e.p.i. -- nafta directly cost the united states a net loss of 700,000 jobs. the trade surplus with mexico turned into a chronic deficit and the economic dislocation of mexico increased the flow of undocumented workers into the united states." end of quote from the e.p.i. further, mr. president let me just quote an article that appeared in "the new york times" yesterday yesterday. quote -- "mexico has become the most attractive place in north america to build new automobile factories. a shift that has siphoned jobs from the u.s. and canada. in the past tw -- in the past two years eight automakers have announced plans to open new plants or expansions in new mexico. lower costs are the swing fact at thes," "new york times" yesterday. in other words mr. president despite all of the rhetoric about how this unfettered free trade agreement with mexico was

going to create jobs in this country, it turned not too surprisingly -- i voted against nafta -- it turned out to be exactly the opposite. those people who told us how great the agreement was was going to be, were dead wrong. why were they wrong? well for obvious reasons. when you have workers in low-wage countries people who are prepared to work 50 cents an hour a dollar an hour, $2 an hour, it doesn't take a ph.d. in economics to figure out that corporations will shut down in america move to those countries, pay workers pennies an hour, not have to worry about environmental regulations, not have to worry about in some cases, trade unions -- you don't have to worry about that stuff. so what would american corporations do? of course they would go to those countries. that's exactly what they have done scripps -- what they have done. now, i talked a moment ago about nafta. what about permanent normal trade relations with china? i don't think i have to

elaborate on the fact that when americans go shopping they walk into a department store, just look at the labels. look at where the products are manufactured. time after time after time where the products come from is china. china and china. as unbelievable as it may sound madam president, back in 1999 and 2000 we were told -- this is again what we were told -- is that permanent normal trade relations with china would open up the huge chinese market to all kinds of american-made products. the argument was look, china is the largest country in the world and if we could just have an unfettered free trade agreement with them, think about all of the products manufactured in america that would be sold to the huge population in china. that was the argument. i think it is important for the american people to hear what the

supporters of permanent normal trade relations with china free trade with china had to say back then and whether those arguments turned out to be right or not. in other words if we're going to look at t.p.p. today and hear what people are saying now it's important to hear what people said about these other free trade agreements back then. here is what president bill clinton said about pntr with china back in 1999 -- quote -- "in opening the economy of china the agreement will create unprecedented opportunities for american farmers workers and companies to compete successfully in china's market. this is a 100-0 deal for america when it comes to the economic consequences." end of quote president bill clinton. in addition the conservative economists at the cato institute

institute -- very conservative think tank -- this is what they wrote back in 1999 -- and i quote -- "the silliest argument against pntr" -- free trade with china -- "is that chinese imports would overwhelm u.s. industry. in fact, american workers are far more productive than their chinese counterparts. pntr would create far more export opportunities for american than chinese concerns." in other words you had a liberal president, president clinton, saying pntr with china would open up great economic opportunities in america create new jobs raise wages. you had a conservative think tank say exactly the same thing. again, you had all of corporate america, all of wall street, all of the big-money interests saying, "oh, boy what a great opportunity for the united

states we can create all these jobs." well were they right or were they wrong? well, i think everybody -- facts are pretty clear -- they were one again not wrong, they were dead wrong. economic policy institute has estimated that pntr with china has led to the loss -- has led to the net loss of over 2 million american jobs. the trade deficit with china has increased from $83 billion back in 2001 to a record-breaking $342 billion in 2014. i note that my republican colleagues often talk about our national deficit which is an important issue. i don't hear much discussion about our huge trade deficit especially with china which is now at $342 billion in 2014 scripps --

in 2014. mr. president, after all of the talk on the floor of the senate and the floor of the house after all of the editorials written in the major newspapers throughout our country after all of the discussion and exposition of big-money interests of wall street, it turns out that the trade agreement with china was an unmitigated disaster for american workers. pntr was passed in the year 2000 a couple of years later -- and kind of tells you everything you need to know about unfettered free trade jeffrey inmelt, the c.e.o. of general electric i can -- -- general electric -- one of our large corporations -- was quoted on this subject in an investor meeting just one year after china was admitted to the world trade organization, and this is what mr. inmelt said --

and i quote -- "when i am talking to g.e. managers, i talk china, china china china china. you need to be there. you need to change the way people talk about it and how they get there. i am a nut on china. outsourcing from china is going to grow to $5 billion. we are building a tech center in china. every discussion today has the center on china. the cost basis is extremely attractive. you can take an 18-cubic-foot refrigerator, make it in china land it in the united states and land it for less than we can make an 18-cubic-foot refridge rarity today ourselves -- refrigerator today ourselves." what mr. inmelt is saying is what virtually every major corporation c.e.o. was thinking. and, again it's not hard to understand why. in china wages are very, very low. environmental regulations are almost nonexistent.

hard to find a free trade union to negotiate for their workers. why wouldn't a company shut down in america and run to china? and that is exactly, of course, what they have done scripps -- what they have done. madam president, before pntr with china passed, the u.s. chamber of commerce told it would create jobs. but just a few years later on july 1 2004, the associated press ran an article with the headline -- quote -- "chamber of commerce leader advocates offshoring of jobs." and here is what the article stated. "u.s. chamber of commerce president and c.e.o., thomas donahue" -- who by the yesterday was before the senate finance committee advocating for the trans-pacific partnership. this is what the a.p. article said back in 2004, that mr. donahue "urged american

companies to send jobs overseas as the way to boost american competitiveness. donahue said that exporting high-paid tech jobs to low-cost countries such as india china and russia, saves company money." so the dirty secret is that of course these guys like these free trade agreements, not because they're going to create jobs in america. no one seriously believes that scripps -- believes that. when they're honest about it, they understand and they say that if companies move abroad, shut down plants in america throw millions of people on to the streets in this country that when they do that, their profits are going to go up. and they are right. i give them credit for that. that is right. and that is what unfettered free trade has meant in this country. and on and on it goes. it is not just mr. inmelt, the head of general electric. it is not just mr. donahue, the head of the chamber of commerce. it is major corporation after

