at this time it's my pleasure to yield two minutes to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. holding, a member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina s recognized for two minutes. mr. holding: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in support of h.r. 3610, the stop exploitation through trafficking act. i'd like to thank mr. goodlatte and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. paulsen, for their hard work on this legislation. as we have noted today, sex trafficking of minors is a terrible and unfortunately growing crime. according to the f.b.i., sex trafficing is the third largest criminal enterprise in the world with as many as 300,000 children at risk of being sexually exploited in the united states alone. while i strongly support all efforts to stop this crime, especially those being considered today, it is also parent for congress -- important for congress to foe couns the victims of minor sex trafficking. h.r. 3610 goes exactly to that.

under this legislation, states are incentivized to put in place laws to clearly recognize that minors engaged in prostitution are not criminal bus victims who need to be protected from further trauma. my own state of north carolina is one of a handful of states that has passed similar legislation explicitly recognizing that children involved in prostitution are victims in a modern day form of slavery. h.r. 3610 is an important step toward ensuring this becomes true nationwide. the average age for a girl to enter commercial sex trade is just 12 to 14 years old. for boys it's even younger, just 11 to 13 years old. contrary to what some might think, human trafficking isn't just happening in foreign countries, it's happening right here on u.s. soil, every day, and every hour. that's why congress needs to do everything that it can to protect our children and address this issue. thank you, mr. chairman, and i thank the majority leader for the leadership on this important

issue and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: now it's my pleasure to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from south dakota, mrs. noem. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. noem: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the chairman and our leadership and colleagues for helping move these issues forward. sex trafficing is something i always knew it existed but it wasn't until i learned more about it i realized how often it happens here in the united states and our neighborhoods. as a mom of two daughters and a 12-year-old son, i'm pleased we're voting on these bills today. we're showing that congress won't ignore this horrific problem this legislation is oing to better support survivors. getive -- it gives law phonersment officers more tools to go after the criminals exploiting our chern. these bills can make a

difference for victims trying to get back on their feet. we need to do all we can to put an end to human trafficking. the bills we have here today are just the beginning. we need to talk to parents, teachers, hotel employees, anyone who will listen so that they are aware of what is going on and we can all work together to stop it. i urge my colleagues to pass these bills and call on the senate to do the same. we should not quit. we must continue to fight together to ensure that this evil does not triumph. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, reserves. the gentleman from -- pr scott from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: i have only one speaker remaining myself. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. scott: madam speaker, i yield myself the balance of me time and urge my colleagues to support h.r. 36 10. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. scott: i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 3610 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte. mr. goodlatte: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i join my -- join the gentleman from virginia nurging my colleagues to support this legislation. i want to congratulate congressman -- i'm sorry. congressman paulsen and congresswoman moore for their great work on this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3610 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being present in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is lid on the table. -- is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. goodlatte: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4225, the stop advertising victims of exploitation act of 2014. as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 333, h.r. 4225, a bill to amend title 18, united states code, provide a penalty for knowingly selling advertising that offers certain commercial sex acts. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte. mr. goodlatte: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 4225 currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection, so ord. mr. goodlatte: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: unfortunately work the growth of the internet and smart phones, while the growth of the internet and smart phones has proved to be of great value in many aspects of our lives, it has also been used by criminals to facilitate the commercial exploitation of children and other victims by providing an easy way for pimps or traffickers to market minor sex trafficking victims to potential purchasers who seek to do them harm. with the click of a button individuals can now use websites to advertise, schedule and purchase sexual encounters with minors just like they would use these services to rent a car ored or aeropizza. the save act, introduced by congresswoman wagner from missouri, make aztecny call correction to an existing federal sex trafficking statute, 18 u.s.c. section 1591, to make

clear that the law extends to traffickers who knowingly sell sex with minors and victims of force, fraud, or coercion through advertising as well as to people or entities that knowingly benefit from the sale or distribution of such advertising. while much of the growth in this terrible crime is on the internet, this bill is technology neutral and applies to all advertising of children for sex, regardless of the medium. it is important to note that the bill clarifies the liability for the people or traffickers who place these adds as well as the people and entities that knowingly profit from them. it is also important to note that these advertisements, as with all adds and other speech promoting illegal activity, are not protected speech under the first amendment. furthermore, in order to bring a case against the trafficker under this legislation, the government must prove that the

