Karen Bass

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I learned of the passing of Ashley Gammon, who served on my staff as my communications director before moving back to her home town of St. Louis, Missouri, most recently serving as the director of communications for the United Way of Greater St. Louis. Like many of her generation, Ashley signed up to work on President Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008, and she believed that she could truly make a difference. And she did make a difference, both at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and in my own office on Capitol Hill helping to keep my constituents informed and continuing to promote the Democratic agenda. I was most struck by how much she touched and stayed in touch with her former friends and colleagues in Washington. It is clear that her passing affected everyone very deeply. I will remember Ashley both for her tireless work and for her sweet and bright smile. She brought people together and was a true friend in life as is evident in the outpouring of sympathy in the Capitol Hill community. I join Ashley's friends and family in mourning her loss and celebrating a wonderful young woman who was taken from us too early.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, January is Human Trafficking Month, and I rise today to continue to be a voice for the countless victims of human trafficking in the United States. If we, as Members of Congress, want to truly address the sex trafficking epidemic, we must face the facts. We must acknowledge and address the direct link between children in the foster care system and children who become victims of sex trafficking. For far too many children, the foster care system is an unwitting gateway to sex trafficking. This is a nationwide issue that requires a Federal response. In 2010, 59 percent of the children arrested on prostitution-related charges in L.A. County were in the foster care system. A 2007 report from the U.S. Department of Justice found that 85 percent of identified child sex trafficking victims in New York State also had contact with the child welfare system. Further, according to the FBI, an estimated 70 percent of child sex trafficking victims in Florida had histories with the child welfare system. Children in the foster care system are our children. When they fall victim to trafficking, it means that all of us have failed. To help all victims of trafficking, including foster youth, we must change our mindset on how we address this horrific crime. A child who cannot consent to sex should never be called a prostitute. The men who prey on them are not johns; they are child molesters. ``T'' Ortiz Walker Pettigrew is a former foster care youth who became a sex trafficking victim. When she was 15 and still in foster care, ``T,'' as she is called, was arrested for prostitution. While serving time in juvenile hall, she discovered that more than half of the girls serving with her were also charged with solicitation and, like her, forced to sell themselves. She described her treatment in juvenile hall as how you would treat a dog in a kennel. She was put in a box and kept waiting. She was treated like a criminal and did not receive any counseling or support services. Because she was punished and not helped, she was arrested again when she was 16 years old, and she spent her 17th birthday in juvenile hall. I am grateful that she found the strength and support to escape from her pimp. She now uses her voice to advocate for sex trafficking victims and to urge policymakers at all levels of government to do our jobs to prevent young girls from becoming sex trafficking victims. Because of actions from women like ``T,'' local officials in Los Angeles have changed their approach to addressing this issue. They haven't realized that arresting the victims won't solve the problem. Last year, L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonell announced that his department will immediately stop arresting children on prostitution charges. This announcement was coupled by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors adopting a countywide effort to ensure that child victims of sex trafficking are truly treated as victims and receive the support services they need instead of punishment. Last year, this Congress came together as Democrats and Republicans to pass comprehensive human trafficking legislation, but our work does not end when the bill is signed. We must also use our positions to urge local officials in our districts to follow the best practices used around the country. To truly make a difference this Human Trafficking Awareness Month, I urge all Members to reach out to their local sheriffs and local elected officials and urge them to learn from Los Angeles and begin treating sex trafficking victims as victims. Although the legislation is a great step forward, we should also use the power of our voices and our positions to ensure that more girls get the help they need instead of being treated as criminals.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in calling for our fellow Members of Congress to come together to assist hardworking families and children. We need to act together to provide parents and caregivers with the resources necessary to ensure that every family has access to safe and affordable child care. Specifically today, I am speaking out for the over 157,000 children in the foster care system who are 5 years old or younger. Congress must face two important facts. The cost of child care is having a detrimental impact on working families, and it is our children who suffer as a result. In my home city of Los Angeles, it is estimated that an annual income of nearly $74,000 is necessary to secure a modest, yet adequate, standard of living for a two-parent, two-child family. In reality, some of the neighborhoods I represent have a median household income of less than $28,000 a year, which translates to more than $45,000 below what is needed for a