Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his extraordinary work on this issue and so many others. I rise in very strong support of Congressman Poe's work and his bill.

Human trafficking comes in many different forms, and all of them are awful. The most recent twist comes from the tragedy in Nigeria. Young girls kidnapped and terrorized were sold like objects into a lifetime of forcible rape. They say they are selling them into marriage. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are being sold into human bondage and into rape.

There is no crime on Earth more appalling, no offense as terrible, no act of depravity as harmful to the community of a nation and certainly to the individuals affected.

I want to express my gratitude to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) for his outstanding work on this issue. He has been an incredible partner.

His groundbreaking work on sex trafficking is informed by his experience as a judge and as a prosecutor where he witnessed firsthand the tragic toll of human trafficking, coming face to face with both the victims and the perpetrators of this terrible crime and knowing from his experience what it is we need to do to help law enforcement get convictions.

He has been unwavering in his efforts to pass the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and I applaud his efforts.

Trafficking is one of the most profitable forms of organized crime, preceded only by the selling of drugs and the selling of illegal weapons. Unlike drugs and weapons which can only be sold once, the human body can be sold again and again and again until they die.

The bill before us today is crucial to helping the survivors of human trafficking, like Shandra Woworuntu, who put their lives back together here. She is supposed to be here in the Chamber with us today. She was with us in meetings earlier today. I want to thank her for her courage in coming forward.

The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act will help ensure that other survivors do not find themselves in similar circumstances like Shandra. She was educated, a former manager in a bank. She came to the United States to become a manager at a hotel. She was immediately swiped, her passport taken, and thrown into a dungeon of trafficking, where she lived until she escaped.

When she escaped, there was no resources to help her. This bill will change this, with grants to States and localities to help them and to put the focus back on the demand side, to cut

down on the demand for trafficking and the selling of our children. No child should be for sale in America, and this bill will help give law enforcement the tools to win convictions.
My time is up. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and I urge unanimous support for this important bill.

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