Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 113 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 160 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014 No. 5 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was the world, many of them trafficked for This January designated as National called to order by the Speaker pro tem- labor, but increasingly for underaged Slavery and Human Trafficking Pre- pore (Mr. MESSER). girls. For young women, this is a case vention Month is a perfect time to f where they are exploited in this traf- shine a spotlight on the dark issue of ficking as well. trafficking, but awareness is only a DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO Even in my work as chairman of the first step. More needs to be done. TEMPORE Foreign Affairs Committee, I have To that end, I would urge my col- The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- learned that human trafficking is no leagues to join me in cosponsoring H.R. fore the House the following commu- longer just a problem ‘‘over there.’’ It 3344, the Fraudulent Overseas Recruit- nication from the Speaker: is a problem in our communities here. ment and Trafficking Elimination Act, It is a problem in developing econo- to combat one critical form of recur- WASHINGTON, DC, ring abuse: namely, that is unscrupu- January 9, 2014. mies, but also it is a problem in the I hereby appoint the Honorable LUKE United States and in Europe. It is a lous recruiters. By targeting the re- MESSER to act as Speaker pro tempore on scourge even in the communities that cruiters we can do a lot—these recruit- this day. we serve here and that we represent. ers who bait foreigners to travel to the JOHN A. BOEHNER, In my own community in the last United States with promises of good Speaker of the House of Representatives. two years, the Orange County Human jobs, but trap them in sexual exploi- f Trafficking Task Force assisted 250 tation or forced labor once they arrive. For example, in my home county, the MORNING-HOUR DEBATE victims. Ninety-three percent were women, most of them underage, 80 of Salvation Army’s Network of Emer- gency Trafficking Services reports that The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- them from foreign countries. At our a full one-third of their clients—33 per- ant to the order of the House of Janu- November field hearing in Fullerton, cent of their clients—were recruited in ary 7, 2014, the Chair will now recog- the Orange County district attorney a foreign country by a labor recruiter. nize Members from lists submitted by testified that, shockingly—we are They got here and found it was a very the majority and minority leaders for speaking now about trafficking, sexual morning-hour debate. different job than the one they enlisted trafficking—‘‘shockingly the average for. This represents not only an assault The Chair will alternate recognition age of a child being trafficked in this between the parties, with each party on the dignity of the victim but also a country is 12’’ years of age. ‘‘A little subversion of United States labor laws limited to 1 hour and each Member girl who has not even reached her other than the majority and minority and our nonimmigrant visa system. teens.’’ In response, this legislation requires leaders and the minority whip limited We also heard from one brave sur- that prospective foreign workers be to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- vivor, Angela Guanzon, who was traf- given accurate information about the bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. ficked from the Philippines into forced terms of employment and be given f labor in Long Beach, California. anti-trafficking protections by U.S. I have heard many other stories from laws. It prohibits recruitment fees or HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS the members of the Human Trafficking DAY hidden charges used as coercive lever- Congressional Advisory Committee age against workers. In other words, The SPEAKER pro tempore. The that I established last year in my Los once you get here to the United States, Chair recognizes the gentleman from Angeles district office. The forum for you can’t find out afterwards, because California (Mr. ROYCE) for 5 minutes. communicating on trafficking between they didn’t disclose to you, that there Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, this Satur- law enforcement, advocates, service or- are fees that you owe. Those fees are day on January 11, people throughout ganizations, and survivors has contrib- no longer allowed. Up front the em- our country here, people throughout uted profoundly to my own knowledge, ployer pays those fees. the world will be observing Human my own understanding of this issue. I It requires foreign labor recruiters to Trafficking Awareness Day. The start encourage my colleagues to get to register and remain in good standing of this new year I think is a fitting know those on the front lines of the with the Department of Labor, and it time to focus on the shameful fact that fight against human trafficking. Get to provides new incentives and enforce- human slavery is not a relic of ancient know them in their districts and know ment mechanisms to ensure that re- history, that in fact it is with us today. of their work. You are going to be in- cruiters and employers follow these It is a brutal reality. A reality faced by formed, challenged, and inspired by disclosure and registration require- more than 20 million victims around what you learn. ments. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H75 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:26 Feb 01, 2014 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD14\H09JA4.REC H09JA4 bjneal on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE H76 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 9, 2014 Members may contact the Foreign squeeze Iran. It has worked. Let’s So the 1.3 million languish while we Affairs Committee to join this impor- claim credit and move on to the next are trying to make a determination tant anti-traffic initiative. I encourage steps. that may not be able to be made. you all to sign on to my legislation. We could start by trying to learn Frankly, I would ask that we all be As people of goodwill around the about each other. Let’s promote an ex- reasonable. I would simply make the world observe Human Trafficking change between Iran and the United point that it is an emergency. Awareness Day this weekend, let us States with students, religious leaders, I want to pause for a moment and move beyond mere awareness, let us maybe even parliamentary members thank the Houston Apartment Associa- abolish this injustice, and protect and and Members of Congress. Let’s focus tion that has worked with me and has restore the dignity of those who have on our shared interest, like Afghani- sent a letter to all of their members survived such exploitation. stan, where we had earlier cooperation asking for those 12,000, some of whom f with Iran to help overthrow the are residents of apartments in Harris Taliban. Let’s work to make progress County, to be sensitive and tolerant of INTERIM AGREEMENT WITH IRAN with the agreement and beyond. those individuals who can document The SPEAKER pro tempore. The The Congress can do this most impor- that they were the beneficiaries or the Chair recognizes the gentleman from tantly by leaving it alone. Congress recipients of unemployment insurance Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- shouldn’t meddle, Congress shouldn’t that was cut off on December 28. I want utes. muddle, Congress shouldn’t give the to applaud them for their sensitivity in Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, Iranian hard-liners who don’t want any dealing with those particular individ- our interim agreement with Iran gives agreement at all an excuse to scuttle uals. I ask mortgage companies and us an opportunity to unwind seemingly it. utility companies and city water bill We have an opportunity to improve intractable, interrelated conflicts companies to be tolerant as well, to be the most volatile region in the world throughout the Middle East. working with families who are basi- and Congress shouldn’t blow that op- There is no reason for Congress to cally without a lifeline. complicate by further enhancing sanc- portunity. tions now that are already working. We f b 1015 have this 6 months to a year window to UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE But the issue before us is the fact fashion a longer-term agreement. The BENEFITS that these letters have gone to people fact that we are even talking with Iran such as this woman, who has looked for The SPEAKER pro tempore. The is the most encouraging signal that we work every day. She liked her job and Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from have seen in 34 years. Let’s use this was laid off for no fault of her own. Texas (Ms. JACKSON LEE) for 5 minutes. Right now, we have the opportunity diplomatic window. There are hard-lin- Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, 48 to pass a 3-month emergency relief— ers in both countries, highly sus- hours, a million-plus Americans re- some of us have introduced bills for 1 picious, very negative, who would like ceived letters in their mailboxes.