defendant knew they were advertising and knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that the add involved a minor or -- the ad involved a minor or someone involve through the force, flaud or corruption. however this legislation raises the bar even higher for defendants who, while not directly placing the ads, do knowingly benefit from the placing of advertisement, specifically the bill thrires government to show that these defendants knew the advertisement involved a minor oar coerced adult. regardless -- i'm sorry, reckless disrart is not sufficient. h.r. 4225 clarifies that people who advertise sex trafficking can face criminal liability. under current law, there is the additional possibility of civil liability for defendants who violate the primary sex trafficking statute codified at section 1591. however, under section 230 of the communications decency act,

online publishers of third party advertisements are generally immune from civil liability for such advertisements. h.r. 4225 does nothing to disrupt or modify the immunity already provided by section 230. while this legislation will help put more child traffickers in jail where they belong, this is not a precedent setting bill. congress has regulated advertisements including online advertisements many times. there are hundreds of references to advertising or advertisements in the federal code including in criminal provisions. congress has even explicitly criminalized advertising on the internet. just last year new york a bill co-sponsored by 127 bipartisan members of congress, congress amended the stolen valor act which makes it a crime to quote advertise for sale, end quote, certain fraudulent military medals. during consideration of that

bill which passed the house by a vote of 390-3 and was signed into law, no member raised the concern about the proprietary -- propriety of criminal advertising. surely saving young children from these horrors is no less deserving than fraudulent medals. this legislation simply clarifies and modernizes federal criminal law to keep pace with the evolving trend of exploiting the internet for criminal gain. the bill has support from more than 90 bipartisan co-sponsors and was reported out they have -- out of the judiciary committee by a vote of 24- 3. i want to commend our colleague, congresswoman wagner, for bringing forth this important legislation and i urge my colleagues to support the bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman, mr. scott, from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: i want to support the

bipartisan efforts we are taking today with several bills to enhance our abilities to enhance our ability to prosecute sec trafficking, i must raise concerns about h.r. 4225, the stop advertising victims of exploitation act of 2014, which i can't support in its present form. it has the laudable goal of prosecuting those who knowingly facilitate sex traffic big advertising certain prohibited sex acts, however i must object to the mandatory minimum sentencing provision which is this new offense would trigger under existing statutes. under the sex trafficking statute as amended by this bill a conviction for advertising of sex trafficking would result in a mandatory penalty of 10 to 15 years imprisonment, depending on the age of the victim and other circumstances of the crime. while the acts prohibited by the legislation will usually warrant such long sentences, mandatory minimum sentences are the wrong way to determine punishment under this or any other criminal

statute. regard throfse nature of the circumstances surrounding the offense, the role of the offender in the particular crime, or the history or characteristics of the offenders, h.r. 4225 will require a judge to impose a 10 or 15-year sentence, even if everyone in the case from the arresting officer, the prosecutor, the judge, even the victim, believes that the mandatory minimum would be an unjust sentence for a particular defendant in a case this bill still requires the sentence to be imposed. the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence is particularly troublesome when one considers the possible scope of defendants who could be prosecuted under this bill. notably, the prohibition on advertising does not only apply to the sex trafficker who places the ad but also applies to individuals and entities who facile tit or have a minor role in -- facilitate or have a minor role in publishing the ad or works for an internet website that's involved. those who are employeed by a

venture that benefits from the ad but whose role in thing orny saugs doesn't place them in the chain of command with -- in the organization doesn't place them in the chain of command could therefore be prosecuted under the bill there could be circumstances in which all employees of a communications company, including the receptionist, computer maintenance workers, know that the venture publishes such advertising but chose to look the other way. they should be held liable under the provisions of the bill. but many of them would certainly not warrant a mandatory sentence in those circumstances of 15 years. not all of them. during the judiciary committee's markup of the bill i offered an amendment to remove application of the mandatory minimum provision this new bill and instead a law -- allow a judge to apply an appropriate sentence under the circumstances of the case up to a statutory maximum of life imprisonment. given the complicated nature of

the internet communications networks and other forms of advertising which would be affected by this bill, the role of the judge in evaluating each case is particularly important. long sentences may be appropriate under the facts of a particular case, congress cannot know the facts of every case in advance. removing mandatory minimums while still permitting the lengthy statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment as my amendment would have done, would provide the appropriate spectrum of sentences for culpability and proportionate punishment. mandatory minimum penalties are already a major issue of concern in our criminal justice system and we should not make matters worse by passing a new one with this bill. studies of mandatory minimums have concluded that they fail to reduce crime, they waste the taxpayers' money and they often require judges to impose sentences that simply violate common sense. therefore i'm pleased that the judiciary committee's bipartisan overcriminalization task force is working diligently to assess