major corporation. it is wall street. it is all of the moneyed interests. before the agreement they tell us as part of the discussion, oh they tell us how many good jobs nafta's going to create, how many good jobs free trade with china will create, how many good jobs the korean trade agreement will create. after the agreement the word comes out hey, this is a great opportunity; shut down in america, go ahead pay people pennies an hour, bring your products back into this country. mr. president, in -- madam president, in 2011, we were told that we just had to pass the south korea free trade agreement because of all the jobs it would create. same argument. another free trade agreement it's going to be great for the american worker. u.s. chamber of commerce told us that this free trade agreement could create some 280,000 jobs in america. instead, the korean free trade agreement has led to the loss of

some 60,000 jobs and out trade deficit with our country has gone up from $16.6 billion in 2012 to $25 billion in 2014 r. and now madam president the administration, wall street, the largest corporations in this country now they say trust us. forget about everything we said about all these other trade agreements. yeah, maybe we were wrong on nafta. maybe we were wrong on cafta. maybe we were wrong on the chinese free trade agreement. maybe we were wrong on the korean trade agreement. but trust us, on the trans-pacific partnership it's different. this one really, really, really, cross our fingers this one really is is going to be -- this one really is going to be different. this one will support, they say some 650,000 american jobs.

you know, madam president, it is one thing to be fooled once. it is another thing to be fooled twice. it is another thing to be fooled three times. but there comes a point where the american people are catching on that one of the reasons why the middle class of this country is disappearing, one of the reasons why most or many of the new jobs being created are low-wage and part-time one of the reasons why real inflation accounted-for wages for american workers has plummeted is because of these disastrous free trade agreements. so you could fool me once, you could fool me twice. maybe i'm dumb and you can fool me three times. but there does come a limit to how many times you think you can fool the american people.

madam president, when we talk about why the middle class of this country has been in decline for the last 40 years one of the important reasons is that since 2001, we have lost nearly nearly60,000 factories in this country. over that same time period, we have lost over 4.7 million manufacturing jobs milosevic -- manufacturing jobs. in 1970, 25% of jobs in the united states were manufacturing jobs. today that number is just 9%. in january of 2001, there was 17.1 million manufacturing workers in this country. today there are only 12.3 million manufacturing workers. in my small state of vermont, we

have lost 34% of our manufacturing jobs over the past 14 years. in january of 2001, vermont had 47,000 factory jobs. last february it was down to 30,700, and that is true for virtually every state in this country. now, why is this significant? it is significant because historically manufacturing jobs paid the highest wages available to blue-collar workers. if you had a job in a manufacturing plant if you had a union the likelihood was that you would earn decent wages have decent benefits and you can actually support your family. you earn the wages that enable you to take good care of your family. but with the decline of manufacturing, what has happened is we have seen a huge increase in service industry jobs --

mcdonald's wal-mart -- where wages are low benefits are nil and american workers who work there are having a hard time surviving economically. manufacturing goes down, people lose their jobs, and wages go down and new jobs will be created which pay significantly less than the jobs that people used to have. madam president, the fact of the matter is that t.p.p. is just a new and easy way for corporations to shift jobs overseas and force americans to compete with low-wage workers in vietnam and other countries and let us be clear and understand this. the minimum wage in vietnam is 56 cents an hour. 56 cents an hour. and what this trade agreement says to american workers is you are now competing against people

who in some cases will be working for 56 cents an hour. i think that that is grossly unfair. we should not force american workers into a race to the bottom. but, madam president let's be clear. the t.p.p. is much more than a free trade agreement. it is part of a global race to the bottom to boost the profits of large multinational corporations and wall street by outsourcing jobs, undercutting worker rights, dismantling labor, environmental health, food safety, and financial laws and allowing corporations to challenge our laws in international tribunals rather than our own court system. the t.p.p. is poised to be the largest free trade agreement in history encompassing 12

nations that account for roughly 40% of the global economy. that is why it has been referred to as nafta on steroids. incredibly, while wall street, the pharmaceutical industry, and major media companies have full knowledge as to what is in this treaty, the american people and members of congress do not. they have been locked out of the process. while the full text of the t.p.p. has not been made public there have been some leaks of what is included smith and -- in it and what i have seen is very disturbing. it has been estimated by outside experts that the u.s. would lose more than 130,000 jobs to vietnam and japan alone if the t.p.p. goes into effect. but that is just the tip of the iceberg. at a time when corporations have

already outsourced over three million service sector jobs in the u.s., the t.p.p. includes rules that will make it even easier for corporate america to outsource call centers computer programming engineering, accounting, and medical diagnostic jobs. so this is not just manufacturing jobs. there are all kinds of other jobs which if they can be done cheaper in other countries those jobs will be sent there. under t.p.p., vietnamese companies would be able to compete with american companies for federal contracts funded by u.s. taxpayers. undermining buy american laws. the t.p.p. would undermine u.s. sovereignty by giving foreign corporations the right to challenge any law in this country that threatens their

expected future profits before international tribunals. in other words if we pass an increase in the minimum wage, under the t.p.p. vietnamese companies that invest in america could sue the united states in an international court full of corporate lawyers if they believe it would hurt their profits. and, by the way, that is what this whole agreement is about. to maximize the investment profits of corporations from the united states and all over the world. and if localities, local governments, state governments, federal governments, stand up and say you know what, we want to protect health, we want to protect the environment if that impinges on -- impinges on the future profits of a corporation, they can take legal action against that local, state or federal entity.

