Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, in 2001 the U.S. Government shut down the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for its role in sending money to Hamas. But some of the Holy Land Foundation's employees are now working at 501(c)(3) ``charities'' that are leading the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in the U.S. against Israel.

Charitable American donors have no way of knowing of the questionable histories of some of the employees of these charities before they donate. My bill, The Charity Transparency Act, will require organizations applying for 501(c)(3) status to disclose if any of their key employees once worked for such organizations.

It would require no new paperwork and give the IRS no new authorities. It would just require one more disclosure on the already existing IRS documents.

It would also not penalize any of these charities. It would simply protect charitable American citizens and arm them with the information they need to make better informed decisions regarding where they donate their hard earned money.

I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of a common sense bill, H.R. 1393 which would set a national standard of 30 days for states to subject non-residents to income tax requirements within that state.

Under current law, many of the 41 states with a broad based personal income tax rate subject out of state residents to income tax in that state on the first day they ``work'' in the state.

This patchwork of state laws have created a confusing and unworkable nationwide system where individuals who travel to another state for a conference or meeting can find themselves subject to income tax requirements in a state where they only spent a few days.

In fact, these overburdensome requirements can create a scenario in which a company of 7,000 employees who travel for domestic business may have to file 10,500 W-2's over the course of a given year. This burden can be even worse for a small business.

One small business, which operates several customer service centers throughout the United States and has 600 employees working in 46 states, faces a significant burden trying to comply. Most of these 600 employees work out of one of the customer service centers, but 12 employees travel out of state to do a job occasionally. The manager of this company has to spend 3 plus hours every week figuring out the tax reporting requirements for these employees, even though most of them only pay $30 to $100 a year into these different taxing authorities.

Is this really a good use of the time of a small business? Wouldn't we rather have these individuals working to create jobs and grow our economy then wasting time complying with the burdensome reporting requirements for 42 different taxing authorities?

H.R. 1393 is a common sense solution to this problem. 30 days is a fair baseline standard that can be applied nationwide. It allows U.S. workers to travel and work around the country for a reasonable amount of time without subjecting them to reporting requirements for taxation in all of the jurisdictions in which they travel. If they stay longer than 30 days in any particular state then the state is free to tax them according to their own state laws.

With this new standard, American business will know what the rules of the road are across the country and they can plan their business accordingly.

I thank the Chairman for moving this important bill through the committee, and urge your support.

Mr. Speaker, North Korea released Otto Warmbier last week after 17 months of imprisonment and torture. Otto returned home in a coma, never again to speak or see his parents. Yesterday, he died--murdered, actually--from brain damage because of the Korean beatings that he endured.

North Korea had humiliated Otto for allegedly stealing a pro- government placard, forcing him to publicly beg for forgiveness. Now, these are the tactics of terrorists.

We need to ramp up the pressure on North Korea. Three other Americans are still being held in North Korea for apparent political reasons. We must prioritize saving their lives.

It is time to call it like it is: designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Doing so would isolate the country and publicly categorize North Korea with many other rogue nations.

The House has already passed my bill to designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Now the Senate needs to do the same.

Little Kim has American blood on his hands. Give him and his outlaw regime the designation it deserves, a terrorist state.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, it's been over 66 years since the sinking of the USS Hobson. However, for those involved, that fateful day feels like it was just yesterday. The Hobson was a Destroyer as well as a minesweeping ship that survived multiple battles during World War II, including the invasion of Normandy and the assault on Okinawa. Yet, it was not an enemy ship or plane that took the Hobson down, but a U.S. aircraft carrier.

Late in the night of April 26, 1952, the Hobson was participating in a naval exercise with the carriers Wasp and Rodman. The USS Wasp, in preparation for airplanes to land on its deck, turned into the wind. In order to avoid the Wasp's new position, the Hobson needed to maneuver out of its path. Instead of slowing down and passing behind the Wasp, the Hobson cut across the Wasp's bow. This proved to be a fatal mistake.

