No Trafficking Zones Act

Madam Speaker, a huge thank you to our incredible leader, my neighbor, my friend, my colleague, my leader, the honorable Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who has the pulse of our country firmly in her grip.

I have watched this woman go from country to country fighting for justice and what is right and what is pure. We can't thank her enough in recognition of the great work she does.

She stands at this rostrum, and she talks about the atrocities in our country while she continues to fight for atrocities in other countries. I applaud her. I thank her for her incredible leadership. It has been a pleasure to work with her, and America has been a better place because of her.

For decades, the CBC has fought for justice, truth, and equality. From within the halls of government that once permitted our ancestors to be enslaved, Congress after Congress, the CBC is at the center of many negotiations and conversations to better the lives of the American people.

The 117th Congress was an exceptional example of CBC's leadership. The CBC led the fight for a national infrastructure investment, so that instead of bridges on the brink and toxic sludge, Americans will have resilient infrastructure and clean, safe, reliable drinking water.

Today, the CBC leads the fight to reduce child poverty. Through policies like the expanded child tax credit and SNAP, we know that instead of setting kids up to struggle, we are setting them up to succeed.

Through policies like the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we can improve public safety and help prevent terrible, hate-driven crimes like we saw in Buffalo, Uvalde, or any city in the U.S.A. It seems to happen far, far too often.

In Louisiana, because of the actions of the CBC and great leaders in this body, we have been able to have kids not have to sit outside of a McDonald's to use the internet. Since Katrina, since the hurricanes that have wrecked our community, since COVID that has wrecked our world, we know that things like broadband are no longer a luxury but a necessity.

Yet, in many impoverished communities in my district, people would not have access. Many rural areas would not have access to the internet for telehealth, for education, for business purposes, for everyday life, for shopping. These things would not exist. But I am proud today, because of the efforts of this body and because of the CBC, we are able to deliver and bring those things home to the people of Louisiana and America.

We know that because of the infrastructure bill that is now signed into law, Louisiana is seeing dollars flowing that they have never seen before. Bridges that have been on the brink of disaster are being repaired. The opportunity for us to have transportation between New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and beyond is now a reality.

The ability to invest money in areas in my State that have been plagued with chemical poisoning, have been plagued with disease, because of the placement of these facilities that have historically settled themselves in communities of Black and Brown. No longer will our communities be the path of least resistance. No longer will people have to literally die for their jobs.

We can have coexistence, but coexistence begins with everyone recognizing that the single most important commodity that anyone has is its people. Making sure that we have safe environments and clean environments where our children can be educated, where families can live, where families can earn a good living and enjoy clean air, that is what we fight for at the CBC every day.

Louisiana will be the beneficiaries of such efforts. We will continue to fight to make sure that this caucus and this body understands and no longer looks away and says, ``business as usual.'' No longer can we afford to watch children go without. As my dear colleague and chairman of the Education and Labor Committee said moments ago, more money has been invested in HBCUs under this 117th Congress than ever in the history of our country.

More money has been put into infrastructure, since the very creation of the Interstate Highway System, under this Congress, and this CBC has played a pivotal role in making these things happen.

But it doesn't stop here. We must continue to fight. We must continue to go out and make sure that we tell our story: That we are here, we are working, and we will not let anyone turn the clock back on the efforts that we have fought so valiantly for.

I am so proud to serve with giants in the CBC, people that have worked tirelessly for decades to make a difference in our community.

There is a lot of work yet to be done. With the leadership of Chair Beatty, Whip Clyburn, and many others, the CBC will continue to secure major wins for the American people, because they deserve it.

Madam Speaker, we will continue to fight. Failure is not an option.

Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, and the Budget, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, I am proud to stand beside my sisters and brothers to explore the achievements of the Congressional Black Caucus throughout the 117th Congress.

I would like to thank Congresswoman Beatty, the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, for organizing this Special Order today. I would also like to thank Speaker Pelosi for her outstanding leadership throughout this Congress.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been at the forefront of every major legislative achievement this 117th Congress. These achievements have pushed for an increase in equity for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and people from all backgrounds in the United States.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus strongly supported the President's goal of passing legislation that will significantly reduce healthcare costs for all Americans and address the very real climate crisis we are all facing.

The Inflation Reduction Act will significantly reduce prescription drug costs and expand health insurance coverage for millions of Black Americans, relieving financial strains on individuals and families.

Among adults 65 and older, Black Medicare beneficiaries are 1.5 times more likely than their white counterparts to have trouble affording medications. They are also 2 times as likely to not fill needed prescriptions due to high drug costs.

5.8 million Medicare beneficiaries are African American, which amounts to 10 percent of all beneficiaries.

Altogether, 5-to-7 million Medicare beneficiaries will see their prescription drug costs go down because of the provision allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs.

3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries will have their insulin costs capped at $35 a month.

Seniors will also have their yearly prescription drug costs capped at $2,000.

The Inflation Reduction Act will enable free or low-cost health insurance to remain available, allowing over half a million more Black Americans to have health insurance coverage next year, compared to what the situation would be without the IRA.

The Inflation Reduction Act is also the most aggressive legislation on climate change and clean energy in American history.

This new law will help bring down energy costs for millions of Black Americans, and it includes very strong protections and programs to promote Environmental Justice.

The average American family is estimated to see an annual $1,025 in energy savings, as the Inflation Reduction Act tackles one of the largest drivers of inflation--oil and gas prices--by lowering fuel and electricity costs and improving energy efficiency.

This bill will prevent thousands of premature deaths by improving the air we breathe, with communities most burdened by pollution enjoying disproportionate health benefits.

The Inflation Reduction Act alone will help get America 80 percent of the way to achieving its share of greenhouse gas reductions, and the majority of the way toward President Biden's goal of cutting carbon pollution in half this decade.

The members of the Congressional Black Caucus were also leaders in the passage of the Presidents Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The once-in-a-generation investment into our nation's infrastructure addresses the disparate impacts of pollution on communities of color.

Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Americans--especially those who reside in urban communities--are more likely to be negatively impacted by pollution. Black people are almost three times more likely to die from asthma related causes than their white counterparts.

My constituents have already seen the magnificent results of this once-in-a-generation piece of legislation.

Houston METRO was granted a $21 million grant to buy battery electric buses and charging infrastructure to replace aging diesel buses that have exceeded their useful life.

The electric buses will improve air quality and health--for riders and residents in Houston's historically disadvantaged communities by eliminating nearly 18,000 tons of greenhouse gases over the next 20 years.

The passage of the law also allowed me to work closely with Secretary Buttigieg to secure $40 million dollars in funding for Bush Intercontinental Airport. IAH's terminal redevelopment program is the largest project in the airport's 53-year-history.

I am very pleased and proud that the CBC's priorities for the 117th Congress included some of my legislation, including the creation of the new Juneteenth federal holiday.

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19th as an annual national holiday.

Since I had placed the creation of a Juneteenth federal holiday on the national agenda--introducing H.R. 7232, on June 18, 2020 and reintroducing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in the 117th Congress--witnessing it become law was a true honor and an exhilarating occasion.

It was the culmination of years--even decades--of efforts to have the nation formally recognize the importance of Juneteenth and inculcate it into the pantheon of landmark national occasions with profound significance for the country and all Americans.

That day at the White House, I celebrated the joyful, yet tearful signing ceremony joined by my congressional colleagues, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, representatives of the numerous organizations who toiled in the vineyards for so long, and the first African American Vice-President.

It spoke volumes that the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act had overwhelming bipartisan support, passing by unanimous consent in the Senate and a 415 to 14 vote in the House the next day.

Although I had introduced resolutions recognizing Juneteenth since 2013, establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday was a quantum leap further. Enacting the holiday into law was much more than commemorating the historic events associated with Juneteenth.

Making Juneteenth a national holiday asserts that the historic occasion is a fundamental part of American history. It elevates Juneteenth into the consciousness of all Americans. It reinforces the point that Black history is American history.

National recognition of Juneteenth creates a channel for teaching and learning the truth about slavery which preceded it and both Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era that followed it. Amid this era of misinformation, having the national imprimatur on Juneteenth will launch discussions and awareness of the Black experience in America that will add to multi-ethnic cohesion and mutual respect.

Since the 1800s, Juneteenth has been as important to African Americans as July 4th is to all Americans. Consider also that, at the end of the Revolutionary War, while patriots were celebrating the end of colonialism and subjugation, 450,000 African-Americans were trapped in chattel slavery: our country's original sin. Black Americans were considered and treated as property, not as people.

Juneteenth is special because, on June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger, the Commanding Officer of the District of Texas, rode into Galveston, Texas, announcing the end of the Civil War and the freedom of the last Americans enslaved in the Confederate states.

The announcement of freedom belatedly freed 250,000 slaves in Texas months after the end of the Civil War and two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, went into effect.

Texas's newly freed men and women reacted first with shock and then with jubilation when General Granger read these words of General Order No. 3:

``The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.''

Until then, slave owners withheld freedom by not informing those whom they enslaved and who enabled their wealth. It was necessary for the Union Army to take control of an area and announce freedom for it to take effect. Because of Galveston's remote location, it was not until June 19, 1865, that the Union Army arrived.

General Granger's reading of General Order No. 3 ended chattel slavery, the institutionalized system of perpetual servitude that held generations of Africans in bondage in the our country for 248 years.

No longer would human beings be forced into a legalized system of unending, lifelong slavery that was known for gruesome murders, dehumanizing rapes, and tortuous beatings and floggings with leather whips tipped with metal to rip flesh from bone. No longer would the atrocities of slavery be permitted by federal laws.

Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1866 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau and was often called ``Jubilee Day''. As freed men and women left Galveston to begin their lives anew in other states, the retelling of their Juneteenth memories led to annual celebrations in many other states.

Recognizing the importance of this date, former slaves coined the word ``Juneteenth'' to mark the joyous occasion.

Yet, in some cases, white officials outwardly resisted the holiday, barring the use of public property for the festivities. So, church grounds were used for the festivities, and, as freed men and women achieved upward economic mobility, some communities purchased land for Juneteenth celebrations.

One of the earliest documented land purchases in the name of Juneteenth was organized by Rev. Jack Yates. This fundraising effort yielded $1,000 and the purchase of Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas.

In the town of Mexia, Texas, the local Juneteenth organization purchased Booker T. Washington Park, which became the Juneteenth celebration site in 1898.

Along with parades, prayer readings, performances and cookouts among finely attired attendees, Juneteenth community-centric activities informed Black Americans about voting, promoted education, and showcased the achievements of African Americans and the community.

Perhaps because the holiday carried the message of empowerment, Juneteenth activities were sometimes interrupted and halted by white landowners demanding that their laborers return to work.

Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and their descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston to celebrate June 19th.

Juneteenth remains the oldest known celebration of slavery's demise, commemorating freedom while acknowledging the sacrifices and contributions made by courageous African Americans towards, in more recent years, making our great nation the more conscious and accepting country that it has become.

Juneteenth was, and is, a living symbol of freedom for people who were denied hope of being free.

It serves as a reminder that, as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ``Freedom is never free,'' and as African American labor leader A. Phillip Randolph often said, ``Freedom is never given. It is won.''

Truer words were never spoken.

We should all recognize the power and truth of those guideposts. Juneteenth calls upon us to pause to remember the enormous price paid by all Americans in our country's quest to realize its promise.

Juneteenth honors the end of the 400 years of suffering that African Americans endured under slavery and celebrates the legacy of perseverance that has become the hallmark of the African American experience in the struggle for equality.

As the poet Langston Hughes reminds us in his famous poem, ``Mother to Son,'' that life in America for African Americans ``ain't been no crystal stair.''

The Jim Crow era in America was marked by violence and terrorism against African Americans as our ancestors sought to activate the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Juneteenth celebrations declined in the 1920s and 1930s partly due to the Great Depression's severe economic difficulties, but mainly because of the resurgence of heinous hate crimes perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan to derail African Americans from advancing in society politically and economically.

