[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 20, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H4515-H4522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STOP ADVERTISING VICTIMS OF EXPLOITATION ACT OF 2014
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 4225) to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide
a penalty for knowingly selling advertising that offers certain
commercial sex acts, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4225
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Advertising Victims of
Exploitation Act of 2014'' or the ``SAVE Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. ADVERTISING THAT OFFERS CERTAIN COMMERCIAL SEX ACTS.
(a) In General.--Section 1591 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended in subsection (a)(1), by inserting after
``obtains,'' the following: ``advertises,''.
(b) Mens Rea Requirement.--Section 1591 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended in subsection (a), by inserting after
``knowing, or'' the following: ``, except where, in an
offense under paragraph (2), the act constituting the
violation of paragraph (1) is advertising,''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1591(b) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or obtained'' and
inserting ``obtained, or advertised''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or obtained'' and
inserting ``obtained, or advertised''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).
General Leave
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 4225, currently
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Unfortunately, while the growth of the Internet and smartphones has
proved to be of great value in many aspects of our lives, it has also
been used by criminals to facilitate the commercial exploitation of
children and other victims by providing an easy way for pimps or
traffickers to market minor sex trafficking victims to potential
purchasers who seek to do them harm.
With the click of a button, individuals can now use Web sites to
advertise, schedule, and purchase sexual encounters with minors, just
like they would use these services to rent a car or order a pizza.
The SAVE Act, introduced by Congresswoman Wagner from Missouri, makes
a technical correction to an existing Federal sex trafficking statute,
18 U.S.C., section 1591, to make clear that the law extends to
traffickers who knowingly sell sex with minors and victims of force,
fraud, or coercion through advertising, as well as to people or
entities that knowingly benefit from the sale or distribution of such
advertising.
While much of the growth in this terrible crime is on the Internet,
this bill is technology-neutral and applies to all advertising of
children for sex, regardless of the medium.
It is important to note that the bill clarifies the liability for the
people or traffickers who place these ads, as well as the people and
entities that knowingly profit from them.
It is also important to note that these advertisements, as with all
ads and other speech promoting illegal activity, are not protected
speech under the First Amendment.
Furthermore, in order to bring a case against a trafficker under this
legislation, the government must prove that the defendant knew they
were advertising and knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that the
ad involved a minor or someone involved through force, fraud, or
coercion.
However, this legislation raises the bar even higher for defendants
who, while not directly placing the ads, do knowingly benefit from the
placement of advertising. Specifically, the bill requires the
government to show that these defendants knew the advertisement
involved a minor or a coerced adult. Reckless disregard is not
sufficient.
H.R. 4225 clarifies that people who advertise sex trafficking can
face criminal liability. Under current law, there is the additional
possibility of civil liability for defendants who violate the primary
sex trafficking statute codified at section 1591.
However, under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, online
publishers of third-party advertisements are generally immune from
civil liability for such advertisements. H.R. 4225 does nothing to
disrupt or modify the immunity already provided by section 230.
While this legislation will help put more child traffickers in jail
where they belong, this is not a precedent-setting bill. Congress has
regulated advertisements, including online advertisements, many times.
There are hundreds of references to advertising or advertisements in
the Federal code, including in criminal provisions. Congress has even
explicitly criminalized advertising on the Internet.
Just last year, in a bill cosponsored by 127 bipartisan Members of
Congress, Congress amended the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime
to ``advertise for sale'' certain fraudulent military medals.
During consideration of that bill, which passed the House by a vote
of 390-3 and was signed into law, no Member raised a concern about the
propriety of criminal advertising. Surely, saving young children from
these horrors is no less deserving than fraudulent medals.
This legislation simply clarifies and modernizes Federal criminal law
to keep pace with the evolving trend of exploiting the Internet for
criminal gains. The bill has support from more than 90 bipartisan
cosponsors and was reported out of the Judiciary Committee by a vote of
24-3.
I want to commend our colleague, Congresswoman Wagner, for bringing
forth this important legislation.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, while I support the bipartisan efforts we are taking
today with several bills to enhance our effort to prevent, investigate,
and prosecute acts of sex trafficking, I must raise serious concerns
about H.R. 4225, the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act of
2014, which I cannot support in its present form.
To be sure, the bill has the laudable goal of prosecuting those who
knowingly facilitate sex trafficking by advertising certain prohibited
sex acts. However, I must object to the mandatory minimum sentencing
provisions which this new offense would trigger under existing
statutes.
Under the sex trafficking statute, as amended by this bill, a
conviction for advertising of sex trafficking would result in a
mandatory penalty of 10 or 15 years of imprisonment, depending on the
age of the victim and other circumstances of the crime.
While the acts prohibited by the legislation will usually warrant
such long sentences, mandatory minimum sentences are the wrong way to
determine punishment under this or any other criminal statute.
Regardless of the nature or the circumstances surrounding the
offense, the role of the offender in the particular crime or the
history or characteristics of the offender, H.R. 4225 will require a
judge to impose a 10- or 15-year sentence.
[[Page H4516]]
Even if everyone in the case, from the arresting officer, the
prosecutor, the judge, even the victim believes that the mandatory
minimum would be an unjust sentence for a particular defendant in a
case, this bill still requires the sentence to be imposed.
The imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence is particularly
troublesome when one considers the possible scope of defendants who
could be prosecuted under this bill.
Notably, the prohibition on advertising does not only apply to the
sex trafficker who places the ad, but also applies to individuals and
entities who facilitate or have a minor role in publishing the ad, such
as someone who works for an Internet Web site which is involved.