this may sound kind of crazy but that is exactly what has already happened in egypt after it signed a free trade agreement with france. in 2012, a french utility company sued egypt in an international tribunal, they sued them for $82 million -- 82 million euros and what was egypt's crime? what they are they being sued for? they were being sued because they had increased their minimum wage, among other things. and the french company saw raising the minimum wage for egyptian workers which is very very low was an inpingment on their ability to make profits. further, big pharmaceutical companies, these large pharmaceutical companies are working hard to ensure that the

t.p.p. extends the monopolies for their prescription drugs by extending patents that already can last for 20 years or more. doctors without borders which is an heroic organization of doctors who go to some of the most difficult the poorest of the -- the most dangerous parts of this world to treat people who desperately need medical care. very brave people. they have written -- and i quote -- "the t.p.p. agreement is on track to become the most harmful trait pact ever for access to medicines in the developing countries" -- end of quote. in other words what the big pharmaceutical industry wants is for countries all over the world to have to pay top dollar for prescription drugs. they want to be able to maintain their patents for as long as possible and prevent those drugs

going generic where the prices would be significantly lower. the problem is in poor countries people cannot pay a whole lot of money for their prescription drugs. so if this agreement goes through, and the pharmaceutical industry can force poor countries to pay high prices for prescription drugs it mines that people will suffer and people will die. madam president, i think after one disastrous trade agreement after another, it is time for the american people and their elected officials to reassess how we do trade in america. it is time to say that we need trade agreements that work for working people in this country and not just trade agreements that work for the c.e.o.'s of large multinational corporations. it is time to say to corporate america if you want us to

purchase your your products, it is time you started manufacturing those products here in the united states and not in low wage countries all -- low wage countries all over the world. madam president, the evidence is overwhelming. our trade policies for decades have been responsible for lowering the standard of living of tens of millions of americans. people today all over this country are working longer hours for lower wages. most of the new jobs being created are low-wage jobs. many of them are part-time jobs. we need to rebuild our manufacturing sector, and to do that we need a fundamental revision in our trade policies. nafta has failed, cafta has failed permanent normal trade relations with china has

failed korean trade agreement has failed, and it is basically insane to keep going with the same type of trade policy that has failed and failed and failed. and i hope very much that here in the senate and here in the house we can defeat this trade agreement, this t.p.p., and come back to the table and develop a trade agreement that works for american workers works for people all over the world, and not continue these disastrous trade agreements. and with that, madam president i would yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from montana.

mr. daines: i'm glad the senate today will take the long overdue step and approve the justice for victims of trafficking act. it's bipartisan legislation i am proud to be a cosponsor of that will help victims of human trafficking. montanans know firsthand the immeasurable damage that human trafficking has inflicted on our communities, on our schools and most of all the victims of these horrific crimes. we also know the importance of coming together to support the victims of this modern-day slavery. too often victims of human trafficking are underserved and they fail to get the resources they so desperately need. this important bill will provide our law enforcement officials and the communities with the necessary tools to help lift these innocent victims out of the shadows. montanans understand the importance of cracking down on the perpetrators of these crimes and ensuring that we are serving

as an advocate for victims without letting partisan politics get in the way. i strongly urge all of my colleagues to come together today and do what is right for the victims of human trafficking and pass the justice for victims of trafficking act. thank you and i yield the floor. madam president? i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: mr. nelson: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: madam president i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: madam president our nation's airports have not been secure. we were rudely awakened to that fact last december when it was discovered that for a several-month period at the atlanta airport employees of the airport one in particular,

since there was limited if any screening of airport employees coming onto the airport had concocted a scheme with another fellow to transport guns to new york where they were sold on the streets of brooklyn. the police couldn't figure out how in the world they were getting these guns to new york because they kept watching the roads. well, it was in plain sight because what they were using was the defects in airport security. if you can believe this, to bring guns onto the atlanta airport then once on the airport, the airport employee would go up to the sterile

passenger area where he would meet in the rest room a passenger who had come through security with an empty backpack and transfer the guns that he had brought onto the airport property to the passenger who then would take them on a flight to new york, from atlanta to new york. this went on for several months. this passenger carried even a caribbean -- a carbine and when he was arrested in december, he had 16 handguns in his backpack on the airplane. now, madam president it's a good thing these guys were criminals and not terrorists because you can imagine this is exactly what we're trying to be prevent, weapons getting on airplanes. well interestingly when i got

into this from the position of having the privilege of being the ranking member of the commerce committee where we had the jurisdiction over aviation lo and behold what i discovered in my own state two airports had already solved the problem by increasing security similar security that we as passengers go through similar security for all airport employees. and the first one to do this was miami international airport back way back in 1999 after they had discovered a drug smuggling ring, and instead of having hundreds of entry points into the airport for employees

instead what they had was boiled down to a handful where in fact they would have the screening of the employee. it was then inaugurated by the orlando international airport after 2007 when they discovered a drug smuggling ring and orlando has boiled it down to about five entry points for airline employees. i went through those entry points at both orlando and miami, and it is not only what we go through as passengers but they also have the double check that the person is who they say they are because they've got their badge the airport employee checks the photograph

on the badge with the person. they swipe the card, and in the case of the orlando airport they also have to punch in an identification number. that seems to have solved the problem at those two huge airports orlando and miami. but what about the other 448 commercial airports in the united states? are they going to be the victims or are we, the american traveling public, going to be the victims like they were in atlanta? well in this age of terrorism we can't afford any of those mistakes. so we have been after the department of homeland security and t.s.a. to start changing

this and the department of homeland security secretary just announced that they will take immediate steps to increase the screening of airport employees across the country because they have indeed understood that this is a problem. they're going to have a comprehensive review. now, they're not saying that they are going to require what orlando and miami do, but at the end of the day they're going to have to end up doing that. you've got to simplify the system by boiling down the hundreds of entry points to just a few and then you've got to put up your screening devices similar to the ones that

passengers go in to go into a sterile environment. i'm very grateful to secretary johnson for him calling on t.s.a. to start this immediate inquiry and to have some action. i hope that the increased attention to this matter now will get airports and airport employees more highly sensitized to what had been such a breach at the atlanta airport and if we can do this, then it's another measure that we can take to make sure that the public is traveling safely. madam president, i yield the floor and i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: in 1941 at an address delivered in honor of the canadian prime minister, winston churchill declared canada is the linchpin of the english speaking world. as with most things churchill was able to see deeper truths and recognized canada for what it really is. today i want to recognize the close and vital relationship between the united states and canada, our great neighbor to the north. canada is a critical partner to both america and arkansas. we ought to find every way to strengthen our relationship and avoid every possible trouble on the horizon. the bond between the u.s. and canada starts with our common heritage and common way of life, individual rights, constitutional democracy the rule of law open markets and the defense of freedom around the world. canada has stood for the united states in our toughest hours to

defend our common way of life. canadian troops fought alongside our g.i.'s on juneau beach. after the 9/11 attacks canada was one of the first countries to join our campaign in afghanistan where 158 canadians dried on the battlefield. as with our own soldiers we honor their ultimate sacrifice and entrust their families to the tender care of a loving providence. canada has also been a willing partner and many other security and humanitarian operations around the globe including libya, haiti and the nato-led stabilization force in bosnia-herzegovina in the 1990's. moreover canada is part of the five i's intelligence partnership which has roots in world war ii. this partnership is vital to our national security helping, for example, to disrupt a 2013 al qaeda-associated plot to derail a plan traveling between new york and canada.