Despite the New Deal's progress and post-WWII economic policies, discrimination and the lingering impact of slavery largely excluded African Americans from the creation of the modern middle class.

However, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and its legal framework for equality, led to a resurrection of Juneteenth celebrations that celebrated the achievements of Black Americans, reinforcing our community's sense of identity and pride.

Juneteenth became an opportunity for us to showcase our successes and our contributions to society, while providing the government with a mirror into demographic disparities and a demand to recommit itself to serving all Americans.

Amid this renewed spirit of identity, pride, and equality, Texas state representative Al Edwards introduced a bill, H.R. 1016, to make Juneteenth a state holiday. The bill became law, and on January 1, 1980, Juneteenth officially became a Texas state holiday, making Texas the first state to officially recognize this celebration of emancipation.

Representative Edwards actively sought to spread the observance of Juneteenth across America. In the two decades after Texas acted, only a few other states did so. But in the past twenty years, a wave of states followed Texas's lead. By 2021, 49 states and the District of Columbia had commemorated or recognized Juneteenth.

Nonagenarian activist Opal Lee, affectionately known as the ``Grandmother of Juneteenth,'' also deserves much credit for the federal holiday. Lee pressed for the holiday for years, and in 2016 at age 89, walked from her home in Fort Worth to Washington, DC, to deliver a petition and raise attention to) the holiday's importance.

Today, after decades of rallies, petitions, editorials, and legislation calling for Juneteenth to be a national holiday, we celebrate the 2nd Juneteenth National Independence Day.

The transformative significance of Juneteenth since the first celebration in 1866 is a remarkable tale in American history.

Though it is now recognized at the national level, it does not erase our nation's racist history in straying from its original promise that ``all men (actually, people) are created equal.''

Every Juneteenth, I return to Frederick Douglass' speech best known as ``What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?''

The answer to this question is Juneteenth. In 2022, we can affirm that June 19, 1865, signifies the start of the American Promise that must be fulfilled and made real for all Americans, including the descendants of slaves.

To say 1776 marks the beginning of our free nation begs the question, ``What does freedom mean if we are not all free?''

Juneteenth remains a pivotal moment, signifying the starting point in the emergence from racial oppression that was endured by generations with perseverance, resilience, and determination.

This vision is shared by millions of Americans who have held fast to the promise of freedom in our nation while fighting for basic human rights. We know that the struggle which began in 1619 did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

The fight did not end two years later in 1865, nor 100 years after that with the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts.

The fight for our freedom continues as a common thread in the fabric of this country. But we also recognize the lack of freedom that persists for many, as well as the injustices, abuse, and discrimination that continue in today's America.

The true power of Juneteenth lies both in the commemoration of the past and the possibilities of the future.

When VAWA first became law in 1994, it represented a historic shift in the federal government's role in combating violent crimes committed against women.

Due to the importance of the legislation and resulting success, VAWA was reauthorized on an overwhelming bipartisan basis in 2000, 2005, and 2013.

Recognizing the importance of the law and knowing that the law was set to expire at the end of the year, I introduced the ``Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018'' in September of 2018.

The reauthorization strengthened and enhanced the vital services provided under the law to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Despite our best efforts, the bill was not brought to the floor, and VAWA was allowed to expire at the end of 2018.

I continued to work, along with other members, victims, survivors, experts, and advocates, to ensure not only that VAWA would be reauthorized but that we enhanced the law and made it better, more effective, and more responsive to the needs of those seeking to heal after suffering trauma.

Therefore, I introduced the bill, HR 1620, the ``Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2021''.

This version of the reauthorization represented countless hours of discussions to ensure that we refined and improved upon the earlier iteration of the bill.

H.R. 1620 passed in the House and served as foundation for the bill that was introduced in the Senate and was eventually included in H.R. 2471, the ``Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022'' (the Omnibus) and signed by the President.

Thankfully, after many hard-fought battles, we were finally able to get the VAWA Reauthorization across the finish line this year.

Many of the provisions I included in my bills in 2018 and 2021 carried over to the Senate version of VAWA as well as the Omnibus, such as:

The reauthorization of vital grant programs like the Services Training Offices Prosecutors, or STOP grants, administered by the Department of Justice, which allows the use of STOP grants to develop the most effective law enforcement tools and protocols for preventing domestic violence homicides and requires state, territorial, local, and tribal governments to certify that they have established and implemented such programs to be eligible for grants.

Creating Hope through Outreach Options, Services, and Education, or the CHOOSE program, which clarifies that funding under the CHOOSE program for children and youth is being provided for the core areas of VAWA--domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking--and that services that target youth should also incorporate youth in underserved communities and sex trafficking and bullying as elements when part of a comprehensive youth violence response program.

The preservation of funding for sexual assault services programs, transitional housing grants for victims, grants to states territories, and Indian tribes in rural communities, and grants to support families in the justice system with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Just today, the House passed my bipartisan bill, H.R. 7566, the ``No Trafficking Zones Act.'' The bill would ensure that schools across the country, including institutions of higher education, are safe spaces for learning and academic exploration--free from the menace of sex trafficking.

As predators often prey on communities of color, this bill is a strong measure to fight against sex trafficking that often targets young African Americans and other people of color.

H.R. 7566 would establish a sentencing enhancement of up to five years in several instances:

First, in the case of any person who commits the offense of sex trafficking within a primary or secondary school zone or on or within 1,000 feet of the premises of a school-sponsored activity or premises owned by an institution of higher education;

Second, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor enrolled in a primary or secondary school or a person enrolled in an institution of higher education--to travel in interstate or foreign commerce and engage in criminal sexual activity-- while the minor is in a school zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises where a school-sponsored activity is taking place or while the person is on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises owned by the institution of higher education;

And, third, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor using the mail or facilities of interstate or foreign commerce--such as text and instant messaging or social media platforms--while the minor who is enrolled in school or an institution of higher education, is in a school zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises where a school-sponsored activity is taking place or premises owned by an the institution of higher education.

Human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to human rights in the United States. In 2020, 11,193 instances of potential human trafficking were reported to the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline with at least 70 percent of those instances involving sex trafficking, while an estimated 25 percent of all human trafficking victims in the country are in my home state of Texas at any given time--many of whom are minors.

At least 5,359 of trafficking victims and survivors identified through the hotline in 2019 were under the age of 18, and in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of suspected child sex trafficking.

Many of these young victims of sex trafficking are students in school systems, colleges, trade schools, and universities across the country.

A 2018 survey reported that in Texas--where No Trafficking Zone legislation passed with bipartisan support earlier this year--55 percent of young sex trafficking survivors were trafficked while at school or school activities and 60 percent of trafficked adults said they were first groomed and solicited for trafficking while on school campuses.

Members of this body know all too well that children are sexually exploited in many ways. Some young people are trafficked by their schoolmates or people they once considered friends.

While traffickers seek out young people who have noticeable vulnerabilities--including problems at school, conflicts at home, or even the need to fill in a tuition gap caused by the loss of a scholarship--no child or young person is truly safe from the schemes of charismatic traffickers bent on exploiting and destroying young lives.

With the proliferation of social media and the myriad ways in which we communicate with one another, traffickers have put these same means of communication to their own use--to find, target, lure, groom, victimize, and exert control over their victims. While buyers are using technology to find and purchase sex anonymously.

Traffickers have infiltrated every known form of communication-- especially the sites, messaging apps, and social media platforms our children use most frequently--leaving young people more vulnerable to manipulation.

Access to the internet, cell phones, and smartphones makes it easier for traffickers and buyers to communicate with children and youth--even when they are at school, in class, or attending school-sponsored activities.

As a result, trafficking has reached the halls, lunchrooms, gyms, dormitories, and classrooms of schools, colleges, and universities in every corner of this nation.

These staggering facts and statistics led me to introduce this bipartisan legislation which the House passed today to protect young Americans from predators.

Last week, the House passed H.R. 8326, the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act. By reforming the operations of the Census Bureau, this bill--which includes my amendment--would ensure that racial and ethnic equity in the decennial count will be a priority in future Census counts.

My amendment would enhance the bill's operational impact by specifying that the deputy director appoint an official with responsibility to optimize racial and ethnic equity in the Census count. To ensure that equity be a priority, this official would report directly to the director and deputy director.

In light of the decennial count's extremely consequential impact in terms of funding allocation formulas, political district apportionment, and other uses, it is imperative that the Census Bureau elevate racial and ethnic equity to a top priority in its counting strategies and procedures.

My amendment directs the equity official to engage and collaborate with organizations that have influence with racial and ethnic groups, develop strategies and tactics to maximize participation of these populations, and rectify the undercount that has been typical of recent Census counts, especially among immigrants and homeless people.

The status of the efforts to optimize racial and ethnic equity will also be included in the Census Bureau's biannual reports to Congress, to ensure accountability and bolster the likelihood of progress.

Optimization of racial and ethnic equity in the Census count requires designation of a high-ranking official with direct responsibility for achieving this goal and reports directly to the Census leadership.

My amendment establishes that role, makes racial and ethnic equity in the decennial count a priority, specifies key strategies that must be applied, and ensures that Congress receives regular reports about the progress toward the goal.

H.R. 8326 is an excellent bill with vital reforms that uses this opportunity to advance

equity in the Census count. My amendment creates a framework for achieving this objective.

In May of this year, the House passed HR 7309, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022.

This bill would ensure that more institutions will be able to provide education and job training services; a wider range of curricula will be available that enables learners to become job-ready; and more Americans will be equipped with skills that will jump-start long-term careers.

It would extend the reach of job skills training and employment preparation to all corners of the country and all segments of society. It does so by creating vital national programs and instituting accountability systems that will monitor program operations and success.

One of my two amendments to this bill would ensure that this legislation helps all Americans, specifically communities of color that historically did not benefit equally from workforce development and job skills training programs.

My amendment ensures that HBCUs and other minority-serving educational institutions are eligible and encouraged to apply for maximal benefits under the bill's programs.

My amendment clarifies that, beyond equality, the job training and workforce development programs at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions should be given priority in order to promote equity for students whose ancestors were denied that right. It can be the impetus for a fresh start.

By including and prioritizing HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, the institutionalized barriers which 1 impeded generational prosperity will be eroded, even if only incrementally and over time. By leveling the playing field, the imbalance of generational wealth will also be rectified.

Diversity and inclusion must always be a priority particularly in future high-growth industries that are essential to our nation's long- term economic growth, success, and job creation strategy.

The Transportation, Housing & Urban Development, Agriculture Appropriations Act passed the House in July of this year with many amendments that I offered.

One of my amendments to this bill specifically benefits HBCUs. It supports the work of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) by increasing its funding by $2,000,000 for use in agriculture research programs at 1890s Institutions, which are land grant colleges at 28 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), as well as Hispanic-serving institutions, and other educational institutions that benefit underrepresented communities.

This amendment promotes NIFA's work at HBCUs with agricultural experiment stations, cooperative forestry, and other innovations to improve our nation's food production through agricultural research, economic analysis, extension, and higher education.

One of ways NIFA achieves its mission is by providing research grants to education institutions, which include 1890s institutions created by the Morrill Act of 1890.

Today, land-grant colleges and universities can be found in 18 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The list includes:

Alabama A&M University

Alcorn State University

Delaware State University

Florida A&M University

Fort Valley State University

Kentucky State University

Langston University

Lincoln University

North Carolina A&T State University

Prairie View A&M University in Texas

South Carolina State University

Southern University System

Tennessee State University

Tuskegee University

University of Arkansas Pine Bluff

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

University of the District of Columbia*

University of the Virgin Islands

Virginia State University

West Virginia State University

HBCUs annually enroll 40 percent of all African American students in 4-year colleges and universities. HBCUs are prominent among research institutions in fields such as:

animal sciences

sustainable agriculture and agriculture economics

toxicology and waste management

conservation and environmental management

business and industrial development

biomedical science

food and nutrition

plant and social sciences

international development

Agricultural research programs at HCBUs help people living in densely populated areas learn ways to eliminate food deserts, increase public education about farming, bolster appreciation for our nation's farmers, and provide new avenues to careers for graduates with degrees in agriculture who seek to enter cutting-edge agricultural research.