The Wasp struck the Hobson in its middle. The impact caused the Hobson to split in two. Within four minutes, the ship had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, taking 176 crew members with it. Most of the crew was asleep at the time of the accident, thus having no chance at surviving the crash. Fortunately, sixty-one crew members were able to be rescued from the sea by the Wasp and the Rodman.

The sinking of the USS Hobson and its crew members was a terrible tragedy for our country. The crew members who lost their lives that night will forever be remembered for their bravery and dedication. We must do our best to keep our heroes safe, both in and out of war.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Cheniere Energy, headquartered in Houston, Texas, delivered its first liquified natural gas shipment out of the Sabine Pass terminal to northern Europe, to the Netherlands, and to Poland. This follows shipments to southern Europe from earlier this year.

Put simply, this is a tremendous game changer. Exporting LNG is not just an economic issue, it is a geopolitical security issue. These shipments help thwart Russian aggression and weaken Russia's stranglehold over Europe, and it is about time.

Under Secretary Perry's leadership, the Energy Department is finally approving licenses for LNG terminals to ship LNG overseas.

Our natural gas is cheaper and more abundant in supply than anywhere in the world. Harnessing our domestic energy resources and exporting some of it to our friends and to our allies around the world makes sense for our economy and for our national security.

We should apply the Blue Bell ice cream philosophy to our domestic energy resources. It is: Use what we can and sell the rest.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, Americans once thought that the horrors of human trafficking were a foreign problem. However, traffickers lurk all around us right here in America.

Debbie's mother thought nothing of letting her young daughter meet a friend in front of their yard one night to play. Her mother didn't realize her 15-year-old daughter, who was clad in her cartoon pajamas, was quickly abducted by two men in front of their house.

These deviants threw Debbie in the car, drugged her, and gang raped her. They threatened to shoot her if she ever tried to escape. For 60 days she was forced to have sex with countless men.

An anonymous tip led police to a hotel room where they found Debbie tied up and stashed under a bed. But many trafficking victims are never rescued. We cannot allow this scourge to

continue to rage in America. Our children are not for sale, period.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, after his victory over Pearl Harbor, when asked why he wasn't celebrating, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto replied, ``I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.'' Admiral Yamamoto was right, and he felt the terrible resolve of this giant on June 4, 1942 at the Battle of Midway. Midway was an important battle in the Pacific theater: it was the turning point that put the United States in an offensive position to take on the Empire of Japan. Those of the Greatest Generation proved that when the peace of this nation is threatened, our people will stand up and fight, bringing the thunder of God upon our enemies.

Japan's goal at Midway Island was to destroy and ambush the remainder of our fleet in hopes of invading Hawaii. In the early morning on June 4th, Japan launched its attack on Midway by bombing the island. This strategy proved to be ineffective. In response, the three U.S. carriers--Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown--launched fighters and bombers against the Japanese fleet and sank all four Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu. These four Japanese aircraft carriers were the same carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier. Over the next two days, the Imperial Japanese Navy suffered the loss of four aircraft carriers and hundreds of pilots--pilots that had bombed Pearl Harbor. Japan's defeat at Midway began America's drive on toward Tokyo. On that day, over 300 American sailors gave their lives for our country. It was Japan's first defeat of WWII.

The victory at Midway was in part due to American intelligence, US codebreakers. These codebreakers were able to decipher the Japanese radio code called JN-25b, which enabled Pacific Fleet Commander and Texan, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, to learn of their exact plans of attack. Admiral Nimitz gained valuable intel leading up to the battle, including the logistics and timing of the attack. As a result of the Navy codebreakers Admiral Nimitz was able to reconstruct the Japanese plan of attack in detail.