if successful this attack could have killed dozens perhaps even hundreds. canada and the united states also share the world's longest border and the world's longest peaceful border. over 300,000 people cross our shared border every day by every mode of transport. americans too often forget ours is the most secure and mutually beneficial international relationship among nations. taking for granted our peaceful partner to the north. our success as the global super power and our ability to protect our interests and global stability depends on a peaceful and productive relationship with canada. without it, the new world would not be able to project power into the old. and our relationship with canada is indeed productive as canada has remained our best and most important trading partner. last year $759 billion in goods and services moved between canada and the u.s. to put that in perspective canada purchased more goods from the united states than did all

28 members of the european union combined and two and a half more times than did china. these purchases included everything from raw materials to paper produced in ash down and instruction hardware manufactured in blytheville. canada is the largest supplier of energy to the united states. in january in fact, the u.s. imported more oil from canada than all opec countries combined. and canada produces 97% of all u.s. natural gas imports. of course these numbers could be even greater if president obama would finally approve the expiept -- the key it -- the keystone pipeline. arkansas has benefited immensely from our close ties to canada. agricultural products, iron and steel produced in arc saul factories and countless other products manufactured in the natural state find their way to friends in the north providing

arkansans with good customers and good jobs. canada is arkansas' number one foreign customer and 66,000 arkansas jobs depend on u.s.-canada trade and investment which totals $2.3 billion every year. some of arkansas' most recognizable names reflect arkansas-canada ties. murphy oil has operated in canada for over 60 years producing oil and natural gas through states and several projects off the coast of newfoundland and alberta. wal-mart has had a strong presence in canada for over 20 years. today they employ over 90,000 canadians. tyson and skip parliamentaryp -- and skippy peanut butter are two more.

given these long-standing and warm ties to canada, my team and i have worked closely with the canadian embassy during my time in congress to promote and strengthen our relationship. unfortunately the obama administration at times has impeded it. the keystone pipeline is not just good for american jobs but also a critical project for canada's economy. yet president obama dismissed it as mere canadian oil from canadian companies cavalier comments that minimized the pipeline's benefits for american workers while manifesting a casual disregard for our close allies interests. now we're seeing this neglect again with country of origin labeling process for meat products which threaten to disrupt trade between our countries. these cool regulations needlessly require different labeling for products born, raised or slaughtered in either

countries. today the cattle must be separate from those born and raised in the u.s. or to maintain extensive records on where each head of cattle came from. these regulations burden canadian producers while violating treaty obligations yet deliver little value to consumers. yet despite multiple adverse rulings from the world trade organization the administration continues to pursue appeals a process expected to end next month. as a result of these trade barriers and w.t.o. rulings canada may be forced to impose reciprocal trade barriers on american products. unfortunately, products already targeted for trade barriers include arkansas rice, poultry grains and beef. if the administration does not relent nearly $130 million in arkansas agricultural trade with canada will be threatened. more than half our state's annual total. we should put a stop now to this trade dispute that no one

intended and no one wants. i stand ready to work with my fellow senators and the administration to modify the labeling requirements at the earliest opportunity following a final ruling. it will be good for arkansas' farmers and ranchers, good for american consumers and good for the health of the u.s.-canada partnership. let's work together, fix this problem, protect american jobs and help our neighbor to the north remain our linchpin in the world. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: we have commemorated national crime victims' rights week every april since 1981. this year it takes place from april 19 through april 25. this week is dedicated to remembering victims of crime building awareness and advocating for victims' rights. it is also an opportunity to pay tribute to the millions of

americans and thousands of iowans who fall victim to senseless acts of crime each year. on monday i introduced a bipartisan resolution commemorating national crime victims' rights week, and i'm happy that my colleagues have joined me by unanimously passing this resolution this very morning. the theme for this week, engaging communities: empowering victims, recognizes the importance of offering the support necessary to help crime survivors deal. during this week we also remember the contributions of the countless crisis hotline volunteers and staff victim rights attorneys medical professionals and emergency responders who provide critical assistance to survivors of crime every hour, each day in

communities around the united states. the judiciary committee has worked to strengthen federal laws and direct resources to efforts to prevent crime to prevent crime from occurring in the first the very first place. and although we still have a way to go to ensure that all crime survivors are treated with appropriate fairness and the proper respect in the criminal justice system, i'm proud that we have made important strides towards that goal. an important issue for many crime victims is restitution. it is an issue that would be addressed by the amy and vicky child pornography victim restitution improvement act a bill introduced by senator hatch that has my strong support. the judiciary committee of

which i serve as chairman, reported this bill february 5. if enacted the measure which passed the full senate by a vote of 98-0 on february 11, would reverse a supreme court decision that limits the amount of restitution that victims of child pornography can recover from any one perpetrator. it would ensure that victims can receive -- recover a minimum amount of damages for certain child pornography offenses, and it also would make any single perpetrator potentially responsible for the full damages that result from an offense involving multiple perpetrators. americans also deserve to know that we're doing everything possible to prevent sexual

assault especially in our most acclaimed institutions of society, including college campuses and, of course, our military. in fact, a zero-tolerance policy needs to be set at the highest levels of the federal government. take, for example the lack of accountability within some of our nation's federal law enforcement entities. in the last few years a string of sex scandals involving prostitutes being solicited by public servants working for the f.b.i. the secret service and most recently the drug enforcement administration, reflecting an embarrassment embarrassing lack of ethics and moral code of conduct by federal agents hired to flesh out illicit criminal activity at home and abroad. it should go without saying that

