Missing Children's Assistance Act Amendment

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 246, a
bipartisan bill I introduced which will help victims of child sex
trafficking by decriminalizing their behavior.

First, I would like to thank Chairman Kline from Minnesota and
Ranking Member Scott from Virginia of the Education and the Workforce
Committee for bringing this important bill to the floor for
consideration.

I want to also thank Representative Walberg, who is managing the
bill, for his kind words and his leadership. He is managing the bill
today for the Republicans. I also thank Congresswoman Karen Bass and
Congresswoman Ann Wagner for their leadership and support.

Also, I would like to thank Senator Portman, who I partnered with on
this issue last Congress and who introduced the companion legislation
in the Senate. I look forward to working with him again during the
114th Congress to advance this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, last Congress, the House passed this exact bill
unanimously by a vote of 409-0. Today, I hope that my colleagues in the
House will again approve this legislation with overwhelming bipartisan
support so we can better assist victims of child sex trafficking and
ensure they are viewed and treated as victims, not criminals.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to participate in Ohio's
sixth annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which was held in my
district at the Ohio statehouse. It was standing room only. The event was chaired by State Representative Teresa Fedor from Toledo, who has spent a lifetime on this issue. There, we heard story after story from victims, survivors, and advocates, just like the ones we heard on the House floor earlier today.

Almost every time I am home in my district in Ohio, I hear from
people who are concerned about the victims of child sex trafficking.
Constituents implore me to have Congress do more to protect those among
us who are the most vulnerable, those who are being forced into what
many deem modern-day slavery.

This is for a good reason. Human trafficking is one of the fastest-
growing crimes in the world. In fact, according to the U.S. State
Department, human trafficking is the world's second largest criminal
enterprise, after the illegal drug trade. Criminals involved in
trafficking trade prey on those children already at risk in our
society, the children who fall through the cracks in our society.

In the United States, some 300,000 children are at risk each year of
commercial sexual exploitation. Mr. Speaker, many of these children are
runaways, homeless, and in and out of foster care. These
children deserve better.

The average age of a trafficked victim in the United States is 12
years of age. Mr. Speaker, this is shameful. At 12 years old, children
should be playing sports, participating in their school science fair,
learning new languages, or just being children. They should not be for
sale night after night.

In my home State of Ohio, each year, there is an estimated 1,100 Ohio
children who become victims of human trafficking, and over 3,000 more
are at risk. Ohio is the fifth leading State for human trafficking
because of its proximity to a waterway that leads to an international
border and a system of interstate highways that allow an individual to
exit the State within 2 hours to almost anywhere.

The I-75 corridor runs through Toledo, Dayton, and Cincinnati. It is
infamous for subjecting children to the horrors of sex trafficking,
with reports of victims being repeatedly abused.

We know that no single system can successfully combat trafficking.
Preventing, identifying, and serving victims of trafficking requires a
multicoordinated approach across all levels of government. We need to
encourage all people: when they see something, say something.

How can concerned citizens report activities of suspected child
exploitation? Currently, the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children operates a CyberTipline, which receives leads and tips
regarding suspected crimes of sexual exploitation committed against
children.

This CyberTipline is operated in partnership with the FBI,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Postal
Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, United States
Department of Justice, as well as other State and local enforcement
agencies.

These reports are constantly monitored to help ensure children in
imminent danger get first priority. More than 2.8 million reports of
suspected child exploitation have been made to the CyberTipline between
1998 and October of 2014.

Under current law, child sex trafficking is not identified as one of
the types of sexual exploitation that should be reported to the
CyberTipline, even though the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children encounters child victims of sex trafficking and currently uses
this term on its Web site in order to encourage the public's reporting
of these types of crimes.

Instead, the statute uses the term ``child prostitution''--yes, child
prostitution, Mr. Speaker--which we know does not fully and accurately
capture these types of crimes against children. My bill would add the
phrase ``child sex trafficking, including child prostitution,'' to
section b(1)(p) of the Missing Children's Assistance Act.

This legislation was crafted in order to improve and update the law
in order to reflect the current state of Federal laws and to reinforce
that children who are sex-trafficked or sexually exploited are victims
and not criminals.

Mr. Speaker, children in sex trafficking situations are often
misidentified as ``willing'' participants. We know there is a
widespread lack of awareness and understanding of trafficking.

Take, for instance, a story I recently heard about Holly, who is a
survivor of human trafficking. When Holly was 14 years old, she ran
away from home with a man she had met at a shopping mall. Holly and
this man exchanged phone numbers. He continued to pursue Holly over the
course of many months.

Convincing her to run away with him was not an overnight
accomplishment. He got to know her, analyzed her troubles, and asked
about her dreams. He did this so that when Holly was on her summer
break from the eighth grade, the pressures of her 14-year-old world
boiled to the surface.

With all this confusion and pressure Holly was feeling, this predator
was able to convince her to flee towards what she thought was
opportunity, possibility, and freedom. In reality, Holly ran right into
the clutches of a sexual trafficking ring. Within hours of running away
with what turned out to be a manipulative and threatening pimp, she was
coerced into prostitution.

Fortunately for Holly, eventually an officer on the street thought
that she seemed underage, so he approached her and arrested her. She
was soon recognized to be a victim and began the long journey toward
healing. Today, I am proud to say that Holly is an advocate for
stronger anti-trafficking laws and greater protection for survivors of
all forms of human trafficking.

This bill, H.R. 246, is intended to protect young children like
Holly, to rescue and restore them. By adding the term ``child sex
trafficking, including child prostitution,'' to the Missing Children's
Assistance Act, we will be able to continue to fight the perception
that sex trafficking is a voluntary, victimless crime, and this will
exclude them from prostitution.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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