Those who are employed by a venture that benefits financially from
the ad, but whose role in the organization does not place them in the
chain of command with respect to acceptance or publishing the illegal
ads could therefore be prosecuted under the bill.
Specifically, there may be circumstances in which all of the
employees of a communications company, including receptionists or
computer maintenance workers, know that the venture publishes such
advertising, but chose to look the other way.
They should be held liable under the provisions of this bill, but
many of them would certainly not warrant a mandatory sentence, in
certain circumstances, of 15 years, not all of them.
During the Judiciary Committee's markup of the bill, I offered an
amendment to remove the application of the mandatory minimum provisions
of this new bill and, instead, allow a judge to apply an appropriate
sentence under the circumstances of the case, up to a statutory maximum
of life imprisonment.
Given the complicated nature of the Internet communications networks
and other forms of advertising which would be affected by this bill,
the role of the judge in evaluating each case is particularly
important. While long sentences may be appropriate under the facts of a
particular case, Congress cannot know the facts of every case in
advance.
Removing mandatory minimums, while still permitting the lengthy
statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment, as my amendment would
have done, will provide the appropriate spectrum of sentences for
culpability and proportionate punishment.
{time} 1615
Mandatory minimum penalties are already a major issue of concern for
our criminal justice system, and we should not make matters worse by
passing a new one with this bill. Studies of mandatory minimums have
concluded that they fail to reduce crime, they waste the taxpayers'
money, and they often require judges to impose sentences that simply
violate common sense.
Therefore, I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee's bipartisan
Over-Criminalization Task Force is working diligently to assess our
Federal criminal code and make recommendations for improvements. The
penalties, including mandatory minimums, in the Federal code are among
the issues the task force will consider. And while these issues are
under review, we should not be passing new mandatory minimum sentences.
In fact, if we ever expect to eliminate mandatory minimums from the
code, we must first stop passing new ones.
Now, mandatory minimums did not get into the code all at once but one
at a time, each in a bill that otherwise made good sense. So if we are
going to stop increasing the number of mandatory minimums, we must
oppose bills that contain them.
So while I strongly support the efforts to do more to combat the
serious problem of sex trafficking by taking steps such as
strengthening our laws and providing additional resources for law
enforcement and victims, I must, unfortunately, oppose this bill in its
current form because it creates new mandatory minimums which can be
expected to require a judge in the future to impose a sentence that
violates common sense.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 6
minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), the chief
sponsor of this legislation.
Mrs. WAGNER. I thank the gentleman from Virginia, Chairman Goodlatte,
for his wonderful leadership on this issue and so many others.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 4225, the
Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation, SAVE, Act. But, Madam
Speaker, I also rise today in support of all the good work done by my
colleagues here in Congress on the issue of human trafficking.
Madam Speaker, as a former United States Ambassador, I was exposed
firsthand to the horrors of human trafficking on an international
level. I reported on the devastating consequences of human trafficking,
where innocent women and children were dragged into the dark abyss of
sex slavery. But never in my darkest moments did I ever think that
human trafficking was so rampant right here in the United States of
America.
Madam Speaker, the faces behind me are photographs of actual victims
of sex trafficking. These young women and children were forced into
sexual slavery by ruthless traffickers. Madam Speaker, right now there
are young women being forced into prostitution in virtually every
district across the Nation. In fact, I was shocked to learn that my own
hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, has been identified as one of the top
20 areas for sex trafficking in the United States.
Madam Speaker, this problem is hiding, hiding in plain sight.
However, there is hope. I take hope from the work done by the law
enforcement professionals who are on the front lines every single day,
protecting our Nation's children from those who would seek to exploit
them; I take hope from those who work in victims' services and their
tireless efforts to help survivors recover, heal, and forge new lives
out of the horrors of sexual enslavement; but most importantly, I take
hope from all the survivors of this hideous crime. Their strength gives
us strength; their resolve gives us inspiration; and their steadfast
commitment to ending sex trafficking gives us the courage to fight.
Madam Speaker, because of the efforts of many individuals and groups,
I am happy to report that Congress has taken notice of this serious
problem. Years of work by Representatives Smith, Poe, and Paulsen, and
my cochair of the Human Trafficking Task Force, Congresswoman Maloney,
among the so many others who have raised awareness of this issue, have
laid the foundation for the long overdue action for Congress that they
are presently taking.
I am grateful that many of my colleagues have held events in their
home districts to raise awareness and education of this crime.
Representatives Davis, Hudson, Roskam, Coffman, Huizenga, and Heck,
along with so very many others, have all held human trafficking events
in their districts to raise awareness and offer solutions to end sexual
assault and human trafficking. I applaud these efforts and look forward
to continuing this work for years to come.
However, Madam Speaker, there is much work to be done. As
legislators, we have an obligation to come together and do something
because we can, because we should, and because we must.
Over the last 10 years, prostitution has slowly but persistently
migrated to an online marketplace. Classified services, like
backpage.com and others, are the vehicles for advertising the victims
of the child sex trade to the world. Pimps and traffickers blatantly
advertise their victims' sexual services, with provocative photographs
and unsubtle messages, complete with per-hour pricing. The traffickers
pay Web sites like Backpage to display their messages. These Web sites
reportedly reap enormous profits at the expense of the victims of sex
trafficking. Revenue from U.S. online prostitution advertising totaled
$45 million just in the year 2013. Many of these ads feature children
and trafficking victims. This results in thousands of children every
year being openly sold for sex on the Internet.