This amendment promotes NIFA's work with HBCUs on agricultural experiment stations, cooperative forestry, and other innovations to improve our nation's food production through agricultural research, economic analysis, extension, and higher education.

The funds provided by my amendment supports research and education for helping urban and suburban communities maximize their green space by turning it into productive farming resources to support access to affordable foods.

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the country, wreaking its most bitter toll on communities of color.

Early in the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that Black Americans were infected with COVID-19 at a rate nearly one and a half times higher than that of whites, were hospitalized at a rate nearly four times higher, and were three times as likely to die from the disease.

On February 8, 2021, I introduced H.R. 936, the ``COVID-19 Delivery Act,'' which strengthens FEMA's role in vaccine distribution.

Specifically, this legislation: (1) authorized FEMA as the National Coordinator of vaccine transport and delivery; (2) supported the safe and effective supply chain transport, delivery, and site use of vaccines; (3) implemented the Center for Disease Control and prevention COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations.

To date I have opened 96 COVID-19 testing sites and 88 vaccination sites in some of the most underserved communities in my district and Houston as a whole.

As an original cosponsor of H.R. 1652 the ``VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act, I helped lead the passage of the bill in the House and on June 22, 2021, President Biden signed the bill into law.

VOCA grants are the primary source of federal funding for thousands of victim service providers around the country, including programs serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, trafficking, and drunk driving.

This critical piece of legislation supports vital victim service programs by preventing future cuts to already diminished federal victim service grants.

H.R. 1652 requires the Department of Justice DOJ to deposit all monetary penalties, including from deferred prosecution and non- prosecution agreements, into the Crime Victims Fund. This simple fix prevents future funding cuts that jeopardize programs' ability to serve their communities.

Although the Congressional Black Caucus has had many legendary achievements this Congress, our work is far from done. We will continue to fight for equality and justice by pushing legislation that will better the lives of African Americans, and indeed all Americans around the nation.

Now more than ever, the facts and circumstances facing our nation demonstrate the importance of H.R. 40, which I introduced, and the necessity of placing our nation on the path to reparative justice, as well as providing accountability for injuries inflicted.

H.R. 40 establishes a national commission to examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies.

H.R. 40 was first introduced by Congressman John Conyers in 1989. Though many thought it a lost cause, Conyers believed that a day would come when our nation would need to account for the brutal abuse of African Americans during slavery, Jim Crow segregation and the enduring structural racism endemic to our society.

With the rise and normalization of white supremacism during the Trump administration, the discussion of H.R. 40 and the concept of restorative justice gained urgency, garnered attention from mainstream media, and illustrated the need for a national reckoning.

Eradication of structural institutionalized racism requires it. Full empowerment, enfranchisement, and inclusion require it. Genuine equality and equity to overcome injustices require it.

A vital step is an official acknowledgment that Black history IS American history and the Juneteenth holiday has achieved that.

Another key step for reconciliation is the development of a factual, historical record that illuminates the truth about the African American experience amid slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, legalized violence, exclusion, and inequality.

The factual, truthful record will expose the fallacies of revisionism and misinformation which, in recent years, have become the favorite tools of those with racist motives and agendas. Vilification of the collegiate study of critical race theory is a typical example.

The role of federal, state, and local governments at each stage in the nefarious chapters of history must be revealed and recognized.

The next step must be a national apology for governmental actions that legalized oppression, violence, inequality, and exclusion

from the means toward socioeconomic mobility and generational wealth.

Reconciliation requires an apology--an acknowledgment of government collusion in past ignominious eras--for three reasons: to provide accountability for past wrongs, to heal the national soul, and to confer official validation of the plights of its victims. Without an apology, there can be no closure; there can be no justice for our ancestors who suffered hideous torment.

With those steps addressed, the focus turns to what can be done to right the wrong. Reparations in various forms are needed to instill equity and create a level playing field for African Americans who are still disadvantaged by the aftershocks of previous eras.

The commission created by H.R. 40 would start by identifying (1) the role of federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery; (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants; and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery that impact today's African-Americans and society.

The goal of the historical investigations that H.R. 40 mandates is to bring American society to a new reckoning with how our past affects the current conditions of African Americans and to make America a ``more perfect union'' by helping the truly disadvantaged.

Consequently, the reparations movement does not focus on payments to individuals, but rather, on remedies that can be created in as many forms as necessary to equitably address the many kinds of injuries sustained from chattel slavery and its ongoing vestiges.

To merely focus on finance is an empty gesture and betrays a lack of understanding of the depth of the unaddressed moral issues that continue to haunt this nation.

Reparations can have wide-ranging positive effects, for example, a recent peer-reviewed study from Harvard Medical School suggests that reparations for African Americans that narrowed the wealth gap could have cut COVID-19 transmission and infection rates both among Blacks and the population at large.

While it might be convenient to assume that we can address the current divisive racial and political climate in our nation through race neutral means, experience shows that we have not escaped our history.

Though the Civil Rights Movement challenged many of the most racist practices and structures that subjugated the African American community, it was not followed by a commitment to truth and reconciliation.

For that reason, the legacy of racial inequality has persisted, leaving the nation vulnerable to a range of problems that continue to generate division, racial disparities, and injustice.

By passing H.R. 40, Congress can start a movement toward the national reckoning that we need to bridge racial divides.

Reparations are ultimately about respect and reconciliation--and the hope that one day, all Americans can walk together toward a more just future.

In his famous Second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln spoke of the profound moral debt owed for ``all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil.'' He asserted that the Civil War was the judgment of the Lord, which was ``true and righteous altogether.''

That debt remains to be paid, which is why African Americans always peacefully petitioned the government for the redress of grievances.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said at the 1963 March on Washington:

``In a sense, we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

``This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

``It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked `insufficient funds.' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So, we have come to cash this check--a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.''

Official slavery ended with the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

But unofficial slavery continued by: (a) newly instituted share-crop farming; (b) a criminal justice system that pressed convicts into work that was once done by slaves; and (c) labor policies that dictated income for work done based upon skin color.

This, of course, was reinforced by the systematic disenfranchisement of black Americans, the ``discrete and insular minority'' excluded from ``those political processes ordinarily to be relied upon to protect'' them, to quote Chief Justice Hughes' famous Footnote 4 in United States v. Carolene Products Company, 304 U.S. 144 (1938).

These are just some of the many reasons that the history of the U.S. is intertwined with the history of enslaved Africans in the Americas.

But to reach redemption and reconciliation, we must have the complete truth and lay our history bare. It is the light that sheds the way to the more perfect union all Americans desire.

The Commission that would be created and empowered by H.R. 40 is a vital first step in the effort to attain truth and reconciliation about the Original Sin of American Slavery that is necessary to light the way to the beloved community we all seek.

We witnessed nightly peaceful civil disobedience in the streets of America in solidarity with countless victims of injustice and cruelty. Young African American men and women no longer with us in body but forever with us in memory.

We demanded justice and equity that starts with policing reform yet extends far beyond. It's not just about police conduct toward us. It starts with the predisposition of police about us, before interaction occurs. Police biases, implicit and explicit, can forecast a propensity for violence toward us and the denial of our civil rights.

In addition to criminal justice reform, we demanded the full eradication of structural and systemic institutionalized racism. Since then, confederate statues were removed, newly developed factual curriculum has begun to educate all students about the actual truth of Black history, and millions of Americans learned about the Juneteenth holiday.

Once again, I would like to thank Chairwoman Beatty for giving me and my CBC colleagues the opportunity to shine a light on all our accomplishments this Congress.

I am so proud to be a part of such a dedicated and hardworking group of people. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you on legislation that will make America a more equal and just place.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an ABC News article entitled: ``Congress passes legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.''

[From ABC News, June 16, 2021]

Congress Passes Legislation To Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

(By Libby Cathey)

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Congress has moved

to establish a new national holiday, this time for

Juneteenth, and just in time for Saturday's 156th anniversary

of the day that marks the last African American slaves being

freed in Texas in the wake of the Civil War.

The House voted Wednesday night to pass the legislation. It

heads next to President Joe Biden's desk for a signature.

When Biden signs it, as he's expected to at 3:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, according to the White House, Juneteenth will

officially become a federal holiday--the first since Martin

Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983.

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, a fierce

advocate for the Black community who sponsored the

legislation in the House, proudly announced from the podium

the ``bill is passed'' before bringing the gavel down.

One Republican, Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, said in a

charged statement ahead of the evening vote that he opposed

the legislation that was ``an effort by the Left to create a

day out of whole cloth to celebrate identity politics.'' Sen.

John Cornyn, R-Texas, a lead sponsor of the Senate bill,

called the statement ``kooky'' in a tweet.

Other House Republicans who voted no on the legislation

include Reps. Thomas Massie, Scott DesJarlais, Mo Brooks,

Andy Biggs, Tom Tiffany, Doug LaMalfa, Tom McClintock, Mike

Rogers, Andrew Clyde, Ralph Norman, Chip Roy, Paul Gosar and

Ronny Jackson of Texas.

The House vote came after the Senate--in a surprise move

Tuesday--passed the measure by unanimous consent following a

single Republican senator dropping his opposition.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who opposed the

legislation last year, said in a statement that he would no

longer raise his objections on the floor, though, as of last

week, the bill already had the support of 60 cosponsors to

overcome a filibuster.

``Although I strongly support celebrating Emancipation, I

objected to the cost and lack of debate,'' Johnson said,

referring to his previous stance. ``While it still seems

strange that having taxpayers provide federal employees paid

time off is now required to celebrate the end of slavery, it

is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further

discuss the matter.''

Biden will be accompanied for the signing by Vice President

Kamala Harris, who was one of the Democrats to introduce the

legislation in the Senate last year alongside Cornyn.

Steve Williams, the president of the National Juneteenth

Observance Foundation, thanked lawmakers in a press

conference on Capitol Hill earlier for, he said, ``put(ting)

that exclamation mark on the fabulous work.''

``The Juneteenth nation is ecstatic,'' he said.

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth--also known as Freedom Day, Liberation Day and

Emancipation Day--marks the day when federal troops arrived

in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to ensure that African

Americans still enslaved were freed following both the

signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and end of the Civil

War.

The advance by Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger came 30

months and 19 days after President Abraham Lincoln signed the

Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, which had

declared, ``all persons held as slaves within any States, or

designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in

rebellion against the United States, shall be then,

thenceforward, and forever free.''

But with the seven Confederate states operating under their

own president, slaves in the South weren't exactly free to

go. It would take another two months after Robert E. Lee

surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April 1865 that

troops would arrive in Galveston to free the final 250,000

people enslaved there. Most left the area despite a message

from Union troops that they could stay and work for their

owners as employees.

A few months later, in December 1865, the 13th Amendment to

the Constitution was ratified and abolished slavery.

Where is it celebrated?

Like most holidays, Juneteenth is recognized in gatherings

across the country, predominantly in the Black community.

With the help of social media to spread awareness on a

holiday not always taught in school, it has become more

mainstream in recent years.

Celebrations can include reflections, parades, food and

drink, music--and even advocacy.

For instance, in 2016, Opal Lee of Texas, a now 94-year-old

activist, walked from her home in Fort Worth to the nation's

capital in an effort to get Juneteenth named a national

holiday.

It was in 1979 that Texas became the first state to

officially establish Juneteenth as an official holiday. Now,

49 states and the district separately recognize the day, with

South Dakota as the only outlier, despite legislative

attempts earlier this year.

What's next?

The legislation has passed just in time for the holiday

Saturday. Biden is scheduled to sign the bill into law

Thursday afternoon.

Despite the bipartisan victory, advocates said they are

still far from repairing the wounds from American slavery.