our criminal justice -- a federal criminal code and make recommendations for improvements. the penalties including mandatory minimums in the federal code are among the issues the task force will consider. while these issues are under review, we should not be passing new mandatory minimum sentences. in fact, if we ever expect to eliminate mandatory minimums from the code, we must first stop passing new ones. mandatory minimums did not get into the codal at once but one -- -- into the code all at once but one at a time each in a bill that otherwise made good sense. if we are going to stop increasing the number of mandatory minimums we must oppose bills that contain them. while i strongly support the efforts to do more to combat serious problems of sex trafficking by taking steps such as strengthening our laws and providing additional resources for law enforce -- enforcement and victims, i must unfortunately oppose this bill in its current form because it

creates new mandatory minimums which can be expected to require a judge in the future to impose a sentence that violates common sense. i reserve the balance of my time. mr. goodlatte: madam speaker, it's now my pleasure to yield six minutes to the gentlewoman from missouri, the chief sponsor of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from missouri is recognized for six minutes. mrs. wagner: thank you, madam speaker. i thank you, chairman goodlatte, for your wonderful leadership on this issue and so many others. i rise today in support of my bill, h.r. 4225, the stop advertising victims of exploitation, the save act. but i also rise today in support of the good work by my colleagues here in congress on the issue of human trafficking. as a former united states ambassador, i was exposed firsthand to the horrors of human trafficking on an international level. i reported on the devastating

consequences of human trafficking where innocent women and children were dragged into the dark abyss of sex slavery. but never in my darkest moments did i ever think that human trafficking was so rampant right here in the united states of america. madam speaker, the faces behind me are photographs of actual victims of sex trafficking. these young women and children were forced into sexual slavery by ruthless traffickers. madam speaker, right now there are young women being forced into prostitution in virtually every district across the nation. in fact, i was shocked to learn that my own hometown of st. louis, missouri, has been identified as one of the top 20 areas for sex trafficking in the united states. madam speaker, this problem is hiding, hiding in plain sight. however, there is hope. i take hope from the work done

by the law enforcement professionals who are on the front lines every single day protecting our nation's children from those who would seek to exploit them. i take hope from those who work in victim services and their tireless efforts to help survivors recover and heal and forge new lives out of the horrors of sexual enslavement. but most importantly i take hope from all the survivors of this hideous crime. their strength gives us strength, their resolve gives us inspiration and their steadfast commitment to ending sex trafficking gives us the courage to fight. madam speaker, because of the efforts of many individuals and groups, i am happy to report that congress has taken notice of this serious problem. years of work by representative smith and poe and paulsen and congresswoman maloney, my co-chair of the human trafficking task force, amongst so many others have raised

awareness of this issue and have laid the foundation for a ng overdue action, for congress, that they are presently taking. i am grateful that many of my colleagues have held events in their home districts to raise awareness and education of this crime. representatives davis, hudson, roskam, coffman, huizenga and heck have all held human trafficking events in their districts to raise awareness and offer solutions to end sexual assault and human trafficking. i applaud these efforts and look forward to continuing this work for years to come. however, madam speaker, there is much work to be done. as legislators we have an obligation to come together and do something because we can, because we should and because we must. over the last 10 years prostitution has slowly but persistently migrated to an online marketplace. classified services like

backpage.com and others are the vehicles for advertising the victims of the child sex trade to the world. pimps and traffickers blatantly advertise their victims' sexual services with provocative photographs and unsubtle messages complete with per-hour pricing. the traffickers pay websites like backpage to display their messages. these websites accordingly reap enormous profit at the expense of the victims of sex trafficking. revenue from the u.s. online prostitution advertising totaled $45 million just in the year 2013. many of these ads feature children and trafficking victims. this results in thousands of children every year being openly sold for sex on the internet. madam speaker, government intervention is necessary to end facilitation of sex trafficking by websites like backpage and others who

commercially advertise this criminal activity. companies that base their business models off of the profits made by selling sex with children should not be allowed to operate. the save act seems to criminalize this behavior, thereby dramatically reducing the victimization of vulnerable children and women forced into sexual slavery in the u.s. the protections included in the save act apply to two classes of victims, underage children and those who are being forced to engage in commercial sex acts against their will. the offense created by the save act applies to any form of advertisement, online postings, newspaper classifieds, even billboard woobs considered unlawful if the advisor knew it would lead to sex trafficking. madam speaker, there is well established precedent for congress to criminalize the advertising of illegal goods or services including the advertisement of child pornography, weapons of mass