modest standard of living. To make up this difference, far too many working families, especially single-parent families, are forced to put their children into inadequate child care, which is often what they can afford. After a baby is born, too many mothers and fathers must immediately return to work in order to pay bills, and one of those bills becomes skyrocketing childcare costs. In fact, there are many children who wind up in the foster care system because their parents have left them unsupervised because they had to make a choice: stay home because they didn't have child care or go to work and leave those children unattended. When parents make that decision, they can wind up then losing custody of their children to the foster care system. Last January President Obama took a bold step to support children and working families by proposing to expand access to high-quality child care for low-income families. In partnership with States, this investment will help over 1 million additional young children over the next decade by supporting States' efforts to build up the supply of quality child care available to low- income families. One way to solve the childcare needs of working families is to arrange for someone other than parents to care for children. My home State of California has taken a different approach. For over a decade, California has offered paid family leave to help working families stay at home to take care of a new child. This law is not only helping mothers bond with their newborn children, but it is also enabling more and more men to take time off work when a child is born, ensuring that more fathers stay involved with their children's lives. We can say we support families, but to truly put families first, Congress needs to come together to provide effective paid family leave to mothers and fathers when a baby is born.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Lee. I want to applaud your leadership and the leadership of Congressman Farr. We will miss him, as this is his last session in Congress. For years, you have worked to have normal relations between the United States and Cuba. Although I have only been here for 5 years, I know that you have put in many, many years working to see that our two nations cooperated. It is really amazing if you think that we are only 90 miles away and where else is there in the world where we have two countries that are so close but yet we have not really been able to communicate and have normal relations? So I am happy to celebrate this 1-year anniversary, and I look forward to our nations continuing to work together. There are a few things that I would like to mention: the fact that even in spite of the embargo and the travel ban, over 100,000 Americans visited Cuba every year before the policy change. But Americans had to go through all sorts of changes in order to have the opportunity to visit the island. Now, with travel opening up--and I am glad that the flights will go from your city, Congresswoman Lee. They will also go from Los Angeles, direct from Los Angeles to Havana. Oftentimes when we think of establishing and reestablishing relations in Cuba, we think about it from the vantage point of what the United States has to offer the island, and certainly we can talk long about that. But the Cubans actually have things to offer the United States. I can think of several examples. Right now, there are over 50 U.S. students that are studying medicine for free in Cuba. The only obligation that those students have is that, when they come back to the United States after graduating, they have to commit to practice medicine in an underserved area. The Cubans have been pioneering medication and a vaccine to prevent lung cancer. They have also been able to develop a medication that has helped reduce the need to amputate limbs secondary to diabetic neuropathy. They have developed this medication, and that is something that we could use from the Cubans. So I am looking forward to our continuing to establish and deepen our ties with the island.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I recognize and congratulate the Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Museum of Tolerance for commitment to leadership in promoting tolerance worldwide. I am proud to represent these important institutions as part of California's 37th Congressional District. Located in Los Angeles, they have a worldwide mission. Together with UNESCO, the Wiesenthal Center has created a traveling exhibition, opening today in Washington, D.C., entitled Book. People. Land.: The 3,500 Year Relationship Between the Jewish People and the Holy Land. This exhibit, sponsored by the U.S., Canada and Israel, aims to highlight the Jewish values of scholarship, human dignity and justice, and links them through history to the Jewish homeland. My friends and fellow Foreign Affairs Committee members, Chair Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel, cooperated in arranging this Capitol Hill opening. Book. People. Land. will soon travel to Israel's Knesset and Vatican City under the supervision of its Project Director, Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper. As the public and invited guests celebrate this partnership with UNESCO, the opening of this exhibit, and the Wiesenthal Center's message of human dignity, I am proud to recognize all those involved in this important undertaking.