacted ``little black book'' of contacts and addresses, along with all of the documents and records from the FBI regarding this case. We need to know who flew on Epstein's plane and who potentially participated in his international sex trafficking ring. We need to know how far-reaching this ring is. We need to have a better idea of those who also had sex trafficking rings that intersected with Jeffrey Epstein's ring.

While Judiciary Chairman Durbin, Senator Durbin, previously had stonewalled my request, I am encouraged that he has seemingly had a change of heart and expressed a willingness to work on a bipartisan basis to obtain records relevant to the Epstein case.

I am calling on Chairman Durbin to hold a vote this week, and I will be urging a vote on my subpoena whenever possible at our Senate Judiciary Committee meetings so that the American people can get the whole, full truth about Jeffrey Epstein, his sex trafficking ring, about every single person who participated in these alleged crimes, and about all the horrific abuses suffered by his victims so that we can get justice for these women and children who were abused in this sex trafficking ring.

One thing should be clear, and that is that I am not going to stop trying to get complete and total transparency on this issue so that these innocent victims can receive the justice they deserve.

We know this issue goes beyond Epstein and his associates. In America, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, in this country right now, a child is bought or sold for sex on average every 2 minutes. Think about this. Think about the children who are harmed by this when you see these stats. Once every 2 minutes, a child is bought or sold for sex.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that human traffickers make--get this number--$150 billion a year in profits. Human traffickers, sex traffickers, are making $150 billion a year in profits. That is not my number. That is not a think tank number. That is the number that comes from the Department of Homeland Security. So we have to say, why is more not being done to break apart these human trafficking rings? Why are we not doubling down on this? In 2019, the estimate of the profits made by human traffickers was $500 million a year. That is 2019, and now we are at $150 billion a year in estimated profits. And all of this is being done to women and children.

Much of the trafficking does occur at our southern border, where the Biden administration appears to have lost track of 85,000 migrant children who came across our border into the custody of DHS, which hands them off to Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

I know that in the last couple of years, the Office of Refugee Resettlement changed the vetting procedures for these individuals who were going to take these children and be the foster parents, be the surrogates. They were tasked with taking care of them. They loosened their vetting procedures for these individuals, and now 85,000 migrant children cannot be found. They do not know where they are. They do not know if they are alive or dead. They do not know if they are in a labor gang. They do not know if they are in a gang or if they are selling drugs or if they have been put in a sex trafficking ring. They cannot find them. Why is it they cannot find these children? Because when they call the individuals who have been given the responsibility of caring for these children, they don't answer the call.

There are 85,000 children who can't be found. These are children who are vulnerable to being preyed on by criminals, and HHS and ORR cannot give us an answer as to where these children are, who has them, what kind of conditions they are living in, and how they are spending their days. I would imagine many of them are spending their days in absolute and total fear. This is certainly irresponsible, and it is sickening.

One of the things we have learned--and I have heard so much in Tennessee about this--is that this issue of human trafficking and sex trafficking affects every single county and every single community. Here are some of the stats from Tennessee, and we went to the stats because we found it so interesting.

You know, I visit with every single county in my State each year. That is 95 counties. I started that 95-county tour last week, and what we heard from our law enforcement officers, from healthcare personnel, and from individuals who are in charge of classrooms and schools was the uptick in the number of sex trafficking reports that are taking place.

In Tennessee, in 2016, there were 60 reports of sex trafficking of minors in our State. That was in 2016. By the time we got to the end of 2021, that number had jumped to 600. By the time we got to November of this last year, 2023, by November, we had already hit 700 reports of trafficking minors. This is one State. These are our stats. You go from 60 reports of trafficking minors in 2016 to, in 2023, in 11 months, you are at 700 reports.

See, this is something that is out of control--out of control--and this is why we have to get all of this information and be sure law enforcement is apprehending these traffickers.

This is modern-day slavery. This is what is happening to women and children in this country. They are being recruited. They are being groomed. They are being brought into the orbit of a trafficker. We have to have information that is going to break this apart. We have to know who all is involved. And, you know, when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, I had somebody say today: Why do you want this information?

I will tell you why. First of all, I can't believe you don't want this information. And secondly, this is not about celebrity or who done it. This is about criminal activity. This is about modern-day slavery. This is about breaking apart human trafficking and sex trafficking rings and making certain these predators and these pedophiles are put in jail where they belong.

We have to put some light on this criminal activity, and we have to take steps to end it. Now, as we get this information and as we look at this issue, as I have talked to law enforcement, one of the things they regularly say is: Look, we need more tools in the toolbox.

So the SAVE Girls Act is legislation that I have that I brought forward. And I thank Senator Klobuchar, who has worked with me on this. What this legislation would do is provide States, local governments, and nonprofits with resources that they need to train personnel, to conduct rescues, and to help save some of these women and girls.

There is another piece of legislation Senator Duckworth and I have; it is the SALONS Stories Act. This replicates a program, Shear Haven, that is taking place in Tennessee. Illinois, Senator Duckworth's State, also has a program, and it trains aestheticians and barbers and beauticians on the signs of sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and violence and what to look for in human trafficking and then how to get people to the right resources for a rescue, for an intervention, for the help that they need.

And last month, the REPORT Act, which Senator Ossoff and I did in a bipartisan way, will give NCMEC--the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children--and law enforcement the resources that they need to crack down on child trafficking and online child sexual abuse material.

We are pleased that these are pieces of legislation that are moving forward. We are hopeful to get the subpoena on the Epstein flight logs and further information of his associates. And we are clinging to the promise--clinging to the promise--of justice for these victims by this Chamber paying close attention to what is happening with human trafficking in our country.

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