this type of conduct by federal law enforcement personnel both on and off the clock cannot and hopefully will not be tolerated. this behavior telegraphs the wrong message about acceptable sexual conduct to society and contributes to the demand for the human sex trade around the world. i supported the enactment of the trafficking victims protection act of 2000, and earlier this year i chaired a senate judiciary committee hearing on human trafficking where witnesses discussed the consequences of sex trafficking for both child and adult victims. the witnesses at this hearing which took place february 24, also testified in support of several measures that would help

us further combat the various forms of human trafficking in our country. one of these measures is the justice for victims of trafficking act, which is now pending on the senate floor and which i am a cosponsor of. it is vitally important that we pass this legislation, which would authorize much-needed services to victims of child pornography as well as labor and sex trafficking. the bill also equips law enforcement with new tools for prosecuting human trafficking offenses and recognizes that the production of child pornography is a form of human trafficking. also earlier this year, i introduced the combating human trafficking act. among other things, the bill would clarify that federal grant resources can be used to meet the housing needs of human

trafficking victims and offer training on the effects of such trafficking to those who offer services to runaways, the homeless, and at-risk youth. i led the judiciary committee in supporting the inclusion of this legislation as an amendment to the justice for victims of trafficking act during committee consideration of that bill. the committee accepted the measure by voice vote february 26. the committee reported the bill to the senate floor by a vote of 19-0. i am grateful that we have been able to reach an agreement that will finally allow a vote on this very important legislation and i look forward to casting my vote in support of the bill. our next challenge should be to address the two broken systems of justice found on our college campuses and within our military institutions.

first, flawed reporting system on college campuses requires a stronger set of tools that would help survivors of sexual assault and also protect the rights of the accused. that's why i have cosponsored the campus accountability and safety act with senator mccaskill. it would establish new campus resources and support services for students, including first a requirement that college designate a confidential advisor for survivors of sexual violence. secondly new transparency and reporting requirements. third, coordination between colleges and local law enforcement. and, lastly, protections for due process rights of survivors and the accused it would also increase financial penalties for colleges found not in compliance

with the new standards. cases of sexual assault which too often go unreported on college campuses and in our own communities require sustained collective attention by policy-makers. -- law enforcement advocates and survivors. every student who heads off to college campus in america deserves to know that there is a system in place to secure justice and due process for the victim and for the accused. likewise every young man and woman who serves his or her country in uniform deserves to know that sexual assault is in fact a crime and will be treated and prosecuted as such. in the last congress, i cosponsored the bipartisan military justice improvement act with senator gillibrand. the bill would empower enlisted

soldiers and sailors to come forward and report a sexual crime. it would create an independent system of justice within the ranks of the military. it would remove the chain of command from prosecutorial discretion regarding sexual assault. the fear of retaillation and -- retaliation and the fear of retribution in the military has been a reality for too many survivors of sexual assault. the current system has created an environment that emboldens predators instead of empowering victims. barring access to fair and impartial justice pours salt in the wounds of those who have suffered immeasurable indignity and harm while sesqui their country in -- while serving their country in uniform. i will continue working to advance bipartisan measures through congress to send a clear message, and that clear message is simple:

sexual assault is a crime. the sooner our culture and systems of justice on college campuses and in the nation's military work towards -- together to deter prosecute sexual violence, the safer our society will be for america's sons and daughters growing up in the 21st century. so in closing crime victims and survivors in the united states deserve our assistance in helping them cope with the often devastating consequences of crime. that is why it is so important that we support the mission and goals of the national crime victims' rights week. mr. president, i thank my colleagues for joining me in supporting the passage of this resolution. mr. president, for the leader, i ask consent to set aside the

pending amendment in order to call up amendment number 273 with the changes that are at the desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from iowa mr. grassley, for mr. kirk proposes amendment numbered 273 as modified. mr. grassley: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from arizona. mr. flake: i'm pleased to be able to speak in support of my amendment, number 294, to the justice for victims of trafficking act. this -- it's important as part of our duties as stewards of the taxpayers' money to ensure that the government is running as efficiently as possible. this amendment simply requires

the g.a.o., the government accountability office, to study the programs and initiatives affected by this bill and those that are related to services for trafficking victims and other victim services. in particular, the amendment directs g.a.o. to look for duplication and overlap and requires them to issue a report to congress describing how the costs associated with them and to make recommendations on how to achieve cost savings. i do support this legislation. i voted for when it was considered by the judiciary committee but it is incumbent on us to make sure that other programs that are affected by this legislation are studied to make sure we don't have duplication and that we don't have other programs that are doing the same thing. we need to make sure that we are good stewards of the taxpayer money. the g.a.o. has considerable experience of this kind to do this kind of analysis and i

look forward to having support nor thisfor this amendment. i believe it will be considered coming up. i ask for my colleagues to support it. thank you. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: mr. president i come to the senate floor to ask my colleagues and thank them for their support for what's the first amendment klobuchar number 296. i understand it is going to be by voice vote, but it is something that i worked on for a long time. i know -- everyone has put a lot of effort in this bill. certainly senator cornyn and i have. and we are really pleased that it's moving forward and want to thank all of our colleagues for their work. this afternoon we'll be considering a number of important amendments, and as i

mentioned, one is the safe harbor legislation. i think we have 26 cosponsors on the bill, and let's first get to why we're doing this bill. the united nations considers human trafficking to be one of the three largest criminal enterprises in the world. the first is illegal trafficking of drugs the second is illegal trafficking of guns, and the third is illegal trafficking of humans. and it is not just something as we know, that's happening in faraway lands. it happens in our own backyard. it happens to 12-year-olds in my own state. senator heitkamp, who is here with us, knows it happens in the oil patches of north dakota. that is why this bill, this amendment number 296, which passed as a bill unanimously through the judiciary committee is so important. it is about treating the youth the children that are victims of these crimes, as victims because that is what they are.