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize and celebrate 50 years and community improvement in Watts and South Los Angeles, California, under the inspiration and leadership of Sweet Alice Harris. Sweet Alice, as she is universally known, began speaking up against the health disparities and lack of access to services that she saw in her neighborhood five decades ago. She founded the organization Parents of Watts to give voice to those who were no longer willing to accept the circumstances in which they found themselves and their children after decades of civic neglect. Parents of Watts provided a platform for community organizing and self-empowerment. Watts and greater South Los Angeles might be a very different place without Sweet Alice Harris. Fifty years ago she began clearly and effectively insisting that her children, her neighbors and her community should have the same access to education, health care, safety and employment that others have. Through her unrelenting, focused advocacy, her effective story-telling, and her development of relationships with both the neediest and the most powerful in Los Angeles, she has improved the quality of life for people well beyond her immediate reach. I offer my personal thanks and congratulations to Sweet Alice on 50 years of service. I remember the founding of Parents of Watts, an organization that has grown to provide an array of services to a diverse segment of the community, including emergency food and shelter for the homeless, college preparation for teenagers, drug counseling, health seminars and parenting classes. I am pleased that this work has been recognized over the years, including by Essence Magazine, the California Lieutenant Governor's Woman of the Year Award, the Minerva Award from the California Governor & First Lady's Conference on Women, President George H. W. Bush's #702 Points of Light Award, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Southern California. With a list of accomplishments too lengthy to list here, her greatest success is that her work will continue to benefit Watts and South Los Angeles for the foreseeable future. It is an honor to recognize her work.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize and celebrate the success of the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, California. The Games began on Saturday, July 25, 2015 with spectacular Opening Ceremonies at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that featured an address by First Lady Michelle Obama. The Games ended with festive Closing Ceremonies at the same venue on Sunday, August 2, 2015. I am proud to represent the area that includes not only the Coliseum, but also the University of Southern California which has hosted several events, including aquatics, basketball, track and field competitions. Special Olympics World Games this year included over 6,000 athletes from 165 countries competing in 25 different sports. I am particularly happy to have the Games in Los Angeles after 16 years of being hosted outside of the United States. Since its founding in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics have played a significant part in fostering greater acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in the U.S. and all over the world. The Games honor the talents, perseverance and achievements of people who are all too often overlooked or excluded from mainstream society. Every year, millions of athletes participate in Special Olympics activities in nearly every country of the world, with the support of as many as one million coaches and volunteers. The Special Olympians here in Los Angeles have travelled far and overcome many obstacles in their quest for excellence. They also know that their willingness to step into the spotlight and share their abilities and dreams with the world will offer inspiration to others with intellectual disabilities, and to their families, friends, villages, towns, cities and nations. Thanks are also due to the families and friends back home who support their athletes and loved ones with intellectual disabilities, whether or not they will ever make it to the World Games. I invite all of my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to join me and the entire bipartisan Los Angeles delegation in congratulating the organizers, coaches, volunteers, families, supporters and most of all the athletes on the success of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the late Professor Mwangi S. Kimenyi, senior fellow and former director of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, who passed away on June 6, 2015. I had the honor of working with Professor Kimenyi over the last several years. I drew on his expertise for one of the ``Africa Policy Breakfasts'' I hosted earlier this year that drew hundreds of people. You just needed to listen to Professor Kimenyi speak for a few minutes to understand that he was one of the foremost scholars and experts in the relationship between the United States and the nations of the African continent. His breadth of knowledge stretched from institutions of higher education as well as the non-profit sector. He drew on his ability to teach from his years of experience as a former professor at the University of Mississippi and the University of Connecticut. He was the founding executive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, a resource person with the African Economic Research Consortium, and a research associate with the Center for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford. He was rightly recognized for his years of work when he received the Outstanding Research Award from the Global Development Network in 2001 and the Georgescu-Roegen Prize in Economics in 1991. In 1994, Professor Kimenyi was also named by Policy Review among the top 10 young market economists in the United States. The House of Representatives voted to give final Congressional passage to the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Renewing AGOA was only possible because of the work of Professor Kimenyi and the hundreds of Africans like him who committed themselves to ensuring that the United States and the nations on the African continent became true partners that work together to benefit our respective people and economies. I join with so many in sending my condolences to Professor Kimenyi's family, friends, colleagues and everyone who benefited from his years of work and his commitment to the relationship between the United States and the countries on the African continent. Although he has left us, his work will benefit people for generations to come.