Like Admiral Nimitz, there were other great Texans who helped contribute to the victory at Midway. Baytown resident Ronnie Anderson told me the story of his dad, James Wyatt Anderson who served during this time. SF3/C James Anderson was a twelve year Naval veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. He served in the United States Navy on the survey ship, the USS Bowditch. He surveyed many invasion sites, including the Marshall Islands, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Midway Island was the only overseas assignment where SF3/C James Anderson was able to bring his family. Ronnie said, living on Midway Island, was like living in a kids paradise, especially for a 10 year old boy. Much of Ronnie's time was spent playing war games in the bunkers with the left over mortars and with anti-aircraft shells. Ronnie has several artifacts from the Battle of Midway including a 40mm brass shell and a mortar tube which are great mementos of childhood treasure hunts. Throughout the years, Ronnie passed down eventful island stories to his children and grandchildren. Now Ronnie's 15 year old grandson, Asher Isaacks, has become fascinated with the Battle of Midway and hopes to one day take his grandfather back to the island. Unfortunately, Midway has been closed to tourism by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife due to budget constraints. It is now a bird sanctuary because of its ecosystem with little to no predators. The island is home to birds, such as the Short-tailed Albatross ``Gooney Birds'', Masked Booby, and Great Frigatebird. The history of the island is as great as the birds that live there. Midway was claimed for the United States by Captain N.C. Brookes in 1859 and formally annexed in 1867. Originally, the island was meant to be a coal depot; however, this never came to be. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt placed the island under the control of the Navy. The island became a link in the Hawaii-Guam segment of the first transpacific submarine cable. The name ``Midway'' comes from the island being half the distance from the U.S. and Japan.

As we observe the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway, it is vital we remember heroes like Admiral Chester Nimitz and James Anderson and give Americans, like Ronnie Anderson, the opportunity to return to Midway Island. On Monday, June 5th at 1:30pm, the United States Navy Memorial in Washington D.C. held the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway Commemoration Ceremony. They created the Naval ``Sea of White'', wreath laying ceremony, and played the live stream from the USS Midway Commemoration Ceremony. The importance of this epic battle is a part history made by the ``Greatest Generation''.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time and for his work on this very important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, last month, as fans streamed out of a concert in Manchester, they were met by the worst kind of despicable treachery. A terrorist lay in wait with his time bomb to inflict maximum damage on people, killing as many as he could and creating fear among survivors. Twenty-two innocent people were slaughtered, including many children.

The attack claimed by ISIS thugs was, unfortunately, not the last to hit the United Kingdom. Over the weekend, terrorists attacked innocent civilians in London, killing 7 and wounding at least 48 others.

Free countries cannot and must not tolerate these attacks and must not ever accept these attacks as the norm. We must defeat the cancer of Islamic

terrorism and the perverted thinking that inspires it.

I strongly support this resolution which condemns the attack in Manchester and expresses our support to the people of the United Kingdom. We will and must continue to stand together with the United Kingdom for many reasons, but the main reason being the bond of freedom that we have shared for so many years. We must stand together to combat and defeat those who seek to attack freedom and liberty and destroy our way of life. They must not win.

Mr. Speaker, I offer my sincere condolences to the victims of the attacks in the United Kingdom and their families. This evil cannot be allowed to continue without a bold response.

Mr. Speaker, justice demands that we track down these terrorists and hold them accountable for their evil deeds whenever and wherever they attack. Justice must be served because, Mr. Speaker, justice is what free people demand.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, at dawn, in the hard cold rain of the choppy English Channel, thousands of men--boys, really--aboard landing craft assaulted the beaches in a place called Normandy, France. They were under brutal enemy gunfire and artillery shelling. That was the morning of June 6, 1944: D-Day.

Their buddies, the paratroopers, had earlier, before dawn, landed in France and met the same stiff resistance by the enemy. The Allies were determined to free Europe from the Nazis; and after the gunfire ceased and the smoke cleared, the successful assault that day was costly.

At the top of the cliffs of Normandy, among the white crosses and glistening Stars of David, is the national cemetery of America's war dead. There are 9,387 Americans buried there. The average age is 24. They were the initial casualties of the invasion of Europe. More Americans would later die in the great World War II.