Madam Speaker, government intervention is necessary to end
facilitation of sex trafficking by Web sites like Backpage and others
who commercially advertise this criminal activity. Companies that base
their business models off of the profits made by selling sex with
children should not be allowed to operate. The SAVE Act seeks
[[Page H4517]]
to criminalize this behavior, thereby dramatically reducing the
victimization of vulnerable children and women forced into sexual
slavery in the U.S.
The protections included in the SAVE Act apply to two classes of
victims: underage children and those who are being forced to engage in
commercial sex acts against their will. The offense created by the SAVE
Act applies to any form of advertisement. Online postings, newspaper
classifieds, even billboards would be considered unlawful if the
advertiser knew it would lead to sex trafficking.
Madam Speaker, there is well-established precedent for Congress to
criminalize the advertising of illegal goods or services, including the
advertisement of child pornography, weapons of mass destruction,
illegal narcotics, and animal fighting. Surely--surely--advertisements
offering sex with children should also be subject to the same
restrictions. The penalties are 15 years to life if the victim, the
child victim, is younger than 14 years old, 10 years to life if the
child victim is 14 to 18 years old.
The advertisement of victims is the key link in the human trafficking
chain. Businesses make millions of dollars every month connecting johns
with pimps and their victims. This link needs to be broken.
Criminalizing the advertisement of trafficking victims will stem the
flow of money, resulting in a reduction of both demand and supply.
The victims of sex trafficking are not nameless, faceless children.
They are our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and neighbors. They are
the vulnerable youth of our society, the ones who should be protected
the most, not exploited for money and greed.
I urge my colleagues to support the SAVE Act because it will provide
the tools necessary for law enforcement to combat the sexual
exploitation and enslavement of women and children in the United
States.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlelady from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster).
Ms. KUSTER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri,
Representative Ann Wagner, for her friendship and her leadership, and I
thank my colleagues, Representative Maloney, Representative Scott, and
others.
I am so proud to join my colleagues here on the floor of the House
today in passing this commonsense bill to strengthen and protect
victims of sex trafficking. This legislation would penalize individuals
who knowingly host and sell advertisements for the commercial
exploitation of minors and trafficking victims.
Just last week, I hosted a roundtable in New Hampshire with
advocates, prosecutors, and survivors who confirmed in harrowing detail
that human trafficking is a crime that is being committed all too
frequently across this country. It remains a serious problem both here
and abroad.
Recently, I was proud to reach across the aisle and work with my
colleagues to lead a letter that all House women Representatives signed
urging the Obama administration to push the United Nations Security
Council to add Boko Haram to the Al-Qaida Sanctions List, following the
abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls threatened to be sold into sexual
slavery by this terrorist group. Through this effort, we became a
powerful voice against the horrors of this and other instances of human
trafficking that are taking place around the world.
Both Democrats and Republicans in this House understand that we must
work together to protect our women, girls, boys, and men, and they know
that trafficking isn't just a political issue; it is a human issue. And
contrary to popular belief, it is one that is happening right here in
our backyard.
Domestic child sex trafficking is a serious problem in the United
States, with an estimated close to 300,000 American youth at risk of
commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. It is imperative that
we help law enforcement officials rescue domestic victims, track down
their exploiters, provide additional tools for prosecutors to treat
trafficked minors as victims instead of criminals, and ensure that
these victims can access protective services.
I applaud House leadership on both sides of the aisle for bringing
these five bipartisan bills to the floor to prevent human trafficking
and to provide support for victims, both here and abroad.
As a mother, I can't even imagine the pain and anguish that these
families are going through as they fight to bring their loved ones back
home. It is essential that we pass these bills today and do everything
we can in Washington to support Jasmine in New Hampshire and victims
all across this country, to support our States' and countries' efforts
to eliminate human trafficking for good.
I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2
minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman
Goodlatte for his leadership, and the committee and all of those who
have stood before me and will stand after me to discuss this important
issue.
I am proud to rise in support of the SAVE Act. It is one step that
brings us closer to our goal of ending domestic and international
trafficking, and protecting and helping the victims of trafficking.
Last week, I hosted a human trafficking summit in Champaign,
Illinois, to give my constituents the opportunity to speak directly
with and learn from experts on this important issue. It was humbling to
hear the personal story of a survivor, Mrs. Aubrey Lloyd, and see the
passion of those offering services to help victims of this horrible
practice.
As a husband and the father of a 17-year-old daughter, this issue is
deeply personal to me. Aubrey talked about how one night, she was doing
her French homework, got in an argument with her mother, went to a
friend's house and wasn't able to return home because she had become a
victim of human trafficking. Aubrey was 16 at the time. That could be
any child in America today who is held against their will.
Congress is choosing to look directly at this issue and do our part
to raise awareness and offer concrete solutions to end this abhorrent
practice.
Somebody else who joined us that day is Chris Baker. Chris has a
ministry that removes tattoos, removes brandings of sex trafficking
victims. Aubrey still had hers. Chris reminded me of a quote by William
Wilberforce, where he said:
You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say
again that you did not know.
Let's work together to end this abhorrent practice.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the
gentlelady from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney).
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I thank the
gentleman for yielding and for his incredible, principled work in so
many areas, and I want to note his hard work on combating mandatory
sentences. I feel that he is right in many ways. But because this crime
is so out of control, I am strongly supporting my colleague and
cochair, Representative Wagner's bill.
{time} 1640
We cochair the caucus on antitrafficking in the women's caucus, and
this bill is designed to stop the advertising of children for
exploitation in sex trafficking. And we have tried over and over to
stop it.
I will now place in the Record a letter that Marsha Blackburn and I
wrote addressing the online promotion of human trafficking, meetings,
and letters. It went nowhere.