in many states around the country right now these kids can still be prosecuted. in a state like mine, the state of minnesota, we have in place a safe harbor law that is very effective. it gives the children the services that they need, whenl it--whether it is protection, whether it is housing medical care that they need. on the other hand, if you just prosecute these kids, you actually think they're going to turn against the person running the sex ring? no they're going to go right back into the hands of the person that they were with, the perpetrator, to begin w and in our state we've had a lot of success with this. we have one of the longest sentences ever -- 40 years against someone who was running a sex ring, because we give help to the victims of the crime. there are 20 colleagues who are cosponsored the bill. it has been an honor to work with the u.s. ambassador to the

united nations with cindy mccain wife of senator mccain, senator heitkamp, and cindy mccain and i went down to mexico to talk about them about going after these cases. and the amendment has the support of the national center for missing and exploited children the fraternal order of police shared hope international, and the national alliance to end sexual violence. as i said, this bill simply -- this amendment sumly creates an -- simply creates an in my view for states across states -- simply creates an incentive for states across the country. the house already passed a similar bill under the leadership of eric paulson, one of the congressmen from minnesota. secondly, in addition to creating these incentives for these states to enact the safe harbor laws, the bill also creates a national strategy to combat human trafficking. the national strategy will

encourage cooperation and coordination among all the agencies who work on this problem, federal, state, tribal, and local and that is a major part of the bill, and we're excited -- that wasn't in the house bill. we think it's very important. the bill also gives sex trafficking victims the right support they need. it qualifies them for job-training programs. the bill allows victims to participate in the job corps program, to help them get back on their feet. and i was also pleased -- senator cornyn and i -- he is the lead republican on this amendment -- we were pleased to include a provision that senators whitehouse and sessions were working on to include the u.s. marshal service's assistance in locating missing children. incentives for the safe harbor laws that we've already been seeing in 15 states. we've seen an increase in these kinds of crimes. qualifying victims for

job-training programs and then finally the provision to make it easier for the u.s. marshal service to assist local law enforcement. that was included in this amendment, came through the committee. i just want to end by telling what you this is about. it is about a 12-year-old girl in rochester who got a text. the text said she was invited to a party. the text said meet me in a parking lot. then she got raped in a man sold on craig's list, sold for sex. raped by two other men. finally, the guy that did this -- weeks later they were able to find him. he has been prosecuted -- he's being prosecuted federally. that's what this is about. these are serious crimes. the average age of a a victim is 12 years old. again, i want to thank senator correspondent nun for his work. we have -- again i want to thank senator cornyn for his work. we have worked together on this

bill. this has been a lot of work for the last month but i am so pleased. i see the senator from maine is also here, who has been such a leader in this area. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you mr. president. mr. president, first let me commend senator cornyn and senator klobuchar for the work that they have done on this antitrafficking bill. this is in fact a horrendous crime. just a few months ago in my home state in bangor a couple was arrested for allegedly trafficking a 13-year-old girl. that's what we're talking about mr. president. and that's why this legislation is so important. i'm proud to be a cosponsor of the bill and commend senator

cornyn and senator klobuchar and others for working so hard on it. mr. president, the antitrafficking bill deals with the law enforcement piece of this horrendous problem but we also need to pay attention to prevention programs, and that is why this afternoon we will vote on a proposal that senator leahy and i along with senator heitkamp ayotte, murkowski and baldwin have put forth to reauthorize the runaway and homeless youth act programs which otherwise -- which already have expired. they expired in 2013. these are absolutely critical programs to preventing homeless

youth and runaway youth from ending up in the hands of sex traffickers. the runaway and homeless youth programs are comprised of three programs: the street outreach program, the basic center program, and the transitional living program. they have helped thousands of our homeless youth meet their immediate needs and provided long-term residential services for those who sadly cannot be reunited with their families. the amendment that we are operating complements the underlying bill by addressing prevention intervention and recovery services for trafficking victims particularly among the most

vulnerable population: our homeless youth. according to a 2013 report by the institute of medicine and the national resource council homelessness is one of the most common risk factors for sex trafficking. without access to food, shelter and social supports, homeless young people often turn to what is termed survival sex. that is a way to trade sex for a place to sleep for food, and for other basic necessities. another recent report found that one in four homeless youth are victims of sex trafficking or engage in survival sex. our amendment strengthens the existing programs by ensuring that service providers know how to identify trafficking victims

and give these youth the support that they need. in many cases these services can prevent these homeless and runaway youth from becoming victims in the first place. in maine our homeless shelters are critical partners in the fight to end human trafficking. in portland, for example the prebel street resource center used runaway and homeless youth resources to connect youth who need food, shelter and educational support. the prebel street antitrafficking coalition is currently helping approximately 50 trafficking victims whose ages range from 14 to 42. they enable them to start new lives. new beginnings is a great program in lewiston, maine.

the shaw house in bangor, maine are other organizations that have successfully leveraged federal grants from the runaway and homeless youth programs to provide shelter and services to homeless youth in my state. with this kind of support young people can make their way off the street and away from criminals who will exploit them at a time when they are at their most vulnerable. mr. president, there are more than 1.6 million homeless teens in our country a truly astonishing number. and a growing number of these homeless youth identify themselves as lgbt. it is estimated that up to 40% of runaway or homeless youth are

lgbt. some of them have been kicked out of their own homes. others have felt that there's been no place for them in their community. our amendment would help ensure that those seeking services through these federally funded programs are not denied assistance based on their race, color, religion, national origin sex sexual orientation gender identity or disability. all homeless young people need access to safe beds at night and services during the day so that they never have to choose between selling their bodies and a safe place to sleep. i would like to thank senator leahy and senator heitkamp for being so passionate about this issue, and they have worked with me to incorporate important

feedback into our amendment particularly from faith-based organizations. in fact, mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of my remarks be printed a letter that i have from numerous faith-based organizations endorsing our amendment. these organization -- the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you mr. president. these organizations represent millions of people in all 50 states and they urge us to pass our legislation with that nondiscrimination clause intact. they include, for example covenant house international the evangelical lutheran church of america the interfaith alliance the national council of jewish women the

metropolitan community churches, the methodist foundation for social action, the united church of christ justice and witness ministries and many others that are backing our amendment. we clarify that providers can still provide and offer sex-specific shelters and programming. by that, i mean all-girls shelters or all-boys' shelters. the nondiscrimination clause is modeled, it's virtually identical to a provision enacted into law during the last congress through the bipartisan violence against women act and nothing, nothing in our amendment alters the ability of faith-based providers to give preference in hiring people of their same faith.