Today, we remember those who fought on June 6 and other Americans, like my 91-year-old dad, who went to liberate France and not to conquer it. These warriors are the charter members of the Greatest Generation.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, Nolan Bruder's younger sister believed that she could trust her big brother. So when this 19-year-old brother offered her marijuana ``dabs'' and the opportunity to get high, she accepted, trusting him. But with Nolan's pushing, she became so stoned that she no longer recognized the man in front of her, that it was her older brother.

Taking advantage of her drugged state, he sexually assaulted his own 16-year-old sister. This is repugnant, Mr. Speaker.

On May 17, Nolan was sentenced for rape of an intoxicated person. The sentence? A mere 240 days in prison and

then probation. Why? Because the judge decided that prison would severely impact Bruder.

Well, Mr. Speaker, isn't that the point?

Even evidence showed the defendant had no remorse and was smug at the trial.

I was a prosecutor and a judge in Texas for over 30 years. I met a lot of rape victims and learned that their lives were forever devastated by rapists.

Mr. Speaker, sexual assault is never the fault of the victim, contrary to what Judge Follett thinks. Judge Follett got it wrong, Mr. Speaker. He got it wrong in this case. It is time for him to pack his toothbrush and leave the bench.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, this coming Monday, May 29, marks the 2-year anniversary of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, called the JVTA.

Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate worked together in a bipartisan manner to write this comprehensive, massive law to fight human trafficking. Basically, we said in this legislation that modern-day slavery will not be tolerated in the United States, and that message was made loud and clear when the law was signed 2 years ago.

Since that time, there have been wonderful successes by providing victims with help and services that they need to recover, and by capturing and charging both the traffickers and the buyers according to our law.

Debbie's Story

Mr. Speaker, Debbie grew up in an idyllic American neighborhood.

The middle child of a close-knit military family living in the suburbs, Debbie could have never imagined that she would be forced into sex slavery.

One cool Phoenix night, Debbie's mother thought nothing of letting her young daughter meet a friend in their front yard one night to play.

Busy with dishes and other children inside, her mother didn't realize that her young daughter, clad in her cartoon pajamas, was being abducted by two men in front of their house.

These deviants threw Debbie in the car, drugged and gang raped her.

They held a loaded gun to her forehead and threatened to pull the trigger if she ever tried to escape.

For 60 days she was forced to have sex with countless men.

Thankfully for Debbie, a lucky anonymous tip led police to a hotel room where they found Debbie tied up and stashed under a bed.

Cheryl Briggs' Story

Cheryl Briggs grew up in an abusive home, sexually and physically abused by her father.

Her mother left when Cheryl was very young to escape the abuse.

At the age of 12, Cheryl didn't know what else to do to get away from the father she feared, so she ran away.

She began hitchhiking with truck drivers and anyone who would take her.

This led her to a ride with a motorcyclist and into human trafficking hell.

He took her to a biker club filled with men who took advantage of her.

He became her trafficker.

She was forced to dance at a strip club by day and sold on the streets at night.

She was trapped in the world of human trafficking.

Cheryl didn't know how to get help.

She had no one to call and no one to provide for her.

No one came to rescue her.

That is until a patron at a strip club found out that she was only 15 and helped her escape.

Lena's Story

In her formative years, Lena wore turtlenecks and baggy clothes to school every day.

Why did she do so?

To hide the bruises that covered her entire body.

When her abusive foster mother lost custody, Lena ran away.

She was just 13 years old.

After bolting from the front lawn at the Houston middle school, she ran into a friendly-looking stranger.

This man offered to look after her, protect and love her.

Human traffickers manipulate the vulnerabilities of their victims, he knew that Lena would do anything to feel loved.

For the next 3 months, Lena was trafficked to countless buyers.

He kept her on the move, switching from motel to motel to evade detection.

Finally, after tracking a BackPage advertisement her trafficker posted, police located Lena.

They arrested her trafficker in the hotel next door. With her help, the police ultimately charged her trafficker.

Debbie, Cheryl and Lena are all human trafficking survivors.

The things they had to endure are more horrific than most of us can even imagine.

But they survived, they overcame this tragedy.

It was for survivors like these women that Carolyn Maloney and I drafted the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act two years ago.