destruction, illegal narcotics and animal fighting. surely, surely the advertisement offering sex with children should also be subject to the same restrictions. the penalties are 15 years to life if the victim, the child victim is younger than 14 years old. 10 years to life if the child victim is 14 to 18 years old. the advertisements of victims is the key link in the human trafficking chain. businesses make millions of dollars every month connecting these pimps with their victims. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. mrs. wagner: i'm worried about the vulnerable youth of our society and i urge my colleagues to support the save act and stop the exploitation and enslavement of women and children. i thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, madam speaker. i yield three minutes to the gentlelady from new hampshire, mrs. custer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new hampshire is recognized for three minutes. ms. kuster: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, representative wagner, for your friendship and leadership. and thank you to my colleagues. i am so proud to join my colleagues here on the floor of the house today in passing this commonsense bill to strengthen and protect victims of sex trafficking. this legislation would penalize individuals who knowingly host and sell advertisements for the commercial exploitation of minors and trafficking victims. just last week i hosted a round table in new hampshire with advocates, prosecutors and survivors who confirmed in harrowing detail that human trafficking is a crime that is being committed all too frequently across this country. it remains a serious problem

both here and abroad. recently i was proud to reach across the aisle and work with my colleagues to lead a letter that all house women representatives signed in urging the obama administration to push the united nations security council to add boko haram to the al qaeda sanctions list following the abduction of nearly 300 school girls threatened to be sold into sexual slavery by this terrorist group. through this effort we became a powerful voice against this horror and other instances of human trafficking taking place around the world. but both democrats and republicans in this house understand that we must work together to protect women, girls, boys and men, to know that trafficking isn't just a political issue, it's a human issue. contrary to popular belief, it's one that's happening right here in our backyard. domestic child sex trafficking

is a serious problem in the united states, with an estimated close to 300,000 american youth at risk of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. it's imperative that we help law enforcement to rescue domestic victims, to track down their exploiters, to provide additional tools to our prosecutors to treat traffic minors as victim it's instead of criminals, and to ensure that these victims can access protective services. i applaud house leadership on both sides of the aisle for bringing forward these five bipartisan bills to the floor to prevent human trafficking and to provide support for victims both here and abroad. as a mother, i can't even imagine the pain and anguish that these families are going through as they fight to bring their loved ones back home. it's essential that we pass these bills today and do everything we can for jasmine in new hampshire and for

victims all across this country, to support our states and countries' efforts to eliminate -- country's efforts to eliminate human trafficking for good. thank you again, representative scott, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, reserves. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, is recognized. mr. goodlatte: it's now my pleasure to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognizes -- recognized for two minutes. mr. davis: thank you, madam speaker. i want to thank chairman goodlatte for his leadership in the committee and all those who have stood before me and will stand after me to discuss this important issue. i'm proud to rise in support of the save act. it is one step that brings us closer to our goals of ending domestic and international trafficking and protecting and helping the victims of trafficking. last week i hosted a human trafficking summit in champagne, illinois, to get my constituents the -- give my constituents the opportunity to speak directly with and learn from experts on this important

issue. it was humbling to hear the personal story of a survivor, ms. aubrey lloyd, and see the passion of those offering services to help victims of this horrible practice. as a husband and a father, a father of a 17-year-old daughter, this issue is deeply personal to me. when aubrey talked about how one night she was doing her french homework, got in an argument with her mother, went to a friend's house and wasn't able to return home because she'd become a victim of human trafficking, aubrey was 16 at the time, that can be any child in america today who is held against their will. congress is choosing to look directly at this issue and do our part to raise awareness and offer concrete solutions to end

this abhorrent practice. somebody else who joined us that day is chris baker. chris has a ministry that removes tattoos, removes brandings of sex trafficking victims. aubrey still had hers. chris reminded me of a quote by william wilberforce where he said, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know. let's work together to end this abhorrent practice and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i yield five minutes to the gentlelady from new york, mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for five minutes. mrs. maloney: i thank the gentleman for yielding and for his incredible principled work in so many areas and i want to note his hard work on combating