Some point to HR 40, which specifically calls for the

creation of a commission to study ``and consider a national

apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of

slavery, its subsequent de jure and de facto racial and

economic discrimination against African Americans, and the

impact of these forces on living African Americans, to make

recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and

for other purposes.''

A version has been introduced in every legislative session

since 1989, but passed out of a House committee for the first

time this year.

``We're giving America the opportunity for redemption, for

repair, for restoration, for also understanding the new

America, which is so multicultural,'' said lead sponsor,

Jackson Lee, in April after it passed.

That legislation is still awaiting a full House vote and is

expected to face an uphill battle in the Senate.

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, another lead Democrat to

sponsor the legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday

also highlighted in a tweet Wednesday that even with its

passage, Republicans still attack critical race theory which

would allow students to study the roots of events, such as

Juneteenth, in school.

``Even today, as conservatives try to erase history with

their attacks on critical race theory and understanding the

impacts of systemic racism, we stand here acknowledging the

truth. We will make #Juneteenth a federal holiday,'' Markey

said in the tweet.

Speaking at a press conference earlier Wednesday in front

of the Capitol, a group of lawmakers including Jackson Lee

and other Democrats supportive of the Juneteenth legislation

said there is still work to be done.

``Of course today is not enough, there's so much more work

left to be done, but this is an important day because it is a

piece of pavement on that path towards justice,'' said Sen.

Tina Smith, D-Minn. ``This is not a moment for complacency,

this is a moment to rededicate ourselves to that work.''

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7566) to amend title 18, United States Code, to increase the punishment for human trafficking in a school zone, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 7566, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill was introduced as an important response to stopping human trafficking and sex trafficking at schools. In fact, its name was Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones. I introduced that bill to stop human trafficking in school zones.

I am glad to be here on the floor of the House to continue this journey in protecting our children. I want to start with the words from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, one of the major supporters of this legislation:

Child sex trafficking is one of the most despicable crimes an individual can commit. Sadly, there are far too many children victimized by this scourge. For example, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of possible child sex trafficking in 2021.

It is especially troubling that these crimes sometimes occur at schools which should be a safe haven for America's children.

Besides gun violence, human trafficking, sex trafficking is a scourge that takes and destroys the lives of our children.

H.R. 7566 will play an important part in addressing child sex trafficking by establishing additional penalties for offenders who commit these offenses in a school zone or within 1,000 feet of a school-sponsored activity.

We want to be heard on stopping human trafficking and sex trafficking at our schools. And so the No Trafficking Zones Act, which was formerly the Stop Human Trafficking in Schools Act, would ensure that schools across the country, including institutions of higher learning, are safe spaces for learning and academic exploration, free from the menace of sex trafficking.

H.R. 7566 would establish a sentencing enhancement of up to 5 years in several instances: First, in the case of any person who commits the offense of sex trafficking within a primary or secondary school zone or on or within 1,000 feet of the premises of a school-sponsored activity, or premises owned by an institution of higher learning.

Second, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor enrolled in a primary or a secondary school, or a person enrolled in an institution of higher learning, to travel in interstate or foreign commerce and engage in criminal sexual activity while the minor is in a school zone, or on or within 1,000 feet of premises where a school-sponsored activity is taking place, or while the person is on or within 1,000 feet of the premises owned by the institution of higher education.

And third, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor using the mail or facilities of interstate or foreign commerce, such as the text and instant messaging or social media platforms which have been used extensively, while the minor who is enrolled in school or an institution of higher education, is in a school zone, or on or within 1,000 feet of premises where a school- sponsored activity is taking place, or premises owned by the institution of higher education.

Human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to human rights in the United States. It destroys a human being's life, and it destroys, forever, a child's life.

In 2020, 11,193 instances of potential human trafficking were reported to the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline, with at least 70 percent of those instances involving sex trafficking, while an estimated 25 percent of all human trafficking victims in this country are in my home State of Texas at any given time, many of whom are minors.

Mr. Speaker, I gave and held the first human trafficking hearing, field hearing from Houston, Texas, with my cosponsor of this legislation, the honorable Mike McCaul. I express my appreciation for his collaboration on this legislation, his enthusiastic collaboration, as he did join me when we held the first hearing on human trafficking in Houston, through the Homeland Security Committee.

What I would say is that Houston had been the epicenter of human trafficking. It was a powerful hearing, and I am glad that we have joined together now to stop human trafficking at schools.

Let me also offer my sympathy to him and his family for their loss.

At least 5,359 trafficking victims and survivors identified through the hotline in 2019 were under the age of 18. And in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of suspected child sex trafficking. Many of these young victims of sex trafficking are students in school systems, colleges, trade schools, and universities across the country.

A 2018 survey reported that in Texas, where no trafficking zone legislation passed with bipartisan support earlier this year, 55 percent of young sex trafficking survivors were trafficked while at school or school activities, and 60 percent of trafficked adults said they were first groomed and solicited for trafficking while on school campuses.

That has been a hotbed of opportunity for the scourge of sex traffickers who want to prey upon our innocent children. I am grateful that the legislation in Texas generated out of an effort chaired by Bishop James Dixon, chair of the Houston Sports Authority at the NRG Arena, and began to develop a policy where there would be no trafficking zones around major stadiums and events.

Members of this body know all too well that children are sexually exploited in many ways. Some young people are trafficked by their schoolmates or people they once considered friends. And while the traffickers seek out young people who have noticeable vulnerabilities, including problems at school, conflicts at home, or even the need to fill in a tuition gap caused by the loss of a scholarship, no child or young person is truly safe from the schemes of charismatic traffickers bent on exploiting and destroying young lives.

With the proliferation of social media and the myriad ways in which we communicate with one another, traffickers have put these same means of communication to their own use to find, target, lure, groom, victimize, and exert control over their victims while buyers are using technology to find and purchase sex anonymously.

Traffickers have infiltrated every known form of communication, especially the sites, messaging apps, and social media platforms our children use most frequently, leaving young children more vulnerable to manipulation. Access to the internet, cell phones, and smartphones make it easier, Mr. Speaker, for traffickers and buyers to communicate with children and youth.

Even when they are at school, in class, or attending school-sponsored activities, there are no barriers, no walls, no brick walls, cement walls, steel walls, that can keep a trafficker from getting a precious child.

As a result, trafficking has reached the halls, lunchrooms, gyms, dormitories, and classrooms of schools, colleges, and universities in every corner of the United States of America.

These staggering facts and statistics led me to introduce this bipartisan legislation, the No Trafficking Zones Act, along with Chairman Nadler and Representative McCaul, who I wish to thank for working with me, as I have said previously, as well as Representative Johnson of Louisiana for his amendment that included the protection for young people at institutions of higher education.

We came together in a bipartisan manner to exert the influence necessary to protect America's children collectively. I, again, thank Chairman Nadler, Representative McCaul of Texas, and Representative Johnson of Louisiana. I am delighted to work with them.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the issue of stopping human trafficking in school zones is such a crucial issue that I would hope that the focus of our debate today would be on saving the lives of children.

I will just simply make the point, being on the Committee on Homeland Security and chairing the Judiciary subcommittee that deals with Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, that we all can work together for comprehensive immigration reform.

Here we are today, specifically focused and pointed on ensuring that there are no trafficking zones in our country and specifically around our school zones where children cannot be harmed.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters from the Major Cities Chiefs Association; Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds; NAACP, Bishop James Dixon, Branch President; Break the Cycle U.S.A., Valerie Winborne, mother of trafficking victim; and Courtney Litvak, surviving--a summary of her experience where she was trafficked.

Major Cities

Chiefs Association,

July 13, 2022.

Hon. Shelia Jackson Lee,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Michael McCaul,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Jerrold Nadler,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Rep. Jackson Lee, Rep. Nadler, and Rep. McCaul: I

write on behalf of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA)

to register our support for H.R. 7566, the Stop Human

Trafficking in School Zones Act. The MCCA is a professional

organization of police executives representing the largest

cities in the United States and Canada.

Child sex trafficking is one of the most despicable crimes

an individual can commit. Sadly, there are far too many

children victimized by this scourge. For example, the

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received

more than 17,200 reports of possible child sex trafficking in

2021. It's especially troubling that these crimes sometimes

occur at schools, which should be a safe haven for America's

children. H.R. 7566 will play an important part in addressing

child sex trafficking by establishing additional penalties

for offenders who commit these offenses in a school zone or

within 1,000 feet of a school-sponsored activity. These

enhanced penalties will help establish a strong deterrent and

ensure those who commit these heinous acts are held

accountable.

Thank you for your leadership and ongoing commitment to

protecting America's children. Please do not hesitate to

contact me if the MCCA can be of further assistance.

Sincerely.

Jeri Williams,

Chief, Phoenix Police Department,

President, Major Cities Chiefs Association.

Mr. Speaker, I would just simply like to suggest that we can find trafficking in many other places.

I also include in the Record the article: ``Epstein's `ground zero': How the financier reportedly wreaked havoc on Royal Palm Beach High School community.''

[From Business Insider, July 27, 2019]

Epstein's `Ground Zero': How the Financier Reportedly Wreaked Havoc on

the Royal Palm Beach High School Community

(By Kat Tenbarge)

Former Royal Palm Beach High School Assistant Principal

Carolyn Brown told The Palm Beach Post it was an ``open

secret'' that female students were involved in something

suspicious that involved hundreds of dollars in cash and

resulted in girls being bullied for being ``prostitutes'' and

``sugar babies.''

What administers didn't know, or at least didn't act upon,

was that at least 15 underage girls enrolled at the high

school were sexually assaulted by financier and now convicted

sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to police reports

obtained by The Palm Beach Post.

Like dozens of other accusations against the shadowy

financier, who is currently being held without bail on

charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy in the

southern district of New York, Epstein's Royal Palm Beach

High accusers say he paid them to give him massages, during

which he would coerce them into sex acts.

Epstein was well aware that his victims would have been

high schoolers, since The Post reported that a Royal Palm

Beach High transcript was found in 2005 in his bedroom desk

drawer at his $12 million Palm Beach estate, next to a

massage table and an armoire filled with sex toys.

One Royal Palm Beach High accuser told police she was 16-

years-old when Epstein asked her to give him a massage while

she was topless. She said she told him she was in high

school. He asked what her favorite sex position was.

Another 16-year-old told police Epstein said he would help

her get into her dream college, New York University, after

reviewing her SAT scores and high school transcript.

Epstein also wrote a note on his own Jeffrey E. Epstein-

branded stationary, Palm Beach police officers found, which

instructed an employee to deliver a dozen roses to an

underage girl who performed in a Royal Palm Beach High play.

Police found the note in Epstein's garbage in 2005.

These findings were some of the evidence brought forward

before Epstein signed a plea deal in 2008 that allowed him to

avoid federal prosecution and serve 13 months of an 18-month

prison sentence, during which he could work from a high-rise

in Palm Beach 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

Now, Epstein is pleading not guilty to sex trafficking

charges that accuse the elite financier of assaulting upward

of 80 women, many who were underage at the time of the

assault, including some as young as 14. The Palm Beach Post

reports that Epstein recruited girls from several Palm Beach,

Florida high schools, but that Royal Palm Beach High was his

``ground zero.''

The Post reports that girls who were part of Epstein's

underage sexual assault scheme were bullied for being

``prostitutes'' and ``sugar babies,'' which administrators

took notice of when they found $300 in a girl's purse after

she was caught fighting with another female student.

Attorney Adam Horowitz, who has represented some of

Epstein's accusers in eight civil lawsuits, was quoted as

describing the girls who were allegedly targeted as

vulnerable, with some ``living in trailer parks,'' in The

Post.

Epstein asked girls to bring their friends, The Post

reported, paying girls up to $200 for recruiting new victims.

``The younger the better,'' he instructed them, according to

one accuser who was first approached by an adult who worked

for Epstein in 2003 at a resort in Riviera Beach.

That accuser went into her senior year at Royal Palm Beach

High with Epstein's goal in mind, with The Post reporting she

recruited at least eight other underage girls who then

recruited their own friends, including some girls who were on

the verge of homelessness and needed money, badly.