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 1295, the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which includes the reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA. I want to thank Chairman Ryan, who made a commitment at the beginning of the year that we would follow through and we would make sure that AGOA was on the President's desk. I want to thank Ranking Member Levin; Chairman Tiberi; and a giant in this House and one of the original authors of AGOA and a mentor to me and many, many others in this house, Mr. Charlie Rangel, for their leadership on AGOA. I want to thank members of the African Diplomatic Corps, African heads of state, the diaspora, and members of the African civil society for their tireless work on this legislation. It has been almost a year since President Obama brought together heads of state from 50 African nations for the historic U.S.-Africa leaders summit last August. This summit was the largest event any American President had held with African heads of state, and it was critical in creating the momentum and support that AGOA now enjoys. Over the next 10 years, Africa will become an even more important part of the world economy with a large youthful population that is increasingly university educated, tech savvy, and entrepreneurial. Without question, it is in the interest of the United States and the countries of Africa that we work toward a stronger and mutually beneficial economic relationship that will stand the test of time.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke in favor of H.R. 1891, the AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015. In the middle of tremendous controversy and tension over TPA, it was encouraging to have legislation that wasn't controversial, in fact, had overwhelming support with 397 votes. The bill was sent to the Senate, and we were hopeful that H.R. 1891 would have already made it to the President's desk. Unfortunately, the bill is a victim of its own success. So many rumors are floating around that because AGOA is popular, supported by both Democrats, Republicans, Senators, and House Members, that now Senators are considering adding more controversial bills into AGOA. We are hearing TAA might be added. The press is even reporting consideration is being given to using AGOA as a vehicle to extend the Ex-Im Bank. We hear the thinking is, if TAA failed in the House last week, if it is added in to AGOA, we will all vote for it. AGOA can and should and stand on its own. The Senate should pass AGOA and send it to the President.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. I rise today in support of H.R. 1891, the AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015. I am delighted to be here to speak in favor of an extraordinarily important bill, of which AGOA is part, and to be joined by my distinguished colleague, Ranking Member Rangel. I do have to say that it is quite appropriate that we are voting on this bill today, as it is Mr. Rangel's birthday. As one of the original authors of AGOA, we extend this birthday present to him because I know that it will pass with bipartisan support. I also want to acknowledge the work of one of the other original authors, Mr. McDermott, for the longtime support of the nations in Africa and to acknowledge several Ambassadors that are here in the gallery from Lesotho, South Africa; Niger; and Gabon. I also want to thank the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Ryan. I appreciate his timing. He made a commitment as soon as he took over as chair. He received numerous delegations from the continent. He made that commitment. He followed through on it, in particular, the timing, because it was so important that the chair and ranking member and chair of the subcommittee, Mr. Tiberi, that we did this soon so that we didn't wait until AGOA was near expiration. We did that a couple of years ago with third-country fabric, and we found that many jobs on the continent were lost. I want to thank him for his leadership and following through. The importance of reauthorizing AGOA--and by doing so, strengthening trade and investment between the United States and the nations of Africa--is clear. Since its enactment in 2001, AGOA has helped to significantly increase African exports to the United States and led to jobs both on the African Continent and here at home. AGOA has generated approximately 100,000 jobs in the U.S. and 350,000 direct jobs and 1 million indirect jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa. A byproduct of this trade is the increase of U.S. exports.

Ms. BASS. Over the past decade, numerous countries on the continent of Africa have consistently been cited by international financial institutions as the fastest growing economies in the world. Without question, I am pleased to have been part of this important process. I also look forward to continuing my work with my fellow Members of Congress and the administration in strengthening trade and investment relations between our country and home to the world's fastest growing economies and newest and most dynamic trade and investment frontier, Africa.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. BASS. Madam Chair, as the economy continues to recover, 8.5 million Americans are still unemployed. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of local transportation agencies to spur job creation in their local communities is unnecessarily obstructed by restrictive Department of Transportation policies. Limiting the ability of local officials to contribute to targeted job growth is detrimental to local economies across the United States, especially in communities where many remain jobless. Local hiring and procurement policies have helped to provide quality job opportunities to residents in communities hardest hit by the economic downturn. My local hire amendment is designed to help spur local job creation through federally funded transportation projects nationally. My amendment would prevent the Department of Transportation from issuing regulations that prevent local hiring. Specifically, it would limit the regulations and burdens placed on local governmental agencies, preserve the competition and cost-effectiveness mandates in our current rules that govern Federal transit grants, and give local transportation agencies the necessary flexibility to apply geographically targeted preferences when making hiring decisions for federally funded transit and highway projects. It is important to note that this local hire amendment does not require transportation agencies to implement local hiring policies. It simply gives local leaders the opportunity to do so if they determine it is in the best interest of their communities. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment. It will reduce burdensome regulations and spur local job creation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues today in celebration of 63 foster youth and 63 bipartisan Members of Congress who are participating in the fourth annual Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Shadow Day experience. The goal of this event is to give foster youth the opportunity to share their unique experience with Members of Congress, as well as gain intimate insight into the legislative process. Far too often, we legislate from a glass tower, far removed from the people and places that our laws affect. Shadow Day was created to address this very issue, empowering foster youth from across the country to come to our Nation's Capital and share their stories, while giving Members of Congress the opportunity to learn from the very young people whose lives we genuinely want to improve. Shadowing me today is Briana, a beautiful young woman from my hometown of Los Angeles. Briana became an open case of the department of child and family services at the age of 15 due to abuse by her father. Multiple placements, neglect, and instability defined her foster care experience. As she pursues her bachelor's degree in accounting at Dillard University in New Orleans, Briana strives to voice the real concerns of foster youth and give strength to her foster peers by moving towards change. Briana's ultimate goal is to become a foster care advocate, encouraging other youth like her to stand up for themselves in the child welfare system. I look forward to hearing more about Briana's experience and listening to her legislative recommendations. Thank you, Briana, for your resiliency and your commitment to reforming the child welfare system. In honor of Briana and the other 62 foster youth here on the Hill, I invite my colleagues to join the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join President Obama in recognizing May as National Foster Care Month. The goal of this special month is to raise awareness about the experiences of more than 400,000 youth in the foster care system and to recognize the essential work that foster parents, social workers, and advocates have in the lives of children in foster care throughout the United States. Foster care was created as a temporary placement for children who have been abused or neglected. The act of removing a child, even from an abusive home, is traumatic; yet, even in the face of these challenges, the resiliency of foster youth remains strong. For example, Maurissa, a young woman who spent most of her high school years in a residential facility in Los Angeles, was able to graduate high school with honors and go on to Oxnard College. It took Maurissa almost 10 years to complete community college. She explains: ``I was living on my own and working a minimum of 40 hours per week, and I had to take algebra nine times to pass.'' Maurissa struggled to get past her experiences but was able to find someone who believed in her. Dr. Adam Grudberg, a faculty member at the residential facility, encouraged her to reach her dreams. When Dr. Grudberg died at the young age of 30, Maurissa knew she couldn't let him down. She went on to graduate from California State University with her undergraduate degree in psychology and then on to Harvard Graduate School of Education to receive her master's degree in human development and psychology. In honor of Maurissa's courage and Dr. Grudberg's inspiration, I invite my colleagues to join the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and cosponsor the bipartisan resolution in recognition of National Foster Care Month.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the Record that the House should focus on the real priorities of the country instead of another attack on women's health care in Washington, D.C.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, last year, Congress took an important first step. The CR/Omnibus allowed transit agencies to pursue local hiring. It didn't require them to adopt local hire policies, but it put hiring decisions in the hands of local government officials. I think my good friend and colleague from California is making the point that transportation is the backbone of this country, and certainly we have been the world's leader in infrastructure, in projects like has been described by my colleague, but we need to do more of that. Every now and then, Congress does something in a bipartisan manner, and because of this action, the Department of Transportation established pilot programs that will permit L.A. Metro to prioritize local hiring on over $2 billion in transit and highway projects. Not just L.A. Metro, but around the country, local hire is now a policy. This investment will translate into tens of thousands of well-paying jobs for Angelenos putting these tax dollars back into the communities that paid for the projects. Los Angeles is in the midst of a multibillion dollar investment in transit projects that will reduce congestion on our streets and reduce air pollution. Two major projects, I am fortunate to say, are in my district. One is the Crenshaw line, which is an 8\1/2\ mile light rail line between