mandatory sentences and i feel that he is right in many ways. but because this crime is so out of control, i am strongly supporting my colleague and co-chair wagner's bill. we co-chaired the caucus on antitrafficking in the women's caucus and this bill is designed to stop the advertising of children of exploitation in sex trafficking. and we have tried over and over to stop it. i ask permission to place in the record a letter that marsha blackburn and i wrote, addressing the online promotion of human trafficking, meetings, letters, it went nowhere. the letter that congressman nadler and i did to websites of the media, trying to stop them from promoting our children as

sex objects, they're still doing it. i don't know how to do it unless we have a concrete law and this law is not without precedent. congress has passed laws to criminalize the advertising of illegal goods. they have passed laws to criminalize the advertising of child pornography, of weapons f mass destruction, of narcotics. surely we can pass a law that criminalizes selling children as sex objects. we've tried meetings, we've tried letters, we've tried sanctions, we've tried press, we've tried everything. i don't know how we stop it unless we pass a law that says it's illegal. i want to tell a story. i first got involved in combating sex trafficking because a company in my district called big apple tours was advertising online, publishing

pamphlets of going to thailand, to the philippines or upstate new york with pictures of children. you can have as many as you want. i wrote a letter complaining, this is how brazen they were. they took my letter and put it on the internet along with their advertising and made fun of it. why is she complaining about the parties we're having? so it is -- it has been out of control and this is a step toward bringing it into control. the attorney general of new york went after them and took down their site. it no longer is up. but it shows how brazen these exploiters are. and it's big business. it is the third most profitable form of organized crime in our nation, preceded only by the selling of narcotics, the selling of illegal guns, but the selling of a human body can

happen again and again until the person is sick and dies. you sell a gun oncing your sell a drug once, you can sell a young child over and over again. we have to do everything we can to stop it. and this act adds advertising to the types of conduct that constitute sex trafficking. it's common sense that if they're advertising the selling of a young child, it's sex trafficking. and we can stop it. this is something we can do that will literally save lives. the f.b.i. rank this is type of rape as preceded in -- only by murder in terms of the destruction of what it does to an individual. and often the inability of that individual to live a normal life afterwardsed. it is a horrific crime. the 21st century form of slavery.

i can't think of anything more abusive. it is what is happening now in nigeria to those young women. but it's happening right here in our backyard. my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the women's caucus have heard testimony of foster children, of american children that have been captured, tricked, drugged, we heard a story on the floor today of a constituent's child, a child in his neighborhood, that was exploited. but by passing this bill we can stop this advertising, we can cut off this form of exploitation and stop this abuse. i think that it's an important bill and i'm supporting it with reservation on the mandatory sentencing which i hope will be cut out in the senate but it is important that we take steps to prevent it. if we passed laws to stop the

advertising of child pornography, we can certainly pass a law to stop the selling of a child. mr. scott: i yield the gentlelady an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. . maloney: i could go on all day. my time has expired. i congratulate ms. wagner on this bill and i am happy to support her. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. rothfus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. rothfus: i rise in strong support of the stop advertising victims of exploitation act which will make the advertising of a trafficking victim for a commercial sex act a crime. human trafficing is despicable and unacceptable. it is horrific that millions of victims worldwide are trafficked each year and it is happening in

our local communities. last month i hosted a trafficking round table in ross township, pennsylvania, which community organizations and law enforcement agencies to discuss ways to combat trafficing in western pennsylvania. sadly this problem exists in cities and towns across america and together we can do something to eliminate it. as a father of six, i cannot imagine the horrible situations to which trafficking victims are exposed. we must put a stop to these crimes and today's bill is an important way to do this. i thank my friend, congresswoman wagner, for her efforts on the save act as well as the sponsors of today's bills as we work to raise awareness about and combat human trafficking. i thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, madam speaker. i yield three minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for

three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman very much. again, we have -- this is a historic day, madam speaker. it's a day, tragically, that we wish we had been table stamp out this dastardly act, you will, collective act of trafficking of our children and the advertising and the sheer slavery of it all, holding people against their will and using them over and over again. i too have had the opportunity see firsthand the devastation of ones who have been trafficked and then ultimately feel that their life's career can only be in prostitution. these may be adult bus they started being abused and exploited as children just about a year or two -- as children. just about a year or two ago we had attorney general holder in my district where all those gathered around the issue of