``Knowing what we know now, it's so sad what happened to

those girls,'' Brown, the former assistant principal, told

The Post.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article: `` `Open secret' at Royal Palm High School: At least 15 students were lured to Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach mansion'' right out of the school.

Open Secret at Royal Palm High: At Least 15 Students Were Lured to

Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach Mansion

(By Lulu Ramadan)

Tucked in the drawer of Jeffrey Epstein's bedroom desk,

near a massage table and a wooden armoire filled with sex

toys, was a teenage girl's Royal Palm Beach High School

transcript.

She was 16 years old when Epstein lured her to his Palm

Beach home set at the end of a dead-end street behind a wall

of hedges.

And she's one of at least 15 girls from Royal Palm Beach

High School who Epstein sexually exploited in that bedroom 15

years ago, police reports reveal.

Epstein, a multimillionaire financier then in his 50s,

lured a procession of girls as young as 14 to his home to

perform nude massages for money, police and court records

say. The massages often ended with Epstein groping or

sexually assaulting the girls.

Epstein's victims attended several Palm Beach County

schools, including Lake Worth Middle and Palm Beach Gardens

High.

But Royal Palm Beach High, with about 3,000 students, many

from the county's rural reaches, was ground zero.

Evidence suggests Epstein knew his victims were school

girls and the signs didn't escape Royal Palm Beach High

administrators. The girls endured teasing and classmates

called them ``prostitutes.'' After two girls fought, an

administrator found one of them had $300 in her purse.

Aside from the student transcript found in Epstein's desk

in 2005, police collected more evidence and witness

statements that suggest Epstein knew his victims were still

school children:

He scrawled a note on Jeffrey E. Epstein-branded stationery

instructing one of his employees to deliver a dozen roses to

a girl who performed in a Royal Palm Beach High play. Police

found the note in his trash.

One 16-year-old girl described to detectives giving Epstein

a massage while she was topless. He asked her about herself

and she told him she was a student at Royal Palm High. He

then asked her which was her favorite sexual position, she

told police.

Another girl, who met Epstein at age 16, said Epstein

reviewed her college applications and SAT scores and promised

to help her get into her dream school, New York University.

Though Palm Beach detectives uncovered these details in

2005, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office and U.S.

Attorney's Office in Miami, then headed by Alexander Acosta,

cut Epstein a plea deal that landed him in jail for 13 months

on two charges of soliciting prostitution.

This month, a decade after his release from a Palm Beach

County jail, federal agents in New York arrested Epstein, 66,

on charges of sex trafficking minors. The move came eight

months after a Miami Herald investigation zeroed in on

Acosta's role in Epstein's plea deal and let victims tell

their stories publicly for the first time.

Epstein preyed on dozens of girls, at least 32 identified

at the time by police but about 80 identified in 2018 by the

Herald.

``These girls had never even been to Palm Beach island,''

said Adam Horowitz, an attorney who represented Epstein

victims in eight civil lawsuits filed against the

multimillionaire.

``Some of them were living in trailer parks. This was a

whole new world to them.''

For Epstein: `The younger the better'

Some of the girls told Epstein they were uncomfortable with

being touched during massages, so he asked them to bring

friends instead, police reports and court records reveal.

He paid girls about the same amount, around $200, to

recruit a friend as he paid the girls who stripped down and

performed massages, court records show.

Royal Palm Beach High was a target by coincidence.

``One of Epstein's recruiters managed to infiltrate that

circle,'' Horowitz said.

The ``recruiter'' approached a 17-year-old Royal Palm Beach

High School student in 2003 at a resort in Riviera Beach with

an offer to make $200 for an hour to give a massage, she told

police two years later.

The teen went to Epstein's seven-bedroom home on the

Intracoastal Waterway, where an assistant led her up a

staircase lined with pictures of naked young girls and into

Epstein's bedroom, police say.

In keeping with descriptions to police from many Epstein

victims, the teen found Epstein wearing only a towel, which

he later removed, before lying on a massage table.

Epstein tried to grope her, but she resisted. She told him

she didn't want to be touched, she told detectives.

So Epstein asked her to bring friends to his home for cash

instead. ``The younger the better,'' Epstein said, according

to her police statement.

Going into her senior year at Royal Palm Beach High, the

girl became a conduit to the school, recruiting at least

eight other girls she'd met on campus, court depositions and

police testimonies reveal.

And those girls recruited more girls.

Name-calling and a fight

One Royal Palm Beach High student told detectives in 2005

that she targeted promiscuous teens on campus. Another said

she brought a friend on the verge of homelessness and

strapped for cash.

School administrators knew something unusual was happening,

police reports show.

Students teased the Epstein clique as ``prostitutes'' or

``sugar babies,'' a term for young women who seek

relationships with wealthy, older men, The Post learned from

court depositions and former students.

The tension came to the administration's attention in

February 2005, when a 14-year-old freshman, the first of

Epstein's victims to speak to police, got into a fight on

campus with a girl who called her a ``prostitute,'' police

said.

But the school kept no disciplinary record of the fight and

didn't report anything, police learned in 2005.

At the time, it appeared the girls were making money doing

something nefarious, one former administrator, then-Assistant

Principal Carolyn Brown, said in a brief interview this

month.

It was an ``open secret,'' Brown said, stopping short of

saying whether school administrators knew the girls were paid

for sexual favors.

Brown was subpoenaed to testify in the 2005 criminal case

against Epstein after she found $300 in the 14-year-old's

purse on campus shortly after the fight, court records

reveal.

Administrators considered and then dismissed the idea that

it might be drug money, detectives wrote in a 2005 report.

Brown, who is retired, never spoke to prosecutors. Soon

after her subpoena, federal prosecutors struck Epstein's plea

deal calling for 18 months in county jail, registration as a

sex offender and payments to victims.

It wasn't clear if the principal at the time, Sheila Henry,

knew that more than a dozen students were involved with

Epstein. Henry wasn't mentioned in police reports and could

not be reached for comment.

But two former students reached by The Post, who asked to

stay anonymous, said students gossiped that some girls had

rich, older boyfriends who bought them expensive gifts. Six

other students didn't recall any such talk.

None of the girls knew then what the public knows now: That

a Palm Beach millionaire tapped a local high school to prey

on girls for his sexual gratification.

``Knowing what we know now,'' said Brown, the former

assistant principal, ``it's so sad what happened to those

girls.''

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the article: ``Police: Children recruiting other kids for human trafficking at schools.'' This was in Florida.

[From WKMG ClickOrlando.com, Nov. 1, 2018]

Police: Children Recruiting Other Kids for Human Trafficking at Schools

Florida ranks 3rd in the nation for calls to human trafficking hotline

(By Erik von Ancken)

Orlando, FL.--Human trafficking is real and it is happening

in Central Florida.

Crystal Blanton, co-chair of the Marion County Human

Trafficking Task Force, said she receives thousands of

reports from the National Human Trafficking Hotline every

year.

``Usually the reports are in the thousands, every year,''

Blanton said. ``Thousands of people are being human

trafficked. Right here in Marion County and across the state

of Florida.''

Blanton said it's not like the movies (``Taken'' 2008),

where young girls are taken during their summer vacations by

foreign human traffickers to be sold to sultans or sheiks.

But local children, often as young as 12, are being

recruited into a life of forced prostitution.

``I just think it's the internet, I hate to say it,''

Blanton said. ``Social media has grown the field of human

trafficking. It's easier for these traffickers to make

contact with victims.''

Blanton said traffickers look for vulnerable teenagers

online--runaways, teenagers complaining about their lives and

their parents, young people with drug addictions--and

befriend them.

But human trafficking isn't confined to any race or class,

according to Blanton.

Some victims were on the honor roll headed to college.

``We've had doctors' children who have been intertwined,''

Blanton said.

Blanton also said human traffickers align with students and

use them and their schools as recruiting grounds.

``There are recruiters, juvenile recruiters in the schools,

working with a pimp of some kind, and they are sent out in

the schools and given a job to bring other minors on board,''

Blanton said.

Blanton said the task force has had success educating

Marion County elementary, middle and high school principals

in looking for signs of human trafficking and placing Human

Trafficking Hotline posters in schools.

Mike Lanfersiek, a sergeant at the Human Trafficking Squad

at Orlando's Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI), said

the definition of human trafficking is forcing a person to

have sex or to work through force, fraud or coercion.

``Human trafficking is quite simply the exploitation of

another person for commercial sex or forced labor,''

Lanfersiek said.

Lanfersiek said once victims, female or male, enter into

the life of human trafficking, they are kept there by their

captor, taking advantage of their vulnerability.

``A vulnerability to substance abuse, the fear of physical

beating, or withholding passports or documents, things like

that,'' Lanfersiek.

Lanfersiek's Human Trafficking Squad has rescued hundreds

of young women and children, often from hotels in the tourist

district of Orange and Osceola Counties.

``Anywhere where the trafficker thinks there might be

demand for commercial sex,'' Lanfersiek said.

Traffickers often set up their prostitution operation at

hotels because they cater to visitors in town for business or

pleasure who are looking for sex, according to Lanfersiek.

Lanfersiek said he just rescued a 15-year-old girl from a

hotel on International Drive.

``She had met someone on the `Plenty of Fish' website and

felt this person was her boyfriend, exploiting her

vulnerabilities, pimping her out,'' Lanfersiek said.

In July, MBI agents arrested three men for luring a teenage

girl through a social media app to an International Drive

hotel and then prostituting her and having sex with her.

In 2016, Orlando police charged two men with the death of a

14-year-old girl who they'd been allegedly prostituting,

driving her to men's homes to have sex.

Lanfersiek said MBI regularly sets up undercover sting

operations to catch traffickers and rescue victims.

MBI analysts spend their days online, searching through

postings by human traffickers looking for victims and

offering them for prostitution.

Lanfersiek offered this warning: If you're coming to

Central Florida looking for a date for sex, you may get a

date with an undercover officer.

Mr. Speaker, my good friend has spoken about the southern border. I include in the Record the article: ``Recruitment and Entrapment Pathways of Minors into Sex Trafficking in Canada and the United States: A Systematic Review.'' Northern border, by the way, that I would offer to say.

[From Trauma, Violence, & Abuse]

Recruitment and Entrapment Pathways of Minors Into Sex Trafficking in

Canada and the United States: A Systematic Review

(By Kyla Baird and Jennifer Connolly)

Abstract--the domestic sex trafficking of minors is

occurring across Canada and the United States. Understanding

the routes into sex trafficking, including the way

traffickers target, recruit and enmesh youth in the sex trade

is invaluable information for service providers and law

makers developing prevention and intervention initiatives.

This review synthesized research on the exploitation

processes and tactics employed by traffickers in the sex

trafficking of domestic minors in Canada and the US. The

authors comprehensively and systematically

searched five electronic databases and obtained additional

publications and grey literature through a backward search of

the references cited in articles reviewed for inclusion.

Inclusionary criteria included: Studies published in the

English language between January 1990 and June 2020

containing original research with quantitative or qualitative

data on the recruitment or pathways into sex trafficking for

minors trafficked within the US and Canada. The search

yielded 23 eligible studies. The synthesis of the studies in

the review converged on the notion of sexual exploitation

occurring on a continuum comprising of three components; the

recruitment context, entrapment strategies utilized by

traffickers, and enmeshment tactics used to prolong

exploitation. Findings highlight the significant physical,

psychological and emotional hurdles faced by youth victims of

sex trafficking and point to the importance of comprehensive

and holistic approaches to prevention and intervention

practices.