Congress of the United States
Washington, DC., April 3, 2012.
Larry Page,
Chief Executive Officer, Google, Inc., Mountain View, CA.
Dear Mr. Page: As Members of Congress committed to
combating all forms of human trafficking, we write to you
with concerns about reports of Google's advertising
practices. Recently, dozens of human rights groups called on
the National Association of Attorneys General to investigate
Google's advertising practices that these groups believe
contribute to the problem of human trafficking in America and
globally.
Whatever Google is doing or is not doing to prevent these
sorts of advertisements from appearing on their properties,
Google has not satisfied a significant number of human
[[Page H4518]]
rights organizations who have a specialized understanding of
how these ads contribute to the human trafficking of women
and girls. We are particularly concerned that these human
rights groups may have identified yet another area where
Google profits from illicit activities such as Google's
advertising of controlled substances for which your company
paid a $500,000,000 forfeiture to the United States last
year.
Accordingly, we request that you provide us with answers to
the following initial questions we have regarding these
developments:
1. Apart from Google's donations to large human rights
organizations, what is your company doing internally to
ensure that sexually exploitative advertisements do not
appear?
2. What is Google's stated internal policy regarding
exploitative advertising? What evidence do you have that
those policies are being complied with by both Google's
internal and external advertising sales teams?
3. What steps does Google take to instruct its advertising
sales managers, consultants, and other employees regarding
the evaluation of advertisers of such exploitative marketing?
4. If Google were to determine that it profits from such
advertising, what steps would you take to ensure those
profits were publicly disclosed and then disgorged? Would
that process require restating Google's earnings for past
securities filings?
Online markets provide traffickers with the ability to
reach untold customers across all political jurisdictions. As
a global leader and innovator in internet technologies,
Google is in a unique position to do its part to fight human
exploitation and trafficking, and we would encourage the
company to proactively address these concerns.
We look forward to your reply and to engaging with Google
cooperatively to stop human trafficking in America and around
the world.
Sincerely,
Marsha Blackburn,
Member of Congress.
Carolyn Maloney,
Member of Congress.
____
Reps. Maloney and Blackburn Join Efforts To Address Online Promotion of
Human Trafficking
April 4, 2012--Issues: Human Trafficking Women's Issues
(Press Contact: Jon Houston (202) 225-7944)
Washington.--Representatives Marsha Blackburn and Carolyn
Maloney yesterday sent a bipartisan letter to Google
questioning how the company's advertising practices addresses
human trafficking.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney said: ``As a leader in technology, I
encourage Google also to lead in the fight against online
human trafficking. Too many people believe that human
trafficking is a problem only in foreign countries but online
advertising has opened new markets for the estimated 100,000
children in the United States--most of whom are American
citizens--exploited through commercial sex every year, with
the average age of first exploitation between 12-13 years
old. These are our daughters, their schoolmates, and their
friends; everyone--every company--must understand the
reality: that sex trafficking is the slavery of the 21st
century. I hope Google will look into its practices to make
sure it does not contribute to web-based sex trafficking.''
Rep. Maloney is co-chair of the Congressional Human
Trafficking Caucus, working to educate people about the
reality of the trade in human lives and toward its
elimination.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn stated: ``Illicit online advertising
threatens more than just the freedom of the Internet--it
denies women and children their fundamental right to human
dignity. I have no doubt that if Google was found to profit
from online ads that promoted human trafficking, they would
immediately stop the placement of those ads. Since Google has
a unique ability to help thwart this modern-day form of human
slavery, we are looking forward to learning how Google
responds to various human rights critics on this issue and
whether Google's advertising policies address the
exploitation of vulnerable women and girls.''
Text of the letter from Representatives Blackburn and
Maloney, addressed to Google's CEO, Larry Page can be read
here.
Last week, a group of anti-trafficking organizations called
on the National Association of Attorneys General to
investigate Google for profiting from the sale of online
advertisements that contributes to human trafficking in a
letter that can be seen here. Last month, 19 U.S. Senators
sent a letter to the Village Voice, owner of the
controversial website Backpage.com, calling for them to stop
using online advertising to promote child prostitution on
their website.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. I will now place in the Record a
letter that Congressman Nadler and I wrote to Web sites of the media
trying to stop them from promoting our children as sex objects. They
are still doing it.
Maloney and Nadler Call On Village Voice Media To Shut Down Website
Frequented by Sex Traffickers--May 7, 2012
New York, NY.--U.S. Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-
NY) and Jerrold L. Nadler (D-NY) today sent a letter to
Village Voice Media, LLC expressing concerns about the
frequency with which that company's Backpage.com website is
used to advertise minors and trafficked persons and urging it
to shut down its notorious ``adult services'' section.
In a statement accompanying the release of the joint
letter, whose full text is included below, Congresswoman
Maloney said: ``Law enforcement authorities and anti-
trafficking advocates agree that the adult services section
of Village Voice's Backpage.com is the single busiest online
marketplace for the sexual trafficking of minors and
trafficking victims anywhere in the United States. It is high
time the Voice lived up to its reputation as a beacon of
progressivism, and shut down this cesspool.'' Rep. Maloney
serves as Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Human
Trafficking Caucus, which works to educate people about the
reality of the trade in human lives and toward its
eradication.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler said, ``The Village Voice must
ensure that it is not in any way assisting in the horrific
business of sex trafficking. Clearly Backpage.com has not
done enough to prevent human trafficking on its site. They
should shut down their adult services page immediately,
before it is used by criminals to further promote human
trafficking.''