mr. president, the stand-alone bill on which our amendment is based was reported out of the judiciary committee last congress by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 15-3. it has the support of nearly 270 organizations, including as i mentioned, many faith-based providers that serve homeless youth, service other service providers, antitrafficking groups all strongly support the reauthorization of these prevention and intervention and treatment programs. our health care workers in maine are also tremendous partners in helping to address trafficking crimes and their victims. st. joseph hospital in bangor has educated its clinicians to identify the signs of human

trafficking among their patients. mr. president, congress must do more both to provide law enforcement with the tools that it needs to pursue sex trafficking, but we cannot forget those prevention and intervention programs that are provided by the runaway and homeless youth programs. by giving homeless youth the support and the services that they need, we can help prevent them from becoming trafficked in the first place. these programs have provided lifesaving services and housing for america's homeless and runaway youth for 40 years and they are vital in addressing this serious problem. i urge my colleagues to support the amendment that senator leahy

and i senator heitkamp, senator ayotte senator murkowski and senator baldwin are offering today. it is so important mr. president. and again, i want to especially thank senator heitkamp for all of her advocacy. she has done tremendous work, and i am very happy to yield the floor to her. thank you mr. president. ms. heitkamp: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. ms. heitkamp: i want to add my voice to all of the accolades that have been expressed today to senator cornyn and senator klobuchar for giving a voice to the most -- the victims of the most horrific crime that occurs in our country, and those are the victims of human trafficking. without their hard work, without their advocacy, we would not be debating this on the floor of

the united states senate. and so it is, it is so important to acknowledge that work and to advance the cause by working together. today i want to speak to amendment 290 which is the collins-leahy runaway and homeless youth amendment. and i want to thank senator collins and senator leahy for being such fierce advocates for runaway and homeless youth. i have had years of experience working with victims and vulnerable youth and i can tell you based on this experience, this amendment is the most critical piece that we are considering today to truly address prevention and early intervention for a population that is the most susceptible to being trafficked, and that is the population of runaway and homeless youth. it is a story i believe that's too often told. it's a story of a runaway and

homeless youth engaging in survival sex being coerced into criminal activity by people offering nothing more than a roof over their head or maybe even a meal. since 1995, north dakota has received $11.5 million in this very critical and important prevention program. how many of these children have we rescued from a life of despair? we will never know, but i am certain telling those stories and visiting them in the shelters and in their apartments that are transitory living situations, that they would otherwise be so extraordinarily vulnerable. and i have heard firsthand the stories of these homeless and runaway youth and the stories that you hear literally are heartbreaking. prior physical, mental and sexual abuse. see, these runaway and homeless youth have already been devalued. they've already been told that

they are not worth what other children are worth. they have substance addictions. they have been shunned by their family or communities for who they are and how they identify. they are the most marginalizeed children in our country. last july, a 13-year-old runaway from minneapolis was picked up by her traffickers in the cities and then worked her way across -- she was heading off to the oil patch in western north dakota. she stopped in fargo morehead to make some money, on the way being trafficked by a man who was selling a 13-year-old for sex online through backpages.com. fargo-morehead law enforcement set up a sting and arrested the victim and arrested the trafficker. just two weeks ago another tragic story of a 14-year-old a 14-year-old runaway from las

vegas. parents didn't know where she was. she got mixed up in the wrong crowd. she was put in a car and taken to minot, north dakota. her mother desperate to find her searched through her e-mail records, found a connection to backpage, saw that her daughter was being advertised on backpage in minot, north dakota. called the local authorities. the local authorities were able to rescue her. she was rescued with a 16-year-old and returned to las vegas. she is you now with her mother. the 16-year-old got off the plane and ran got off the plane and ran. no hope for her. no place to run that was welcoming. no mother that searched for her on the internet and found her. as we work through these storks i want you to think about what is the common element the common factor. you will see in these stories of trafficking runaway and homeless youth, runaway and homeless youth, vulnerable, on the

street susceptible to a warm bed, susceptible to a hot meal, susceptible to any kind of love and comfort they can find, toll find out that it -- only to find out that it might be their worst nightmare. and they're trapped and where do they go? where do they go if there's not a program? where do they go if there isn't someone reaching out a hand? so what's become a common, recurring fact of these offenders -- or, these victims is they've been thrown away ar or they're runaways. 40%, we estimate, of these children identify themselves as gay, lesbian transgender or bisexual youth. if we pass an amendment that doesn't have protection for this population, that doesn't have protection for these children, what is the message? the message is a message that's been reinforceed their entire

life, which is that they are not worthy of help, they're not worthy of being treated as all other children. and so this senate will reinforce the recurring message that is so tragically identified and so tragically delivered to these children every day. and i urge my colleagues, i beg my colleagues to please recognize the worth of all children recognize the vulnerability of this population of children. vote with us to support the leahy-collins amendment. it is so critical to sending the right message so critical to giving the right services, but so critical to sending the right message that all children matter and that we in the united states senate do not see or discriminate. what we do is we help provide shelter to the most vulnerable among us. thank you mr. president. i yield the floor back to

senator collins. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president i want to thank the senator from north dakota for her very, very strong statement. you know, we sometimes talk about numbers and this and that. it's when you talk about real cases we understand what we're talking about here. we're going to have two amendments related to preventing human trafficking and runaway and homeless youth. senator cornyn's amendment speaks to this effort, but i don't think it's a meaningful alternative to the exroonive amendment senator -- to the comprehensive amendment senator collins and i will offer. our amendment number 290 has

the support of 30 bipartisan cosponsors who understand that no effort to end human trafficking can be complete without addressing the needs of runaway and homeless youth. in fact, when the senate judiciary committee voted 0en this legislation last -- voted on this legislation last year, it received the vote of almost every single member including senator cornyn. now, you in our hearings and since -- and i've listened to the stories of survivors. some have been in my office. some have been in the offices of other senators who have talked about this. so many of them begin the same way: a homeless or runaway teen, scared desperate for affection and a safe place to sleep especially if you're somewhere in inclement weather. well traffickers know this.