Human trafficking is a global problem that has garnered

significant international and national attention over the

past 2 decades. In 2000, 140 countries signed onto the

Palermo protocol agreeing that human trafficking is a

significant human rights violation and a criminal offense

that requires prevention, the protection of vulnerable

populations, and the prosecution of violators of the

protocol. In North America, both Canada and the United States

signed this protocol and have since passed legislation and

policies to combat human trafficking. Sex trafficking became

criminalized in Canada in 2005 when human trafficking entered

the criminal code under section 279.01 and in the United

States in 2000 with the passing of the Trafficking Victims

Protection Act (TVPA). Sex trafficking is one of the most

common forms of human trafficking consisting of the

recruitment and exploitation of an individual through the use

of threats, force, coercion, deception, or abuse of power for

the purpose of a commercial sex act (United Nations Office on

Drugs and Crime, 2014). A commercial sex act, as defined by

the American TVPA (2000), is ``any sexual act for which

something of value is given or received.'' Common examples

include prostitution, pornography, sexual massage parlors,

and strip clubs. Commercial sex acts may be exchanged for

money, drugs, shelter, clothing, or food (Cole & Anderson,

2013; Kotrla, 2010). Sex trafficking is rampant across the

United States and Canada (Clawson et al., 2009; Dalley,

2010). Despite various political and social differences

between these countries, they are united on the front of

combating sex trafficking within their borders and expanding

research to support effective evidence-based prevention and

intervention strategies.

Sex Trafficking of Minors (STM)

Minors (under the age of 18) are overrepresented among

victims of sex trafficking, with the majority of victims

recruited between 12 and 14 years of age (Jordan et al.,

2013; Smith et al., 2009). Given the elevated risk for

minors, research and legislation have begun to focus on the

specific issue of the STM. Consequently, our understanding of

the risks for recruitment, experiences, and needs of underage

victims is growing, and important policy actions have been

taken. In the past decade, both Canada and the United

States have passed legislation, reformed laws, and enacted

policies to combat issues of the STM. Legislative changes

in both Canada and the United States have transformed the

way victims are viewed and treated by law enforcement.

More specifically, American and Canadian federal consent

laws declared minors under the age of 18 unable to consent

to commercial sex and have shifted the lens of law

enforcement from criminalizing youth in the sex trade to

viewing them as victims (Adelson, 2008; Franchino-Olsen,

2019). Language in research on STM has followed suit,

shifting from calling underage victims of sex trafficking

``teen prostitutes'' to ``victims of STM.''

On the basis of age, youth from all sectors of society are

at risk for recruitment into sex trafficking. Developmental

vulnerabilities such as identity formation, the need for

belonging, desire for autonomy, desire for romantic

relationships, and evolving problem-solving skills make them

easily exploitable by traffickers who appeal to these

vulnerabilities (Schwartz, 2015). Based on the growing

literature, some youths are at greater risk for recruitment

than others. Several risk factors for STM have been

identified, including involvement with child protective

services, history of childhood sexual abuse, homelessness,

physical and emotional abuse, neglect, exposure to intimate

partner violence, problematic relationships with caregivers,

drug and alcohol abuse, and teen dating violence (Choi, 2015;

Countryman-Roswurm, 2012; Countryman-Roswurm & Bolin, 2014;

Farley et al., 2005; Franchino-Olsen, 2019; Kotrla, 2010;

Landers et al., 2017). Traffickers are known to be deeply

perceptive of the developmental vulnerabilities of youth and

target their unmet needs through strategic recruitment

methods.

Simply being a girl places a youth at an elevated risk

status relative to boys (Estes & Weiner, 2001), with 98% of

victims being women and girls (International Labour

Organization, 2012). Adolescent girls are particularly

vulnerable to sexual exploitation due to social norms that

cast gendered expectations and power imbalances in relation

to sexual activities, with boys being expected to take sexual

initiatives. Sexual inexperience, desire for romantic

relationships, and insecurity among young girls can set the

stage for manipulation and exploitation by adolescent boys or

men (Hanna, 2002).

Based on the differential needs and situations of youth,

the recruitment and exploitation of underage populations are

thought to differ from adult populations (Bouche & Shady,

2017; Dank et al., 2014). While it may be riskier to traffic

a youth due to increased policing efforts in protecting

minors and higher sentences for STM, it has been suggested

that these risks are offset by the youth being easier to

manipulate and control and being highly desired by

purchasers, bringing in more money for the trafficker (Dank

et al., 2014). Compared to adults, youths have greater needs

for protection, less life experience, and are dependent on

adults for basic needs such as food and shelter, making them

more vulnerable to traffickers who vow to provide care,

protection, and basic needs (Bruhns et al., 2018; Cole &

Anderson, 2013). Given youths' physical and emotional

dependency on adults, some research have suggested youths are

more trusting and less able to identify traffickers' coercive

and manipulative strategies to entrap them (Cole & Sprang,

2015). Adult victims, on the other hand, are generally less

psychologically dependent on their trafficker (Bouche &

Shady, 2017). In addition, literature on the trafficking of

adults identify several risk factors that are more unique to

adult victim populations, including needing to financially

support dependents, low educational attainment, and having

few job skills (Holger-Ambrose et al., 2013). Despite

differences in adult and underage victim populations, much of

the extant research on recruitment for sex trafficking have

pooled both underage and adult participants or examined

victimized adults only, limiting our understanding of the STM

specifically (Reid, 2014). In order to translate sex

trafficking research into evidence-based initiatives to

combat the STM, it is important for research to delineate the

specific ways in which traffickers target and recruit youth

into the sex trade. The current study aims to synthesize

research that focuses on youth recruitment into sex

trafficking in North America.

North American Context of Sex Trafficking

There have been few attempts to estimate the prevalence of

the STM in North America; however, available statistics are

often ``guesstimates'' rather than reliable rates (Franchino-

Olsen et al., 2020; Stransky & Finkelhor, 2012). Available

estimates for STM most commonly come from the United States,

where the rates range from 1,400 to upward of 199,000 victims

(Banks & Kyckelhahn, 2011; Estes & Weiner, 2001; Snyder &

Sickmund, 2006; U.S. Department of Justice, 2004), with the

most commonly cited study estimating upward of 325,000

children at risk for sexual exploitation in the United States

each year (Estes & Weiner, 2001). However, available

statistics are problematic as they often fail to distinguish

between domestic and international victims, are based on

varying definitions of sex trafficking, are geographically

limited, and utilize nonreplicable, unreliable methodologies

(Fedina et al., 2019; Franchino-Olsen et al., 2020; Stransky

& Finkelhor, 2012). Researcher error aside, the very nature

of the sex trafficking industry presents barriers to the

acquisition of accurate statistics. Most significant among

these is the fact that trafficking occurs largely

underground, within criminal networks that are transient,

discrete, and often invisible, even to law enforcement

(Duger, 2015; Franchino-Olsen et al., 2020). Difficulty in

obtaining estimates of an invisible crime is compounded by

the fact that many individuals victimized by sex trafficking

do not view themselves as victims of a crime and therefore do

not report it in any official capacity (Mcclain & Garrity,

2011). Despite flawed and unreliable statistics, STM is known

to be widespread across Canada and the United States,

requiring immediate action and sound research to uncover

trends and pathways of youth into sex trafficking including

the way traffickers target, recruit, and enmesh youth in the

sex trade (Clawson et al., 2009; Cole & Sprang, 2015; Dalley,

2010).

While STM defies geographic borders, a country's economic

environment, geographic positioning, laws, employment rates,

per capita income, and historical events shape the industry

and individual risk for recruitment (Hepburn & Simon, 2010;

C. O'Brien, 2009). As a result, trends in STM within North

America are different from the European context. The

permeable borders between European countries allow for easy

international movement between proximal countries (Lindstrom,

2004). For example, one report found only 5% of all

identified sex-trafficked victims in the United Kingdom (UK)

were originally from the UK, which is a stark contrast to the

picture of trafficking in NA where the majority of victims

are domestic persons (Baird, McDonald & Connolly, 2020; Banks

& Kyckelhahn, 2011; Mitchell et al., 2010; Royal Canadian

Mounted Police [RCMP], Human Trafficking National

Coordination Centre, 2014; Serious Organised Crime Agency,

2013). Given sex trafficking industries vary between

countries based on differences in social, geographical,

cultural, economic, and historical factors, it is not

appropriate to generalize understandings of STM across

countries that are dissimilar across these factors (Hepburn &

Simon, 2010). As such, the current study narrowed its focus

to systematically reviewing the recruitment of minors for sex

trafficking in two countries, Canada and the

United States both of which have similar cultural, economic,

geographic, and historical contexts.

The domestic STM is of major concern within Canada and the

United States (Clawson et al., 2009; Dalley, 2010). While

both countries adhere to the standards of affluent and

profitable nations that are alluring destinations for

international sex traffickers, research consistently shows

that domestic youth (i.e., youth trafficked within their

country of origin) comprise the majority of underage victims

in their respective countries (Baird et al., 2020; Kotrla,

2010; RCMP, Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre,

2014). Due to the risks and challenges associated with

transporting victims across borders, some research suggests

that domestic youths are preferred by traffickers (Smith et

al., 2009). In summarizing the literature on recruitment and

entrapment, it is important to distinguish between

international and domestic sex trafficking due to the nuanced

differences in the process of exploitation. Comparatively,

researchers suggest domestic sex traffickers more often

utilize interpersonal relationships and domestic violence to

entrap their target and international traffickers rely upon

kidnapping, parents' selling their children, and offering

false promises of jobs abroad for entrapment (Cecchet &

Thoburn, 2014). Understanding the specific ways American and

Canadian youths are recruited by traffickers and exploited

domestically is important in developing effective prevention

and intervention strategies.

Mr. Speaker, then let me offer this point of importance. The victims are not here on this floor, but we must carry their story to this floor, to ensure that we do not see another victim.

So I will offer these words from Courtney. Courtney has made it her mission to tell her story and speak out to spread awareness of human trafficking and help shape policy to protect other young people from falling victim to the schemes of human traffickers and to hold traffickers accountable.

She became entangled in sex trafficking while still in school. Despite what some believe about victims of human trafficking, she grew up in a loving, church-going family, in a safe neighborhood, and attended an upscale suburban high school in Texas.

At the age of 17, she was under the control of her first trafficker. She was being advertised for illicit sex on websites like Backpage. A trafficker with ties to her high school used fellow students to prey upon her and use her vulnerabilities to their advantage, offering her friendship and support when she felt she had none, meanwhile drawing her gradually and deeper into the life. She was actually groomed by two different organized crime networks simultaneously, and each groomer chatted with her through social media and messaging. One network even invested in grooming Courtney for almost an entire year.

Her first trafficker picked her up from school. She was unenrolled from her school and had her entire life uprooted in a desperate attempt to intervene in an exploitation.

She returned back to her hometown where days after turning 18, she was taken from her home by another invested trafficker. She soon realized she was in this world, and over and over again she was used and transported from Texas to California to Las Vegas, passing from one hand to the next.

What a vile life. She is willing to share this life.

It is extremely important that we pass this legislation and that we address the question of what can happen to our innocent children.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for closing.

Let me express my appreciation to those who sacrificed to share with us their stories and those who worked on this very important effort: Bishop James Dixon, II, the No Trafficking Zone cofounder and senior pastor of the Community of Faith Church, Branch President of the NAACP, Houston Branch; Jacquelyn Aluotto, NTZ cofounder, founder of Real Beauty Real Women; and Courtney Litvak, a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, who will participate in unveiling their annual report later this week; and so many others who have really helped. Jacquelyn Aluotto was someone who inspirationally wanted to lead us in this direction and worked very hard.

Each of us has a duty to protect young people, whether it be from drugs, gun violence, or sex traffickers. Our children deserve to be safe, and parents should know their children will be safe when they put them on the school bus or move them into their new dorms.

To be sure, H.R. 7566, the No Trafficking Zones Act, provides increased accountability for anyone who would dare interrupt or interfere with a young person's ability to obtain an education and lay the foundation for a productive future for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

In drafting this legislation, I am grateful for the contribution of the No Trafficking Zone Initiative and all of those whose names I have called, including those names not called, those victims silenced, or lives lost or destroyed.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 7566. This is a great day for helping to stop sex trafficking, human trafficking, where our children should be most safe, and that is at our schools.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7566, the bipartisan ``No Trafficking Zones Act,'' would ensure that schools across the country, including institutions of higher education, are safe spaces for learning and academic exploration--free from the menace of sex trafficking.