This far-reaching legislation, led by Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ron Wyden in the Senate, made it clear that Congress would no longer turn a blind eye to this scourge in our society.

We wanted to ensure that victims were treated like victims, given the care and help they needed to overcome the evil inflicted upon them.

We also wanted to make sure that the traffickers and the buyers were both brought to justice.

Houston Super Bowl Story

This past February, my hometown of Houston, Texas, hosted the 51st Super bowl.

For most Americans the Super Bowl is a fun filled day spent with friends and family cheering on a favorite team.

But for trafficking slaves and potential trafficking slaves, if can be a very dangerous time.

Studies show that big events like Super Bowls create large upticks in the trafficking and purchasing of sex trafficking victims.

In order to counteract this, The Department of Homeland Security, as part of its Blue Campaign Initiative, began preparing months in advance.

DHS agents came to Washington, DC and briefed me and other members of the Texas Delegation on their anti-trafficking strategy for super bowl weekend.

Through the Blue Campaign, DHS raises public awareness, forges anti- trafficking partnerships and brings suspected human traffickers to justice.

I commend the Blue Campaign for collaborating with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in preparation for the Super Bowl.

As a direct result of this large multi-agency operation, over 750 people were arrested across 15 different states.

At least 86 victims were rescued, and many more were likely spared being forced into the trafficking industry.

Having personally worked closely with the Blue Campaign on this, and many other operations, I see firsthand the important role DHS has in fighting the scourge of human trafficking.

This DHS Blue Campaign Authorization Act will ensure that this critically important program continues to provide safety to victims and justice to their traffickers.

Success of JVTA at 2 Year Mark

Over the last two years, more than 65 defendants have been charged with federal human trafficking violations.

Of those, 10 were buyers.

Without demand, there would be no market.

JVTA gives law enforcement the critical tools it needs to capture and prosecute criminals who purchase sex from minors or trafficking victims.

Long gone are the days where buyers could anonymously purchase sex from trafficking victims and simply return to their normal lives.

JVT also allows a federal judge to impose an additional assessment of up to $5,000.

This money then goes into the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund.

This fund provides victims with increased access to services and resources.

It forces the criminals to pay the rent on the courthouse, forces both the buyer and the trafficker to pay for the system they created.

They inflicted pain and suffering on innocent people, they should be the ones to pay.

JVTA also clarified that the U.S. Marshals Service can assist local, state and federal law enforcement in the search and rescue of missing children.

Since the implementation of JVTA, U.S. Marshals have helped rescue 102 children.

As JVTA continues to be implemented, and prosecutors and judges are trained on the new tools it offers them, we will continue to see more and more traffickers and buyers held accountable for their crimes.

We will also see a system that treats victims like victims, providing them with the care and support they need to become survivors.

And that's just the way it is.

Tonight we have this Special Order, and we have several Members who are going to speak on this. The first Member who will speak is Representative Wagner. She has served in the House since 2013, and she has, herself, worked extensively on human trafficking issues. She is a cosponsor of the Shame Act that I have sponsored, and we have worked together. I am honored to introduce her as our first speaker on this very important issue of the human trafficking after 2 years of the legislation being signed. I yield to the gentlewoman.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. I would like to ask a couple of questions if she doesn't mind. I know she has other appointments, but I wanted to ask her a couple questions. I would like to know how has the trafficking situation in her home State of Missouri decreased, or how has this legislation helped?

I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I also wanted to compliment her on her tenacious work of going after backpage.com and making that resource unavailable for those traffickers and those buyers. I want to commend her for that.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman being here and making such powerful comments.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Gabbard). She is an Iraqi war veteran and a former member of the Hawaii House of Representatives. She is working specifically, among other things, in the area of the juvenile justice system, trying to reform that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii for her work on this. As you can tell, this is a bipartisan effort. When we took this legislation 2 years ago and brought it to the House, there were 11 bills that came to the House of Representatives, and they almost all passed unanimously. Then they were sent to the Senate, and the Senate combined them into two bills. The same over there, almost unanimous; and then back over to the House, and the final passage was almost unanimous once again. It is a bipartisan effort, and I thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii for her work on this and her service to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker). He is one of our newest, if not the newest, Members of Congress. He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate for a good number of years.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his comments, and now for his work on this issue of trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), another Ted here in Congress. Ted Yoho is serving Florida's Congressional District 3. He is vice chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the chairman of U.S. House Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee. He has supported many bills on this issue of trafficking and has worked very hard in his home State of Florida to bring awareness to this.