trafficking and human slavery had a meeting in the district and the outpouring of the crisis that it is was enormously overwhelming. this morning in a markup in the border security and maritime security committee, which i am the ranking member, madam miller is the chairwoman, we discussed unaccompanied minors coming across the border, victims to be if you will, 60,000 coming across our border of children unaccompanied who are clearly potentially victims in this horrible human trafficking. so i am a co-sponsor of the stop advertising victims of exploitation act and well aware -- he heinousness depicting of depicting for advertising sex acts with those under 14 and over 14. i know that's the ghoifpk end of many of their lives. we know that there are ultimate acts that are so terrible that a

child cannot overcome, that the sexual acts that are being advertised in whatever means are life ending in many instances. the idea of making this kind of crime that shows the concern of the american public is important. i would also say to you that i am one that is concerned about mandatory minimums. i hope that as we make our way through, there will be further discussions of this legislation. but at this time, i stand in support of it. i've always said that the weakness on mandatory minimums for me is when you involve undermine, destroying, killing, using in an abusive sexual manner, trafficking, holding against their will, children. they are vulnerable, they are without the resources to help themselves, and let me say this. many runaways in this country fall victim to this.

many unaccompanied children that come across the border fall victim to this. many children who are in conditions where they do not have a family structure fall victim to this. but they fall victim to this because there are so many who will exploit -- mr. scott: i yield the gentlewoman an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for an additional minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman. there are many who continue to exploit if the comfort of their home. how terrible it is to go into workplaces and find that individuals are using their computers to engage in this. how horrible it is to go into homes and find computers filled with this kind of trash and how horrible it is to see that people will profit from the advertising and the selling of commercial acts in whatever way they do. soy would thank the sponsor -- sponsthoffers legislation and recognize that we have opportunities to look at how we

construct this kind of remedy for this tragic and horrible and ultimately acts that result in the death of our children at their own hand, tradgely -- tragically or those who would abuse them by commercial sex acts. this should be something we should stamp out of our society, out of our system, and out of this nafplgse we need to begin to do it as we make our way through today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, is recognized. mr. goodlatte: it's my pleasure to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from north carolina, mrs. ellmers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. ellmers: thank you, madam speaker. thank you to the chairman for bringing this very important legislation forward. i'm pleased to be able to speak in strong support of the number of bills that we have today that will combat the problem of human sex trafficking. i'd like to emphasize the urgency that this issue requires. just this morning, one of our

local papers in fayetteville, north carolina, was reporting that a local mother and son have been arrested and charged with human trafficking of a child victim, sexual servitude of a child and promoting the prostitution of a minor. this issue is real and it is happening in our own backyards and across our nation and across the world. this is the -- this is only the beginning of the -- of this very important mission and i am for one -- and i for one will not rest until we find a way to stop this. this is just, again, the beginning of our fight and i am proud to have co-sponsored these bills today to stop this horrifying practice and help these victims. we will continue to do more until we eradicate this form of slavery in the united states and throughout the world. thank you, madam speaker, and i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman, mr. scott, from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i reserve the balance

of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte is recognized. mr. goodlatte: at this time i yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. owe hoe. the speaker pro tempore: the elt -- mr. yoho. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. yoho: i rise in complete support of erasing human trafficing from the face of the earth and i am a proud co-spon or of all the bipartisan bills before us today. bills that will give us the court -- give us, the courts and law enforcement, the tools we need to combat the scourge of human trafficking. it's unacceptable that today in 2014 human beings are being sold, owned and held against their will, living a life that is for lack of a bert term, hell on earth. human trafficing is defined as a modern day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain. the victims of human trafficking are the most vulnerable among us. the poor, immigrants in search

of a better life a better life for their families, women and even children. these exploited persons are victimized by the traffickers who lure them in with false promises of a better life and then are coerced into unspeakable act, domestic servitude or other types of forced labor. the traffickers only see the victims as a means to make a profit. no different than a commodity or livestock on a farm and certainly not as the human beings that they are. too often in our communities there is a lack of pushback or even awareness that this terrible practice of modern kay day servitude exists. it does and it happens with our own -- within our own neighborhoods, towns and counties. even when the problem of trafficing is realized, law enforcement does not have the tools it needs to go after the trillions -- criminals or take care of the victims. americans need to take a hard stance, lead on the issue and let it be known that zero tolerance for this horrendous