H.R. 7566 would establish a sentencing enhancement of up to five years in several instances:

First, in the case of any person who commits the offense of sex trafficking within a primary or secondary school zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of the premises of a school-sponsored activity or premises owned by an institution of higher education;

Second, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor enrolled in a primary or secondary school or a person enrolled in an institution of higher education--to travel in interstate or foreign commerce and engage in criminal sexual activity-- while the minor is in a school zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises where a school-sponsored activity is taking place or while the person is on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises owned by the institution of higher education;

And, third, for any person who commits the offense of coercion and enticement of a minor using the mail or facilities of interstate or foreign commerce--such as text and instant messaging or social media platforms--while the minor who is enrolled in school or an institution of higher education, is in a school zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of, premises where a school-sponsored activity is taking place or premises owned by an the institution of higher education.

Human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to human rights in the United States. In 2020, 11,193 instances of potential human trafficking were reported to the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline with at least 70 percent of those instances involving sex trafficking, while an estimated 25 percent of all human trafficking victims in the country are in my home state of Texas at any given time--many of whom are minors. That is why the Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones Act that we are debating is so important to pass.

At least 5,359 of trafficking victims and survivors identified through the hotline in 2019 were under the age of 18, and in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of suspected child sex trafficking.

Many of these young victims of sex trafficking are students in school systems, colleges, trade schools, and universities across the country.

A 2018 survey reported that in Texas--where No Trafficking Zone legislation passed with bipartisan support earlier this year--55 percent of young sex trafficking survivors were trafficked while at school or school activities and 60 percent of trafficked adults said they were first groomed and solicited for trafficking while on school campuses.

Members of this body know all too well that children are sexually exploited in many ways. Some young people are trafficked by their schoolmates or people they once considered friends.

And while traffickers seek out young people who have noticeable vulnerabilities--including problems at school, conflicts at home, or even the need to fill in a tuition gap caused by the loss of a scholarship--no child or young person is truly safe from the schemes of charismatic traffickers bent on exploiting and destroying young lives.

With the proliferation of social media and the myriad ways in which we communicate with one another, traffickers have put these same means of communication to their own use--to find, target, lure, groom, victimize, and exert control over their victims. While buyers are using technology to find and purchase sex anonymously.

Traffickers have infiltrated every known form of communication-- especially the sites, messaging apps, and social media platforms our children use most frequently--leaving young people more vulnerable to manipulation.

Access to the internet, cell phones, and smartphones makes it easier for traffickers and buyers to communicate with children and youth--even when they are at school, in class, or attending school-sponsored activities.

As a result, trafficking has reached the halls, lunchrooms, gyms, dormitories, and classrooms of schools, colleges, and universities in every corner of this nation.

These staggering facts and statistics led me to introduce this bipartisan legislation, the No Trafficking Zones Act, known as the Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones Act, along with Chairman Nadler and Representative McCaul, who I wish to thank for working with me, as well as Representative Johnson of Louisiana for his amendment, that included the protections for young people at institutions of higher education.

Each of us has a duty to protect young people--whether it be from drugs, gun violence, or sex traffickers. Our children deserve to be safe; and parents should know their children will be safe when they put them on the school bus or move them into their new dorms.

To be sure, H.R. 7566, the No Trafficking Zones Act, provides increased accountability for anyone who would dare interrupt or interfere with a young person's ability to obtain an education and lay the foundation for a productive future--for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

In drafting this legislation, I am grateful for the contributions of the No Trafficking Zone Initiative, Bishop James Dixon, Jacquelyn Aluotto, and Courtney Litvak, who is also a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and will participate in unveiling their Annual Report later this week.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.

Madam Speaker, I rise to begin the discussion that I think we will continue in days to come and even into the new year, and that is to discuss the Congressional Black Caucus' accomplishments in this Congress, the 117th.

By its very nature, the tenure and the breadth and depth of members of the Congressional Black Caucus, I believe that we can be talking for a very long time, and so this will probably be a continuum to tell the American people how we have been helping to ensure that they have a better quality of life.

I am very proud to join with the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Joyce Beatty, who has led us, in the 117th Congress, to be instrumental in the lives of intergenerations, across generational lines, and to ensure that those who are at the beginning of life, and those at the end of life, and those in between raising their families, know that the Congressional Black Caucus is standing with them.

One particularly unique example of that is, of course, the HBCU conference that is going on this week, where HBCUs are coming from all over the country. And it is interesting to be able to associate, not only our colleague, Alma Adams, as the chair of the HBCU Caucus, of which I am a member and many of our colleagues are members, including I see on the floor, Chairman Scott.

Under his leadership, the HBCUs have gotten more money--than I believe in the history of many of our tenure here in the United States Congress--working with President Biden. This is the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus.

So let me quickly begin my comments, and I will look forward to yielding to my friends who are here, including my colleague and friend from Louisiana, Mr. Troy Carter, Congressman Carter, who is the new vice chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus. And I know that we are looking forward to many days of action on behalf of the children of America and on behalf of children of color and African-American children.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus strongly support the President's goal of passing legislation that will significantly reduce healthcare costs for all Americans.

The Inflation Reduction Act will significantly reduce, and has significantly reduced, prescription drug costs and expanded healthcare coverage for millions of Black Americans, relieving financial strains on individuals and families.

What I think is most important is the work that many of us on the Congressional Black Caucus did, including the work that I advocated with our whip, Jim Clyburn, and Senator Warnock. We were on it for the $35 cap on insulin, along with our colleagues. It was driven and inspired by members of the Congressional Black Caucus to ensure that insulin, which now is one of the driving forces of creating a better quality of life for our seniors--you can say that the Congressional Black Caucus was intimately involved in that.

We were intimately involved in ensuring that it has a fair response to climate change around the issue of bringing down the cost of energy for our families in America. And of course, that impacts Black families.

This new law will help bring down energy costs for millions of Black Americans, and it includes very strong protections and programs to promote environmental justice.

Of course, we worked extensively on the bipartisan infrastructure law. That was, of course, a very pivotal role for those of us in the Congressional Black Caucus. Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native Americans, especially those who reside in urban communities, are more likely to be negatively impacted by pollution. Black people are almost three times more likely to die from asthma- related causes than their White counterparts.

And, of course, the Congressional Black Caucus led in negotiations to assure that this was a balanced bill.

In particular, my constituents have already seen the magnificent results of the once-in-a-generation piece of legislation. Houston METRO was granted a $21 million grant to buy battery-powered electric buses, and it has helped it move to the next level, next generation of rapid transit, and plans to go to the airports, both Hobby and Bush Intercontinental, in my district, with bipartisan infrastructure dollars.

And as a hurricane-prone community, as many of the Gulf States are, from Louisiana to Texas and Mississippi, the bipartisan infrastructure bill will help us work on those flood-

prone areas and ensure the safety and life of so many.

I am excited about how the Congressional Black Caucus gravitated around the Juneteenth legislation, the first bill in almost 40 years that created a Federal holiday which was signed on June 17, 2021. I am very pleased to be the first Member to introduce legislation to ensure that there was a holiday after 10 years of introducing the resolutions, and the culmination of all of these years, and particularly, the culmination of Opal Lee, who came on a hot day in 2019, and brought us a million petitions--she was in her nineties--to ensure that Juneteenth could become a Federal holiday.

Her work in getting all those petitions, the introduction of the legislation that I was proud to introduce, and ultimately presiding over the floor--all of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus were strong proponents of this, and we could not have done it without their leadership and urgency.

Many of you know that Juneteenth represents two more years of slavery for those west of the Mississippi, until General Granger came with Order Number 15 to announce that the slaves were free, because the South had not adhered to the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. So he came to Galveston, Texas, General Granger, announcing the end of the Civil War and the freedom of the last Americans enslaved in the Confederate States.

Since the 1800s, Juneteenth has been an important commemoration to African Americans. Even as Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois reminded us that--Frederick Douglass, in particular--there is no power with struggle. And, of course, W.E.B. Du Bois talked to us about ``The Talented Tenth.''

That means that the work of the Congressional Black Caucus is keen, and we are keen to make sure that the work that is done continues to emphasize what is best for them.

Let me also take note of the support of African Americans in helping to assure--and the Congressional Black Caucus, with the leadership of Chairwoman Beatty, and working with the Judiciary Committee, the chairman of the full committee, Nadler, subcommittee, Cohen and myself, and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Judiciary Committee, we were able to mark up for the first time in history, H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act.

What a powerful experience, first, with two hearings, bringing people from all over, including the author and proponent of the 1619 Project, and leaders and scholars who understood that this is simply restoration and repair, and this must be created as a commission by law, by vote, or executive order.

In addition, glad to have the help of the Congressional Black Caucus on the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, a reauthorization act that I introduced. And in it were many aspects of work or language for people of color for the first time; training for young men and boys on how to deal with the issue of violence, and also the question of rape and how we should be working on that.

We followed with massive work on education, as I indicated, doing more for primary and secondary education than could ever be imagined, under the leadership of Chairman Bobby Scott.

I will conclude my remarks in order to yield to my friends. I want to be able to say that during the midst of the pandemic, there were several things that the Congressional Black Caucus led on. One, to push testing into our community where there was none; to push vaccines and vaccinations into our community where there were none; and to ensure that we focused on lost learning and our children who did not have access to broadband.

It was our voices that made it loud and clear. Ultimately, broadband access has been put more and more into the bipartisan infrastructure bill. But during the pandemic, it was the voices of the Congressional Black Caucus that insisted that we do better with respect to these children who had no access. The stories were large and looming. They were frightening, and I am glad that our voices continue.

There are many other litanies of issues dealing with climate change, dealing with criminal justice reform. It was because of us that ultimately we introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, one of two bills named after George Floyd.

Because of all the work we did, with Karen Bass and all the members of the CBC, all the work that we did ultimately resulted in an executive order that we do know, as indicated by executive order, that you will have no more choke holds, no more no-knocks, and more that we hope to put into statutory law. We are excited that the bill did include large aspects of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

With that in mind, I am delighted to be able to yield to--as I talk further about some of these important elements of the work of the Congressional Black Caucus, but I am pleased now to yield to the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee so that he can evidence the Congressional Black Caucus' 117th Congress accomplishments through the works that he has done on his committee, the Education and Labor Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks. It is clear that there is a new day on the Committee on Education and Labor. That committee, led by Chairman Scott, has shown itself to be the people's committee, and I am delighted that his longstanding membership with the Congressional Black Caucus has shown that his work is for all of America. But through the Congressional Black Caucus he has helped and elevated families who have suffered because of racial discrimination and because of economic inequities. He has been focused.

Certainly, I credit him again with the work that has been done on HBCUs. I can assure you, with HBCUs in Texas, everywhere I go, they are taking note of the increased funding that has allowed them to do issues or handle matters with physical infrastructure, scholarship, the new Pell grant executive order, student loan executive order that is allowing for those with Pell grant loans making $120,000 to get $20,000 in relief. The Congressional Black Caucus worked extensively to ensure that those people with student loans were not forgotten.

Let me say it again. We work without ceasing to ensure that individuals who were overburdened with student loans, couldn't get down payments for housing and other matters for their quality of life--we were ensuring that we were in the front, if you will, to continue to advocate for student loan reduction.

Let me just say this, as I prepare to yield to my dear friend on the floor here.

As poet Langston Hughes reminds us, in his famous poem ``Mother to Son,'' life in America for African Americans ``ain't been no crystal stair.''

The goodness of this message is that in spite of it all, African Americans have put on uniforms and fought their battles on behalf of this Nation. African Americans are great lovers of this country, and they are great patriots. African Americans have worked in every level of government. They have, of course, been individuals who have worked, as some will say, at the bottom of the totem pole, meaning every manner of work they have done.