Background:
The sexual trafficking of minors, which is illegal under
federal and New York State law, is on the rise in the United
States and around the world, with most knowledgeable
estimates of the number of domestic under-age trafficking
victims in the tens of thousands. The U.S. Department of
Justice estimates the average age at which minors begin to be
exploited by sex traffickers is between the ages of 12 and 14
for girls and between the ages of 11 and 13 for boys.
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2008 established criminal penalties for those found guilty
of acting with ``reckless disregard'' for the sexual
exploitation of minors. In New York City alone, the District
Attorneys of Kings, Queens and Manhattan have all pressed
charges against alleged traffickers who used Backpage.com to
market sex to potential johns.
Nineteen United States Senators and 51 Attorneys General
have joined the growing chorus of calls from non-profit
advocates and organizations urging Village Voice Media to
remove the adult services section from Backpage.com. On April
25, 2012, S. Res. 439 was introduced expressing the sense of
the Senate that Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC should
eliminate the ``adult entertainment'' section of the
classified advertising website Backpage.com. A New York City
Council hearing on human trafficking held last month included
pointed questioning from several Council Members to
representatives of Backpage.com, as well as testimony from
local district attorneys about the use of the website by a
large proportion of the traffickers they have prosecuted.
Text of Letter from Representatives Maloney and Nadler to
Village Voice Media, LLC.
____
May 4, 2012.
Mr. Jim Larkin,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Village Voice Media
Holdings, LLC, 1201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix, AZ.
Dear Mr. Larkin: We are deeply troubled by information from
members of law enforcement that Backpage.com, which is owned
by Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC (``Village Voice''), is
frequently being used to advertise the sexual exploitation of
minors and trafficked persons. Backpage.com can create a
significant impact on trafficking by shutting off a major
source of advertising for these criminals--the adult services
section of its website.
As you may know, estimates as to the number of children
being sexually exploited in the United States vary widely;
however, most estimates place the number in the tens or
hundreds of thousands. Many of these young people are
runaways, who were in foster care or from abusive homes.
According to the Department of Justice, the estimated average
age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 for girls, 11-13 for
boys. Trafficking in children is illegal under federal law,
and state law, and federal law makes clear that people who
benefit from this trade cannot pretend to turn a blind eye.
In 2008, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims
Protection Act amended Title 18, Section 1591 of the United
States Code to make it clear that a person can be found
guilty for acting with ``reckless disregard'' of the fact
that a child will be used for commercial sexual purposes.
Courts have found that ignorance is deliberate if the
defendants were presented with facts putting them on
notice that criminal activity was particularly likely and
yet intentionally failed to investigate. Over and over
again, law enforcement has found a link between the sexual
exploitation of minors or trafficking victims and
Backpage.com.
The National Association of Attorneys General reports that
its members have tracked more than 50 instances, in 22 states
over three years, of charges filed against those trafficking
or attempting to traffic minors on Backpage.com. In our area,
on March 8, 2012, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown
announced that he was prosecuting defendants in a case
involving a 15-year-old Long Island girl who was kidnapped
and taken to Queens where she was drugged and gang-raped by
thugs who reportedly sold her on Backpage.com. Similarly, on
March 13, 2012, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance
announced the indictment of a man
[[Page H4519]]
who was forcing a woman to work for him as a prostitute by
physical violence, threats and psychological manipulation,
and withholding her permanent resident card and birth
certificate. The press release announcing the indictment
specifically says the defendant ``advertised multiple females
for prostitution using online advertising on websites such as
Backpage.com in order to locate potential clients.''
On April 25, 2012, the New York City Council conducted a
hearing on the connection between Backpage.com and sex
trafficking. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes
testified that, among the 40 cases his sex-trafficking unit
has prosecuted in the past two years, ``one website, above
all, [was] most frequently used to exploit children and
advertise trafficked victims--that website is Backpage.com.''
Similarly, Daniel Alonso, Chief Assistant District Attorney
in Manhattan, testified that ``ads placed on Backpage.com
have played a part in nearly every other sex trafficking
investigation and case seen by my office.'' He went on to say
that ``Backpage.com and web sites like it in effect serve to
enable trafficking by providing a place for traffickers--who
are, after all, criminals--to drum up demand for what they
view as a product.''
We are strong supporters of the First Amendment, but its
free speech protections do not extend to the facilitation of
criminal activity, such as the sexual exploitation of minors
on the Internet. We are aware that Backpage.com argues that
it cooperates with law enforcement and that its efforts have
led to successful prosecutions of some traffickers; we also
know, however, that countless other criminals have posted
advertisements of minors and trafficked women without being
brought to the attention of law enforcement.
If Backpage.com's procedures were sufficient to interdict
the majority of cases in which minors are trafficked, then we
would be more inclined to accept your protestations that
Backpage.com serves a valuable function in assisting law
enforcement in protecting minors. In fact, the 51 Attorneys
General who have expressed their concern about Backpage.com
argue that Backpage.com is ``a hub for such activity,'' ie.,
for the sexual exploitation of children and prostitution.
Backpage.com has argued that if it were to shut down its
adult services section, the business would simply transfer to
other, darker places on the Internet. While that may be true,
it is also true that if the business transferred to a less
prominent location, it might be harder for the casual user to
find and, therefore, might make this business less lucrative.
Furthermore, when a company like the Village Voice is engaged
in selling children or trafficking victims for sex, it
legitimizes the industry. Given the magnitude of the business
done by Backpage.com involving trafficked persons, it is hard
to believe that your controls are as comprehensive as you
claim.