practice and the first step is educating entire communities since the lack of awareness is our foremost threat. second we must provide the resources to law enforcement and make this a priority among legal communities. finally we need to recognize and treat victims of trafficking as criminal -- not as criminals but as victims. my office in florida's third district has been taking steps and will continue to do so to make novert central florida zero tolerance zone for human trafficking. we have brought together representatives from the -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. yoho: i want to say we stand in support of all these bills around urge all our members too. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expyred. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott is recognized. mr. scott: i continue stroverb. the speaker pro tempore: -- to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte is recognized. mr. goodlatte: at this time it's my pleasure to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from washington, ms. herrera beutler.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. herrera beutler: there's no faster growing form of organized crime in the world than human sex trafficking. unfortunately, it is happening right here in the united states. more than 100,000 girls are caught up in sex trafficking every year in the united states. just last month my local paper reported on a couple being prosecuted for prostituting a 17-year-old girl who was under their control. as you've heard today, that's hardly an isolated story. year here not just to discuss the problem but the solutions. we're seeking to disable websites like pack back -- like backpage.com that advertise children for commercial sex and make it a federal crime for a company to knowingly post advertisements for sex with minors. these bills will also increase funding if services to victims. these girls are victims. and give prosecutors better tools to go after the traffickers. we cannot close our eyes and pretend that this crime doesn't

exist. it happens among us. we must take up responsibility and be the voice for these children and defend those who cannot defend themselves. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from virginia is ecognized. mr. goodlatte: madam speaker, i am pleased to yield one minute to mr. mchenry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for one minute. mr. mchenry: the statistics associated with human trafficking are nothing short of staggering. studies have estimated that it's a nearly $10 billion industry in the united states and it affects over 300,000 young men and women that are victims of human trafficking. the human toll is real and significant. and the save act changes the idea that the internet can be used as a marketplace for those purposes. the save act does what 47 states attorneys general have

done and asked us to do. the save anth makes it a federal -- act makes it a federal crime to knowingly advertise of the sexual exploitation of minors and trafficking victims. while this is not the end of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors, it is a necessary and long overdue step. i want to commend my colleague, mrs. wagner, for her leadership on this very important issue and for constructing a very thoughtful piece of legislation. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve. good good madam speaker, i just -- mr. goodlatte: madam speaker, i just have one speaker remaining and i don't know if the gentleman is prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: is the gentleman prepared to close, mr. scott from virginia? mr. scott: yes, madam speaker, i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: you're recognized. mr. scott: mandatory minimums have resulted in bizarre sentences being imposed.

today girlfriends of drug dealers are serving decades behind bars because their sentences were based on the weight of the drugs involved in their boyfriend's drug dealings. many other people are serving times clearly longer than required because of mandatory minimums. under this bill if a website is raided this bill do require -- could require the judge to impose 15-year sentences on each and every employee from receptionist to computer maintenance personnel, no discretion, no consideration of an individual's role in the enterprise. everybody gets 15 years. so if a sentence violates commonsense, the judge is required to impose it anyway. if we're ever going to try to address the problems created by mandatory minimums we have to stop passing bills like this one that can require sentences of at least 10 to 15 years, regardless of the facts in an individual case. even when the bill is otherwise

worthy. this is how so many mandatory minimums got into the code to begin with. one by one, each one in an otherwise worthy bill. the only way to begin to put an end to mandatory minimums is to stop passing new ones. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, is recognized. mr. goodlatte: madam speaker, to close the debate for our side of the aisle, i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. fitzpatrick: i thank the chairman and mrs. wagner for bringing about an increased awareness of the stark realities of human trafficking and modern-day slavery in our world. while these tragedies have focused us on the issue at hand, the terrible crime of human trafficking is sadly not a new phenomenal. nor is it a -- phenomenon. nor is it a concern solely outside our borders. during our fight against this heartbreaking epidemic, we must recognize and support also the invaluable work of nonprofit groups and law enforcement agencies who are giving their

all to prevent this crime and to protect its victims. i'm proud to report that today in my district in pennsylvania, the police department and the bucks county district attorneys office are being trented -- presented with an award for their proactive pursuit of human trafficking crimes over the past year. we're all thankful for the persistent efforts of these organizations and law enforcement organizations. a remarkable nonprofit in pennsylvania known as where is opening long-term housing and after-care facility for sexually exploiting and trafficked women. this sheds light on the importance of providing a compassionate environment for those affected by this deplorable crime. we're all encouraged to see this work on both sides of the aisle, people coming together to address this growing problem. and the passage of these bills will bring us closer to our goals of ending both domestic and international trafficking and object -- trafficking, an objective we should never