Mr. Speaker, how many minutes do I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore). She, like the women in Congress, who I have given a lot of credit for all of this trafficking legislation, is very concerned about victims of family and domestic violence.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her strong comments. I know where she stands on the issue of victims of violence.

Mr. Speaker, the 2-year anniversary of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act will be Monday. As a former judge and co-chairman of the Victims' Rights Caucus, with Jim Costa from California, this is an important issue. I bet most Americans have never heard of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act because it was passed with bipartisan support, overwhelming support. Things like this don't make the news because we are not fussing and feuding between the two sides.

But it is a very important piece of legislation for our country. It goes after the trafficker. It makes sure they get arrested, and they go to prison where they belong. It also goes after the buyer, the person who hides and tries to buy young children on the marketplace of sex slavery. But it rescues victims and turns them into survivors. That is why this legislation is important.

The average age of a trafficking victim in the United States is 13. That means some are younger than 13. And it is a menace and a scourge that we, in the House of Representatives, along with our friends in the Senate, are going to make sure that the legislation is appropriate to solve this epidemic. That is why we are reminding individuals that we have this piece of legislation that is passed, and other pieces of legislation as well.

The last thing I wanted to mention is part of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act allows Federal judges to impose a fee on the trafficker or the buyer, and that money goes into a fund that helps victims of trafficking. That is a great idea. Make the criminals pay the rent on the courthouse by this type of restitution program.

I want to thank all of the people who helped out tonight. There is a lot more to be said about the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. We are going to continue to bring awareness of it to the American public.

I can tell you one thing, though, traffickers and buyers know about this legislation. With the help of local and State and Federal law enforcement, we are going to stop this sale of our children and adult women here in the United States for money.

And that is just the way it is.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 7 o'clock and 14 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, May 25, 2017, at 9 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for bringing up this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this past February, in my hometown of Houston, Texas, we hosted the 51st Super Bowl. For most Americans, the Super Bowl is a fun-filled day spent with friends, family, and cheering on our favorite team. But for human traffickers, the Super Bowl has become an annual opportunity to expand their evil, criminal empire.

Studies show that big events like the Super Bowl create large upticks in the trafficking and purchasing of sex trafficking victims. In order to counteract this, the Department of Homeland Security, as a part of its Blue Campaign initiative, began preparing months in advance before the Super Bowl in Houston.

Through the Blue Campaign, the Department of Homeland Security raises public awareness, it forges antitrafficking partnerships, and brings suspected human traffickers to justice. Most importantly, it rescues victims of the sex trafficking trade.

In advance of the last Super Bowl, the Blue Campaign worked with local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies on the ground, as well as participating in several congressional briefings. One such briefing I hosted here in Washington.

Everybody working together, all different law enforcement agencies, State, local, and Federal, had a great result in what occurred in Houston. Over 750 people were arrested, and 86 victims were rescued. Many more were likely spared being forced into the trafficking industry.

Having worked closely with the Blue Campaign on this, and many other operations, I have seen firsthand the important role the Department of Homeland Security has in fighting the scourge of human trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, trafficking is second only to the drug trade in the amount of money, criminal money, it brings in. And the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign Authorization Act will ensure that the critically important program continues to provide safety to victims and gets some justice to the traffickers and those would-be buyers of little children.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the chairman for this legislation.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Goodlatte for the time and also his work on this issue of human sex trafficking in the United States. I support this legislation.