We join the 19 United States Senators, including New York
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, 51 Attorneys General, dozens of
human rights and sexual assault organizations, faith leaders,
elected officials and more than a quarter of a million
Americans who contacted you or signed a petition on this
issue, urging you to remove the adult services section from
Backpage.com. Too many children and too many trafficking
victims have been sold on your website for us to accept any
more excuses.
We await your prompt response.
Very truly yours,
Carolyn B. Maloney,
Member of Congress.
Jerrold L. Nadler,
Member of Congress.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. I don't know how to do it unless
we have a concrete law. And this law is not without precedent. Congress
has passed laws to criminalize the advertising of illegal goods. They
have passed laws to criminalize the advertising of child pornography,
of weapons of mass destruction, and of narcotics. Surely, we can pass a
law that criminalizes selling children as sex objects. We have tried
meetings, we have tried letters, we have tried sanctions, and we have
tried press. We have tried everything. I don't know how we stop it
unless we pass a law that says it is illegal.
I want to tell a story. I first got involved in combating sex
trafficking because a company in my district called Big Apple Tours was
advertising online, publishing pamphlets of going to Thailand, to the
Philippines or upstate New York with pictures of children. You can have
as many as you want. I wrote a letter complaining. This is how brazen
they were. They took my letter and put it on the Internet along with
their advertising and made fun of it. Why is she complaining about the
parties we are having?
So it has been out of control, and this is a step towards bringing it
into control. The attorney general of New York went after them and took
down their site. It no longer is up. But it shows how brazen these
exploiters are. And it is big business. It is the third most profitable
form of organized crime in our Nation preceded only by the selling of
narcotics and the selling of illegal guns. But the selling of the human
body can happen again and again until the person is sick and dies. You
sell a gun once, and you sell a drug once. You can sell a young child
over and over again.
We really have to do everything we can to stop it. This act adds
advertising to the types of conduct that constitutes sex trafficking.
It is common sense that if they are advertising the selling of a young
child, it is sex trafficking. And we can stop it. This is something we
can do that will literally save lives.
The FBI ranks this type of rape as preceded only by murder in terms
of the destruction of what it does to an individual, and often the
inability of that individual to live a normal life afterwards. It is a
horrific crime, the 21st century form of slavery. I can't think of
anything more abusive. And it is what is happening now in Nigeria to
those young women.
It is happening right here in our backyard. My colleagues on both
sides of the aisle and the women's caucus have heard testimony of
foster children--of American children--that have been captured,
tricked, and drugged. We heard a story on the floor today of a
constituent's child, a child in his neighborhood, that was exploited.
By passing this bill, we can stop this advertising. We can cut off
this form of exploitation and this abuse. I think that it is an
important bill, and I am supporting it with reservation on the
mandatory sentencing, which I hope will be cut out in the Senate, but
it is important that we take steps to prevent it.
If we pass laws to stop the advertising of child pornography, we can
certainly pass a law that stops the selling of a child in sex abuse.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield the gentlelady an additional 1 minute.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. I could go on all day. My time
is expired. I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I know that many
others want to speak on this important issue.
I congratulate Congresswoman Wagner on her persistence on this bill,
and I am proud to support her.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).
Mr. ROTHFUS. I thank the chairman.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Stop Advertising
Victims of Exploitation Act, which will make the advertising of a
trafficking victim for a commercial sex act a crime.
Human trafficking is despicable and unacceptable. It is horrific that
millions of victims worldwide are trafficked each year, and it is
happening in our local communities. Last month, I hosted a trafficking
roundtable in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, with community organizations
and law enforcement agencies to discuss ways to combat trafficking in
western Pennsylvania. Sadly, this problem exists in cities and towns
across America, and together we can do something to eliminate it.
As a father of six, I cannot imagine the horrible situations to which
trafficking victims are exposed. We must put a stop to these crimes,
and today's bill is an important way to do this.
I thank my friend, Congresswoman Wagner, for her efforts on the SAVE
Act, as well as the sponsors of today's bills, as we work to raise
awareness about and combat human trafficking.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. I thank the gentleman very much.
Again, this is a historic day, Madam Speaker, and it is a day,
tragically, when we wish we had been able to stamp out this dastardly
act, if you will, collective act of trafficking of our children, the
advertising and the sheer slavery of it all, holding people against
their will, using them over and over again.
I, too, have had the opportunity to see firsthand the devastation of
ones who have been trafficked and then ultimately feel that their
life's career can only be in prostitution. These may be adults, but
they started being abused
[[Page H4520]]
and exploited as children. Just about a year or 2 ago, we had Attorney
General Holder in my district, with all of those who were gathered
around the issue of trafficking, human slavery, and had a meeting in
the district, and the outpouring of the crisis was enormously
overwhelming.
This morning in a markup in the Border and Maritime Security
Subcommittee, of which I am the ranking member, Madam Miller is the
chairwoman, we discussed unaccompanied minors coming across the border,
victims-to-be, if you will, 60,000 coming across our border, children
who are unaccompanied who are clearly potentially victims in this
horrible human trafficking.
So I am a cosponsor of the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation
Act and am well aware of the heinousness of depicting and advertising
for these sex acts with children under 14 and those over 14. And I know
for a fact that this is the beginning of the end of many of their
lives. We know that there are ultimate acts that are so terrible that a
child cannot overcome, that the sexual acts that are being advertised,
in whatever means, are life-ending in many instances. And so the idea
of making this the kind of crime that shows the concern of the American
public is important.