There have been African Americans who were enslaved who helped build the White House and the very building that we are in, never to hold the anger of their station in life but continue to work to insist on a better quality of life for their families.

It is very much important to take note of the bills that we have been able to do as individual Members of Congress.

I am just going to cite H.R. 7566, stops human trafficking in schools, that I introduced; working with an amendment to the Workforce Innovation bill; ensuring HBCU's full access to job skills training; amendment to H.R. 8294, the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill to ensure that HBCUs had specific work--it supports the work of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture by increasing the funding by $2 million.

Then I will finish more deeply on H.R. 40. That bill is much exhibited, as I have been on the floor before, with this slave and his back and the welts on his back from a whip. This was the life of slavery in America.

I just read recently of Germany's response to aging holocaust victims, which I applaud, providing millions of dollars to respond to their pain, just recently. In the course of the commission to study slavery and develop reparation proposals, it would give America a moment of healing. We have been hearing this discussion across the Nation and across the world, most recently, of course, in the halls or the places in Great Britain.

But for America to take that stand that the discussion is worthy, that the study is worthy, that the idea of what kind of proposals would come about, what inclusive ways would we deal with the recognition of over two centuries of slavery--unpaid, no insurance, no workers' comp, no days off, from sunup to darkness, beat by the whip, as the slave narratives in 1939 told us. The stories are powerful. Ripped away from our families. Made families, husband and wife and children. Then you would hear the pleas in the slave narratives when they say, ``Come home, husband. They are about to sell me and the children in different ways and different places.'' It happened to slaves all the time.

I was honored and humbled to meet the survivors of the Wall Street massacre. It happened in 1921. Those people were, in actuality, some even former slaves, but mostly descendants of the most recent people who were slaves, the most recent, their ancestors or their mother might have been a slave. But they built a Wall Street, but yet it could not survive because of racism and discrimination.

So to heal our land, the Congressional Black Caucus has worked in many ways to heal our land, and I am grateful for their advocacy for just a fair and simple study and assessment of what we should do to repair what occurred two centuries and continues even today.

The story is long about the inequities of the GI Bill, redlining, discrimination in voting, in the criminal justice system, the basis of wealth, so distinctive between other populations in this country.

So I thank the Congressional Black Caucus for the extensive legislative history that it has had over the 117th Congress.

It really is my privilege, Madam Speaker, to yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Carter) to speak about the accomplishments of the Congressional Black Caucus, my dear colleague and friend who has shown himself a leader.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman from the Committee on the Judiciary, the gentleman from New York, and the manager who is joining us on these bipartisan bills, which many of them had their origins in the House. I am delighted that the Senate was able to join us. These bills come under the Senate name because of the fact that we are working with the Senate on many of these similar bills in order to have them become law, because they are important.

I rise now to support S. 2991, the Countering Human Trafficking Act. I thank the Senator from Michigan who offered this legislation, and it deals with making the Center for Countering Human Trafficking permanent and requires other changes to strengthen the center's contribution for the fight against human trafficking.

Let me be very clear on the floor. Human trafficking is an epidemic. It is a pandemic. It is a scourge on the fabric of America. Human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to human rights in the United States. In 2020, 11,190 instances of potential human trafficking were reported to the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline, with at least 70 percent of these instances involving sex trafficking.

The one thing about sex trafficking, it is more profitable than drugs, because you utilize, unfortunately, the tragic human being who has been made part of the bounty of your profit and recycle them over and over again, and they are young girls and boys in many instances.

I will continue to advance and support legislation, like the bill before us today, as well as programming aimed at preventing human trafficking, protecting victims and survivors, as an estimated 25 percent of human trafficking victims are reportedly in my home State of Texas at any given time, many of whom are minors.

In our State of Texas, we have developed strong advocacy groups that fight against human trafficking and even have done something innovative, which means that we have called our sports arenas No Trafficking Zones.

So I rise to support this legislation with over 5,359 trafficking victims and survivors identified through the hotline in 2019.

I introduced H.R. 7566, the Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones Act, now known as the No Trafficking Zones Act. I pronounce today on the floor, this bill must pass. We must have the Senate agree to this bill so this can be a complement to the bill that we now have on the floor. We have done hard work. We have worked with the Senate. We want to make sure we get this bill passed.

I rise also to support the bill previously discussed, the VAWA Technical Amendment Act of 2022. I thank Senator Hirono for this courageous legislation to protect Native Hawaiian victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sex violence, and others, to have access to the vital services of VAWA, which I think are extremely important.

I also rise to support S. 5230, Billy's Law, or the Help Find the Missing Act. This is important. I have worked with missing and exploited children. This bipartisan legislation would fix the gaps in our Nation's databases of missing persons and unidentified remains, providing much-needed closure to the thousands of families who have endured the trauma of losing someone they love.

Each year, more than 600,000 Americans are reported missing. While many are ultimately found, at least 22,000 are currently missing.

I know that for a fact, Mr. Speaker, because I have dealt over the last month with a family whose loved one was missing, it was very painful, until tragically this person was found, and they were not found alive. But the pain of missing the person and not getting any response, this should be very helpful in at least giving comfort to families who are desperately in need of finding their loved one.

So as we go forward on this legislation, I hope to continue the work that we need to do with the Senate to move forward.

My final support is for S. 2899, the Prison Camera Reform Act of 2021. It is bipartisan legislation that would require the Bureau of Prisons to reevaluate the security camera, land-mobile radio, and public address systems in use at BOP institutions and submit to Congress a report. This is very important for civil liberty, civil rights, and prison employees.

Mr. Speaker, the well-being of these prisoners is critical, along with protecting the safety, well-being, and civil rights of incarcerated people and prison employees, including correctional officers, medical personnel, and other staff.

Let me just simply say, as I close, on the Bureau of Prisons, there is more work to be done. They have to do work on how they are treating women. There was a recent hearing that shows that women have been abused, sexually abused, in prisons, besides addressing other terrible issues, and that includes both prisoners and employees.

In addition, the Bureau of Prisons has been known to not utilize the compassionate release. In fact, their percentages are disgraceful. Most of the prisoners have had to go outside with a lawyer. This is a law. They should use it.

I hope that as we look at improving the cameras that will provide due process to these prisoners who are incarcerated, who are doing their time, they will also have a bureau that is responsible and sensitive to their responsibilities of incarceration but also fairness and due process.

I thank my colleague for yielding, and I ask for support for all of the legislation that I just commented on, particularly the underlying legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2991, the ``Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021,'' which would make the Center for Countering Human Trafficking permanent and require other changes to strengthen the Center's contributions to the fight against human trafficking.

Human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to human rights in the United States. In 2020, 11,193 instances of potential human trafficking were reported to the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline with at least 70 percent of those instances involving sex trafficking.

I will continue to advance and support legislation, like the bill before us today, as well as programming aimed at preventing human trafficking and protecting victims and survivors--as an estimated 25 percent of human trafficking victims are reportedly in my home state of Texas at any given time--many of whom are minors.

At least 5,359 of trafficking victims and survivors identified through the hotline in 2019 were under the age of 18, and in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of suspected child sex trafficking.

That is why I introduced the H.R. 7566 Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones Act, also known as the No Trafficking Zones Act, to ensure that our nation's schools are a safe haven for students. I hope the Senate will take up and pass my bill so that we may get it to the president's desk before this Congress ends.

While traffickers seek out vulnerable minors and adults--no person is truly safe from the schemes of charismatic traffickers bent on exploiting and destroying lives.

Sadly, these statistics were only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic--during which traffickers took advantage of individuals and communities in crisis--further increasing the number of people at risk of falling victim to human trafficking.

It is for all of these reasons that we must help maintain the momentum gained by the Center for Countering Human Trafficking in recent years.

The Center is responsible for integrating the efforts of 16 different offices and components of the Department of Homeland Security into a cohesive strategy that supports law enforcement investigations and training, shields and supports victims, develops and enhances prevention strategies, and engages with the public.

S. 2991 is a straightforward, bipartisan bill that would make the Center permanent while promoting stability and modernization and encouraging continued collaboration, growth, and innovation.

I thank Senator Gary Peters and John Katko for their leadership on this bill and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2991) to establish a Department of Homeland Security Center for Countering Human Trafficking, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 2991.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2991, which would codify the Center for Countering Human Trafficking within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the Department of Homeland Security; require the center to develop a strategy to improve the effectiveness of its programs; and transfer the Department's national trafficking awareness Blue Campaign to the center.

Human trafficking is a multibillion-dollar criminal industry that exists in cities, suburbs, and rural towns and denies freedom to nearly 25 million people around the world.

Although some populations are more vulnerable than others, trafficking is a constant threat to the health and safety of victims of all ages, genders, nationalities, and backgrounds, while posing a grave danger to public health and safety, as well as national and global security.

In 2020, the National Human Trafficking Hotline identified more than 16,000 victims of human trafficking, who likely represent only a fraction of the total number of victims.

In that same year, the Department of Homeland Security launched the Center for Countering Human Trafficking, or the CCHT, a centralized location for subject matter experts to coordinate and expand efforts to combat human trafficking. The CCHT integrates the efforts of 16 DHS offices and agencies that combat human sex trafficking and forced labor, which encompasses criminal investigations, victim assistance, identifying and reporting human trafficking, and external outreach, intelligence, and training.

Since its establishment, the CCHT has made great strides, providing critical support and analysis to criminal investigators in the field; delivering comprehensive training to domestic and international audiences; and focusing on promoting an integrated, victim-centered approach to the investigation of human trafficking.

However, because the center is not formally codified, it lacks permanence and long-term funding necessary to further strengthen its efforts.

S. 2991 would make the CCHT permanent within ICE, ensuring that the progress made in recent years can be maintained and improved upon, while also increasing coordination among other components within DHS to fight human trafficking and prevent the importation of products made using forced labor.

This legislation would allow the CCHT to fortify its permanent staffing with at least 45 employees that are special agents, criminal analysts, victim-support specialists, and other subject-matter experts dedicated to disrupting and dismantling human trafficking organizations and providing support and protection to their victims.

To promote modernization of the CCHT's information systems and operations, which support global investigations of human trafficking and forced labor in supply chains, S. 2991 would require the development of a strategy and proposal to modify systems and processes related to its mission.

Lastly, this bill would transfer to the CCHT the Blue Campaign, the national public awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and industry partners to recognize and respond to human trafficking, and authorize DHS to transfer any additional functions to the CCHT that combat human trafficking and the production of goods using forced labor.

Because we know that traffickers are constantly looking for new ways to exploit new victims, we must do more to fight this grave crime. That includes being responsive to change and making necessary improvements to the agencies, offices, and components put in place to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle trafficking organizations and to give aid and support to victims.

This bipartisan legislation would allow the Center for Countering Human Trafficking to continue guiding counter-human trafficking operations, protecting victims, and enhancing prevention efforts to combat human trafficking around the world.

I thank Senator Gary Peters for introducing this important legislation, as well as Representative John Katko, and the bipartisan coalition of colleagues who have worked on the House companion.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC, December 9, 2022.

Hon. Jerrold Nadler,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Nadler: I am writing to you concerning S.

2991, the ``Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021.'' There

are certain provisions in the legislation that fall within

the rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland

Security.

In the interest of permitting your committee to proceed

expeditiously to floor consideration of this important bill,

I am willing to waive this committee's formal consideration

of the provisions that fall within its jurisdiction. I do so

with the understanding that, by waiving consideration of the

bill, the Committee on Homeland Security does not waive any

future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters

contained in the bill which fall within its rule X

jurisdiction.

Please place this letter in the Congressional Record during

consideration of S. 2991

on the House floor. Thank you for the cooperative spirit in

which you have worked regarding this matter and others

between our respective committees.

Sincerely,

Bennie G. Thompson,

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, S. 2991 would not only provide permanency, increased coordination, and modernization to the Center for Countering Human Trafficking and the Department of Homeland Security, this bill would also promote growth within the center and bolster victim-centered counter human trafficking efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.