I also compliment Congresswoman Wagner, Congresswoman Bass, Congresswoman Maloney, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and other women. I mention that because when we presented the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act 2 years ago and worked on that massive legislation that is excellent legislation, I am convinced that it was the women in the United States House of Representatives who got it done. They made sure that this legislation passed, and then they trotted down the hallway to the Senate and--I will use the word--``encouraged'' our Senators to take the bill up, and it passed there, and President Obama did sign the legislation. I am convinced there is nothing more powerful than a woman who has made up her mind, and the women in this House made up their mind about human sex trafficking. I just wanted to point that out.

This legislation is important. There are many stories. I am going to talk about a 9-year-old girl who lived not far from where we are today here in the United States Capitol. When Ashley's mother died, she was left alone. Like any lost and lonely child, she sought the comfort that she needed of love and safety. A woman came in to Ashley's life, offering her the care that Ashley was looking for as a 9-year-old: comfort and love. Ashley felt like she was safe for the first time since she had lost her mother. She was an orphan in Washington, D.C. Little did she know that the woman who was being nice to her was faking it all because she was grooming Ashley to be a sex slave here in Washington.

You see, traffickers exploit the vulnerabilities of victims, destroying their self-worth and their hope for a better life. In some cases, traffickers steal the soul of young children. They have no hope and they have no self-worth.

That happened to Ashley, this 9-year-old girl. She was trafficked on the streets of Washington, D.C., and online for 5 years. At 16, a peace officer here in Washington, D.C., arrested her for prostitution. She was brought before a judge, and the judge recognized that she was not a criminal, she was not guilty of prostitution. Children cannot commit the crime of prostitution. He recognized her plight and he ordered her into a treatment program to help her recover from being a trafficking victim. It is my opinion that that judge saved Ashley's life.

As was mentioned here on the House floor by Congresswoman Bass, the average age of a trafficking victim here in the United States of America is between 12 and 13. That means some girls are younger, like Ashley. She was 9. What a statistic. And, yes, it is mostly young minor females. Boys are trafficked. Adult females are trafficked as well, but the scourge is the biggest when it is our children.

Like the laws of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, they have increased judge and prosecutor training, giving them tools to deal with the scourge of human trafficking. It is nothing more than modern sex slavery. That is what human trafficking is.

Congresswoman Wagner's Put Trafficking Victims First Act continues to improve the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and improve the process by encouraging more training and a focus on victim-centered approaches in the courtroom. I was a judge for 22 years in Houston. We had none of this legislation to help rescue and restore victims of trafficking, and now we do.

We should remember that in our country we treat trafficking victims, like Ashley, like victims and make survivors out of them. Gone are the days that we are going to treat them like criminals. They are not criminals. They are victims of crime. We must stop the sale of children on the marketplace of sex slavery. This legislation helps do that. Victims like Ashley deserve treatment and care, and I support the work that has been done in the Put Trafficking Victims First Act, and I support the fact that it will help victims.

As co-chair of the Victims' Rights Caucus, along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa), we understand the importance of victims and we understand the importance of this legislation. No more, Mr. Speaker. Not in our city, not in our States, and not in our country.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, this Monday, America honors its war dead. We call it Memorial Day.

Many Americans do not realize that there are 25 United States cemeteries overseas for America's war dead. The one in Luxembourg is one that I have visited and I find quite unique.

During World War II, in 1944, the Germans crushed through the American lines in a surprise attack. It was called the Battle of the Bulge. My 92-year-old father fought in that battle when he was 18.

The German advance was eventually halted. One reason was because General George Patton and his army helped halt the attack by quickly advancing through and saving Luxembourg.

After the war, the nation of Luxembourg agreed to a memorial there. The memorial is unique because the cemetery is a burial place for mostly Americans who were killed in the Battle of the Bulge. There are 5,076 Americans buried there--22 sets of brothers. And the average age of the soldier buried in Luxembourg is 19.

This Memorial Day, let us remember all who have served and have given their lives and are buried all over the world, because, Mr. Speaker, the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten.

And that is just the way it is.