I would also say to you that I am one that is concerned about
mandatory minimums, and I hope that as we make our way through, there
will be further discussions of this legislation. But at this time I
stand in support of it. I have always said that the weakness on the
mandatory minimums for me is when you involve undermining, destroying,
killing, using in an abusive sexual manner, trafficking, and holding
against their will children. They are vulnerable. They are without the
resources to help themselves. And let me say this. Many runaways in
this country fall victim to this. Many unaccompanied children that come
across the border fall victim to this. Many children who are in
conditions where they do not have a family structure fall victim to
this. But they fall victim to this because there are so many who will
exploit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield the gentlelady an additional 1 minute.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. I thank the gentleman again for his leadership.
But there are many who exploit, continue to exploit from the comfort
of their home. How terrible it is to go into workplaces and find that
individuals are using their computers to engage in this. How horrible
it is to go into homes and find computers filled with this kind of
trash, and how horrible it is to see that people will profit from the
advertising and the selling of commercial acts in whatever way they do.
So I would thank the sponsors of this legislation and recognize that
we have opportunities to look at how we construct this kind of remedy
for these tragic and horrible acts that ultimately result in the death
of our children, either at their own hand, tragically, or by those who
would abuse them through commercial sex acts. This should be something
that we should stamp out of our society, out of our system, and out of
this Nation. We need to begin to do it as we make our way through these
bills today.
Madam Speaker, this bill, of which I am a cosponsor, the SAVE Act,
has a commendable purpose and I am convinced that it will help in our
efforts to end exploitation of children.
H.R. 4225, the ``Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act of
2014,'' amends title 18 of the United States Code to impose a criminal
penalty for knowingly selling advertising that offers certain
commercial sex acts.
Specifically, it provides for criminal liability for the
advertisements of commercial sex acts that are prohibited under
existing 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1591 if the advertiser either: (a) benefits
financially or receives anything of value from that advertising, or (b)
distributes the advertising.
It provides for a statutory maximum of five years' imprisonment or a
fine. It does not mandate a statutory minimum sentence or fine.
And while I strongly agree with the purpose of the bill--I do wish it
had gone through regular order in the Judiciary Committee on which I
serve.
It is critically important that the bill allows those who might have
concerns because of certain unintended consequences to voice those
issues before the full committee.
My wish is that going forward; we would assume regular order in the
Judiciary Committee and yield to the conventions which have made our
Committee a force and one with prestige and honor throughout its
history.
I ask my colleagues to support this important legislation which helps
end exploitation of our precious children.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, at this time, it is my pleasure to
yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers).
Mrs. ELLMERS. Madam Speaker, thank you to the chairman for bringing
this very important legislation forward. I am pleased to be able to
speak in strong support of the number of bills that we have today that
will combat the problem of human sex trafficking.
I would like to emphasize the urgency that this issue requires. Just
this morning, one of our local papers in Fayetteville, North Carolina,
was reporting that a local mother and son have been arrested and
charged with human trafficking of a child victim, sexual servitude of a
child and promoting the prostitution of a minor. This issue is real,
and it is happening in our own backyards and across our Nation and
across the world.
This is only the beginning of this very important mission, and I, for
one, will not rest until we find a way to stop this. This is just,
again, the beginning of our fight, and I am proud to have cosponsored
these bills today to stop this horrifying practice and help these
victims. We will continue to do more until we eradicate this form of
slavery in the United States and throughout the world.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).
Mr. YOHO. I would like to thank Mr. Goodlatte.
Madam Speaker, I rise in complete support of erasing human
trafficking from the face of the Earth. I am a proud cosponsor of all
the bipartisan bills before us today, bills that will give us, the
courts, and law enforcement the tools and resources we need to combat
the plague that is human trafficking.
It is unacceptable that today, in 2014, the 21st century, human
beings are being sold, owned, and held against their will living a life
that is, for lack of a better term, hell on Earth. Human trafficking is
defined by the Department of Homeland Security as ``a modern-day form
of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or
commercial gain.''
The victims of human trafficking are the most vulnerable among us:
the poor, immigrants in search of a better life--a better life for
their families--women, and even children. These exploited persons are
victimized by the traffickers who lure them in with false promises of a
better life and then are coerced into unspeakable acts, domestic
servitude, or other types of forced labor.
The traffickers only see the victims as a means to make a profit, no
different from a commodity or livestock on a farm, and certainly not as
the human beings that they are. Too often in our communities, there is
a lack of pushback or even awareness that this terrible practice of
modern-day servitude exists. It does, and it happens within our own
neighborhoods, towns, and counties.
Even when the problem of trafficking is realized, law enforcement
does not have the tools it needs to go after the criminals or take care
of the victims.
Americans need to take a hard stance, lead on the issue, and let it
be known that there is zero tolerance for this horrendous practice. The
first step is educating entire communities, since a lack of awareness
is our foremost threat. Second, we must provide the resources to law
enforcement and make this a priority among the legal community.
Finally, we need to recognize and treat the victims of trafficking not
as criminals but as victims.
My office in Florida's Third District has been taking steps and will
continue to do so to make north central Florida a zero tolerance zone
for human trafficking. We have brought together representatives from
the Department of Homeland Security. I just want to say that we stand
in support of all of these
[[Page H4521]]
bills, and we urge all of our Members to.
{time} 1645
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, at this time, it is my pleasure to
yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Herrera
Beutler).
Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman.
There is no faster growing form of organized crime in the world than
human sex trafficking, and unfortunately, it is happening right here in
the United States. More than 100,000 girls are caught up in sex
trafficking every year in the United States. Just last month, my local
paper reported on a couple being charged with prostituting a 17-year-
old girl who was under their control. As you have heard today, that is
hardly an isolated story.