abandon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. fitzpatrick: i thank the chairman for his work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 4225, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- >> on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4058 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4058, a bill to prevent and address sex trafficking of youth in foster care. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington, mr. reichert, and the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. reichert: thank you, madam

speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. reichert: madam speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. reichert: i rise today to urge the support of h.r. 4058, the preventing sex trafficking and improving opportunities for outh in foster care act. this is a bipartisan bill that i strongly believe will help end sex trafficking and especially of children in foster care. madam speaker, i don't know if you know or the other members who may be listening today or anyone else that might be listening, if they know that if you're driving down the street and you see 10 young girls standing on a street corner, that six of those 10 young

girls who are in human trafficking, six of those are in foster care. six out of 10. and those are young children at the state, that the taxpayers, that we as citizens of this community, of our communities are responsible for. and they're on the street. so i'm pleased to have worked with my colleague and ranking member on the human resources subcommittee, mr. doggett. i thank our many colleagues who have also supported this legislation. so today i'm here. this is my -- beginning of my 10th year in congress. prior to that i was in law enforcement. 33 years in the king county sheriff's office in seattle, washington. 19 of those years there was a team created to go after the most notorious serial killer

this country has ever seen. his name was ridgeway. y quest in that case started in 1982. i was a 31-year-old detective. one body on august 12, two more bodies on august 15. found a third body, i found a third body on that same day going down to the river bank to recover the other two bodies. these are 16-year-old girls. 16-year-old girls. this is a topic that we should be talking about here in congress. when i was 32, in 1982, and i started working on this case, nd we finally arrested -- so 1982 to 2001, ridgeway says he killed 60 to 70 women. he pled guilty to 49. we closed 51 cases. i collected the bodies, i

collected the bodies of 15-year-old, 16-year-old girls. buried in shallow graves or thrown in a river to drift away. and, madam speaker, some of these victims were pregnant, thrown in a grave along with their unborn child. their life cut short, taken. in some weeks we collected six bodies. can you mantle the horror of the children -- can you imagine the horror of the children, of the children when they were abducted and drawn into this killer's car or taken to his home and their lives ripped? they knew they were being killed and strangled and fought for their lives. can you imagine the horror of the parents, the grandparents, the ain'ts -- aunts, the uncles, the brothers and the isters and the children?

lost forever. their life ripped away. that's why we're here today. that's why we're discussing these bills. this is about life, it's about death. if we can save lives, some members here have mentioned it, we can save lives today. and i hope the senate has the currently to follow through on these bills. we're doing our work here in the house of representatives. when i was on the banks of the green river in 19 2 i wondered who -- 1982 i wondered who in the world is there that cares? after 15 years of working this case, who cares? who cared about these young girls? and i can tell you after talking to a number of those young women on the street and girls and children, they were wondering too. does anybody care? does anybody even know i exist? does anybody even know i'm here and what i'm going through? i need love. i need help.

ne of those girls that i found in early 1982, that was found in 1982, was a young woman named wendy cauffield. she was a foster child. she's run away from home before. and this time when she ran away from home, nobody was looking for her. no one cared. she disappeared and no one cared. nd then she was found. dead. these are the kids we have to help. my bill focuses on foster kids. sex out of 10 involved in human trafficking today -- six out of 10 involved in human trafficking today are foster kids. we had some hearings of course over the past few months and there were some courageous young women who came forward to tell their story in our subcommittee and i want to mention their names because it

took a lot of courage to come forward and tell their stories, about their lives and what they went through. and the feeling of nobody caring. william t. ortez walker pedestrian grew was, is, is a sex trafficking survivor who experienced 14 foster care placements and was exploited into the sex trafficking trade as a child. this year, though, shevers recognized by "time" magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in 2014. talk about turning around your life and having an impact and influence on other people. she has done it. noel gomez, seattle organization for prostitution survivors, gomez survived 15 years in the sex trafficking trade and is working to help

kits stay out and to get out -- kids stay out and get out of the sex trafficking trade. mannedy eerwiler. she had her foster care at the age of 15 and has remained in care, had remained in care throughout her extended foster care program. she testified about her personal experience in foster care and her exposure to the sex trafficking world. telisa james, former foster youth from kamehameha who was able to leave the system at age 14, after her aunt gave her a stable home. after hearing from her and many other experts, mr. doggett and myself introduced bipartisan legislation to help every state better protect youth and foster care from sex trafficking. this bill requires the states to identify victims and provide them with the services they