they prey on that desperation. they know there are so very few places these children can turn to. a recent study found that one in four -- think of this -- one in four homeless youth have been victims of sex trafficking or traded sex for survival needs such as food or a place to sleep. just think of this. this is the age of our children or our grandchildren. and this is a human issue. in fact, the study found that 15% of the homeless youth have been solicited for sex by an adult within 48 hours of leaving home. just think of that. half of these homeless kids were solicited for sex by an adult within the first two days of leaving home.

i'm talking about kids 12, 13, 14 years old. they have nowhere to go. but we can at least by this legislation make sure they have a safe place to turn. that's what our amendment does. since senator cornyn's amendment is not a good alternative the amendment i am offering ensures that homeless youth service providers are specifically trained to recognize victims of trafficking address their unique traumas refer them to appropriate caring services, and also lengthens the amount of time they can stay in shelters and receive services. look what happens if they're forced back out of those shelters. how long does it take before traffickers grab them? the amendment includes important

throng encourage family reunification. it allows the young person to find the people they consider family. this is particularly important for runaway children who are often he is stranged from their parents -- who are often es estrvmentstranged from their parents. this language would prevent discrimination against youth based on their race, their color, their religion, their national origin, their sex their gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. it's almost identical to a provision contained in the bipartisan violence against women reauthorization act of 2013. that passed the senate with 78 votes. it passed the republican-controlled house overwhelmingly and was signed

into law. now, we may not like to think about this, but the reason this language is particularly important is because a growing number of these homeless and runaway youth are identified as lgbt. many sadly, have been thrown out of their homes precisely for that reason. they've been rejected by their parents. no child should face that kind of isolation rejection no matter what. i'm a parent. i am he a grandparent. i find that heartbreaking. i cannot imagine any child of mine or grand grandchild of mining being turn of -- of mine being turned out of their home. we shouldn't allow organizations that take federal funds to turn their back hon these kids, not bus of their race, religion, or who they love. that's why i can't understand why the other amendment had

nondiscrimination protections for these children stripped from the amendment. so i urge all senators to support my bipartisan amendment. i thank senators collins and heitkamp for their steadfast and very strong support. we have to support the efforts of dedicated service providers. they make these programs work. we have to protect these kids. the most important thing is not being in a position the only time we can act arrives after the fact. let's prevent them from being trafficked in the first place. prevention will cost money but it's going to save lives and it's going to prevent the far more costly effects of human trafficking. smart money we ought to be ready to invest in our children. i think we have to include the runaway and homeless youth to the trafficking and prevention act in our efforts to prevent more of our kids from becoming

victims. i've said so many times on this floor -- i almost grow weary of hearing myself say it -- i prosecuted some of the cases involving these. and it was nowhere near the problem back when i was a prosecutor that is it that it is today throughout this country. mr. president, i still have nightmares -- i still have nightmares of what i saw. and this senator hopes that someday that we work hard enough none of us will have those noit mayors. mr. president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president i ask unanimous consent that

proceedings under the call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you mr. president. mr. president, the question really comes down to this: do we want a provider of services to homeless and runaway youth to be able to turn away at the door a 13-year-old girl simply because of her sexual orientation? that's what this comes down to. and i think the answer is no, if that provider is receiving federal funds. it shouldn't matter. and we should be willing to stand up and say that we want to help all youth stay out of the clutches of these truly evil sex traffickers, and that is what

this is about. thank you mr. president. mr. durbin: mr. president? mr. leahy: would the senator yield for a moment? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i ask consent that -- to set aside the pending amendment to call up amendment 290. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: the snr from vermont, mr. leahy foyer himself and proposes amendment number 290. mr. leahy: i ask that further reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president i want to speak briefly in support of the remarks of the senator from maine and the senator from vermont. the cornyn approach on runaway and homeless youth excludes language that would prohibit -- prohibit -- discrimination against the recipients of these services because of their sexual orientation. how can we have reached that point in the united states senate?

haven't we engaged in a national debate that centered on indiana and other states? haven't we decided in america that regardless we are not going to allow discrimination against people because of sexual orientation? sadly, this cornyn amendment excludes language that prohibits discrimination against lgbt youth. and second-degreely to fund the $10 million-a-year program the senator from texas is eliminating a $10 billion health prevention fund that serves 50 states to deal with infectious disease and serious health issues. this is, sadly an effort to attack obamacare and it shouldn't be done in this important legislation. we've wasted four weeks on an extraneous issue. let us stick to the basic issue before us. defeat the cornyn amendment and support the amendment being offered by senator collins and senator leahy. the presiding officer: the snr from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president i'd ask unanimous consent to set aside the pend being amendments and call up my amendment number

1127. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection the the clerk will report. the clerk: mr. cornyn proposes an amendment numbered 1127. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that further reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: if i can just say in the next 30 second or so, that the first amendment we will vote on reauthorizes the runaway and homeless youth act, which is something that we all support which permits treatment of victims of human trafficking without discrimination. it also happens to be paid for something that the leahy amendment is not. and right now most faith-based organizations like catholic charities treat all victims of human trafficking without regard to sexual orientation gender issues and the like, as i'm proud to say they should. but there's nothing -- we've been told that the various faith-based organizations worry that the federal government is basically going to intervene and

tell them who they can hire and what their administration and implementation practices must be. that's why almost uniformly faith-based organizations that would be eligible for the grants to help the victims of human trafficking say that this would render this administration of this joint -- this victims trafficking fund -- legislation unworkable. and so i would ask my colleagues to support the cornyn amendment to vote against the leahy amendment and let's get this done. i yield the floor. mr. durbin: is there time remaining on gate on this amendment? the presiding officer: there is one minute in opposition. mr. durbin: in opposition to the cornyn amendment let me say this -- 40% of the overall