We are here not just to discuss the problem, but the solutions. We
are seeking to disable Web sites like backpage.com that advertise
children for commercial sex and make it a Federal crime for a company
to knowingly post advertisements for sex with minors.
These bills will also increase funding for services to victims--these
girls are victims--and give prosecutors better tools to go after the
traffickers.
We cannot close our eyes and pretend this crime does not exist. We
must take responsibility and be the voice for these children and defend
those who cannot defend themselves.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).
Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, the statistics associated with human
trafficking are nothing short of staggering. Studies have estimated
that it is a nearly $10 billion industry in the United States, and it
affects over 300,000 young men and women that are victims of human
trafficking. The human toll is real and significant. The SAVE Act
changes the idea that the Internet can be used as a marketplace for
those purposes.
The SAVE Act does what 47 State attorneys general have done and asked
us to do. The SAVE Act makes it a Federal crime to knowingly advertise
for the sexual exploitation of minors and trafficking victims.
While this is not the end of human trafficking and sexual
exploitation of minors, it is a necessary and long overdue step.
I want to commend my colleague, Mrs. Wagner, for her leadership on
this very important issue and for constructing a very thoughtful piece
of legislation.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I just have one speaker remaining, if
the gentleman is prepared to close.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of
my time.
Madam Speaker, mandatory minimums have resulted in bizarre sentences
being imposed today. Girlfriends of drug dealers are serving decades
behind bars because their sentences were based on the weight of the
drugs involved in their boyfriend's drug dealings. Many other people
are serving times clearly longer than required because of mandatory
minimums.
Under this bill, if a Web site is raided, this bill could require the
judge to impose 15-year sentences on each and every employee, from the
receptionist to computer maintenance personnel, no discretion, no
consideration of an individual's role in the enterprise, everybody gets
15 years.
So if a sentence violates common sense, mandatory minimums require
the judge to impose it any way, so if we are ever going to try to
address the problems created by mandatory minimums, we have to stop
passing bills like this one that can require sentences of at least 10-
15 years, regardless of the facts in an individual case, even when the
bill is otherwise worthy.
This is how so many mandatory minimums got into the code to begin
with, one by one, each one in an otherwise worthy bill. The only way to
begin to put an end to mandatory minimums is to stop passing new ones.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) to close the debate for
our side of the aisle.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman and Mrs. Wagner
for bringing about an increased awareness of the stark realities of
human trafficking and modern day slavery in our world.
While these tragedies have focused us on the issue at hand, the
terrible crime of human trafficking is sadly not a new phenomenon, nor
is it a concern solely outside our borders.
During our fight against this heartbreaking epidemic, we must
recognize and support the invaluable work of nonprofit groups and law
enforcement agencies who are giving their all to prevent this crime and
protect its victims.
I am proud to report that today, in my district in Pennsylvania, the
Bensalem Police Department and the Bucks County District Attorney's
Office are being presented with an award for their proactive pursuit of
human trafficking crimes over the past year. We are all thankful for
the persistent efforts of these organizations and law enforcement
organizations.
A remarkable nonprofit in Pennsylvania known as Worthwhile Wear is
opening an 83-acre property in the greater Philadelphia area, as a
long-term housing and aftercare facility for sexually exploited and
trafficked women. The work of this group sheds light on the importance
of providing a compassionate environment for those affected by this
deplorable crime.
We are all encouraged to see this work on both sides of the aisle,
people coming together to address this growing problem. The passage of
these bills will bring us closer to our goals of ending both domestic
and international trafficking, an objective we should never abandon. I
encourage passage of all these bills under suspension.
Madam Speaker, recent events have brought about an increased
awareness of the stark realities of human trafficking and modern day
slavery in our world.
While these tragedies have focused us on the issue at hand, the
heinous crime of Human Trafficking is sadly not a new phenomenon--nor
is it a concern solely outside our borders. As a member of the Victims'
Rights Caucus, I've been monitoring the growth of this problem in
communities across the United States, including my home district in
Pennsylvania.
During our fight against this heart-breaking epidemic, we must
recognize and support the invaluable work of non-profit groups and law
enforcement agencies who are giving their all to prevent this crime and
protect its victims. I am honored to have the opportunity to work
closely with organizations in my district such as the Network of
Victims Assistance and the Bucks County Anti-Trafficking Coalition as
they diligently formulate effective responses to local issues.
I am proud to report that today in Pennsylvania's 8th district, the
Special Investigations Unit of the Bensalem Police Department and the
Bucks County District Attorney's Office are being presented with a LEAD
Award for their proactive pursuit of human trafficking crimes over the
past year. As a legislator, a parent, and an active member of my
community, I am grateful for their persistent efforts.
Additionally, a remarkable non-profit known as Worthwhile Wear, has
announced that they will be opening a new 83 acre property in the
Greater Philadelphia area, as a long-term housing and aftercare
facility for sexually exploited and trafficked women. The honorable
work of this group sheds light on the importance of providing a
compassionate environment for those affected by this deplorable crime.
I am encouraged to see my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
coming together to address this growing problem. The five bipartisan
bills under consideration today will help provide support to
trafficking victims, fortify law enforcement efforts, and codify
prevention tactics. The passage of these bills will bring us closer to
our goals of ending both domestic and international trafficking, an
objective that we should never abandon.
I urge for quick passage of this legislation in both the House and
Senate, and call on the President to sign these bills into law and join
the House in making putting an end to human trafficking a priority.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
[[Page H4522]]
Goodlatte) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R.
4225, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. WAGNER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________