the Expo line on Exposition Boulevard and the green line. It will serve the Crenshaw District, Inglewood, Westchester, Los Angeles International Airport, and surrounding communities. Another project is the purple line that will provide a high-capacity, high-speed, dependable alternative for those traveling between communities, such as Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, Century City, and Westwood. Angelenos have repeatedly voted to raise local taxes to help build these local transportation projects, but LA metro had not been allowed to prioritize hiring local workers. In LA, it is crucial that we adopt local hiring policies. Los Angeles unemployment remains higher than the national average, and people living in south Los Angeles, who are directly impacted by the transit projects I mention, are facing some of the highest unemployment rates in the State. Their tax dollars are paying a vast majority of these projects. Their businesses and homes are being the most impacted by the construction, but they don't benefit from the thousands of jobs that these transit projects will create. While I was back in my district last week, I heard numerous commercials on how Crenshaw Boulevard, a major thoroughfare through south Los Angeles, will be closed for several days because of the light rail construction. This closure is directly impacting businesses trying every day to provide goods and services to the people who live there, as well as the residents who call south Los Angeles home. This closure is difficult, but ensuring that these transit dollars will bring well-paying jobs is one way to alleviate the temporary pain from construction. We have done the right thing and allowed transit agencies to have control over local hiring practices. This will bring high-quality jobs to the areas most impacted by the disruption of transit construction. Democrats and Republicans can often disagree, but on this area, we are on the same page. More local control to transit agencies will mean they can build light rail and subway projects that will last for generations while ensuring that people who need jobs today will be the first in line for the jobs these projects create today. This is an example of bipartisanship. My colleagues that are here today talking about the Grow America Act, this is a first step; it is positive, but we obviously need to do so much more. The example of the projects that you have given is where we need to go next.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bipartisan Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act, which I introduced with a group of bipartisan Members of Congress. The same version of this bill was unanimously passed in the 113th Congress. This legislation demonstrates how critical it is that Members of Congress work together to move policy that protects children from being sexually exploited. The work that both sides of the aisle have done on sex trafficking demonstrates a strong commitment to preventing our most vulnerable populations from becoming victims. First, I would like to thank Chairman Kline, Representative Walberg, and Ranking Member Scott for their leadership on continuing to support this legislation that works towards ensuring that no child in the United States becomes a victim of sex trafficking. I am grateful for their knowledge and assistance that helped bring this important bill to the floor today. I would also like to thank Judge Poe for his ongoing leadership on this issue. My colleague and friend, Representative Tom Marino, has been a leader in fighting for children in the foster care system. Mr. Marino, along with the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth cochairs--Jim McDermott, Trent Franks, Jim Langevin, and Diane Black--all served as original cosponsors of H.R. 469 and have demonstrated leadership by both making significant change in the child welfare system and by bringing attention to the horrendous intersection between sex trafficking and our child welfare system. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that between 2008 and 2010 40 percent of sex trafficking cases involved the exploitation of children. Tragically, many of these children are forgotten without the appropriate services to ensure their safety. This highlights the failure of our system to prevent them from becoming victims. More than 200,000 youth in our country are at risk of trafficking per year. In my hometown of Los Angeles, the Probation Department reports that 61 percent of identified trafficking victims are foster youth. It is noteworthy that this statistic comes from the Probation Department and not the child welfare department. This legislation hopes to correct that. We want to make sure that child welfare agencies, in addition to juvenile justice, begin to document this problem. In Los Angeles, we are fortunate to have the STAR Court, which is a specialized, collaborative courthouse designed to serve youth who have been trafficked. The STAR Court team reports that 80 percent of the girls entering their courtroom have previously been involved in the child welfare system. As cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I have had the opportunity to travel throughout the country as part of our Nationwide Listening Tour. Unfortunately, I have heard far too many stories about youth in foster care falling through the cracks in the system. Sometimes they are thought to be runaways. Sadly, they report that no one looked for them and that, in fact, they had not run away but had been abducted or tricked or drugged by a pimp when the system assumed they were bad girls who had just run away. Most of us were so moved by one woman that we often repeat her story. She told us in hearings that she felt the foster care system prepared her for exploitation because her pimp was the first person who told her that he loved her and that, while in foster care, she was moved so often and told so often that she was just a paycheck that she formed no healthy attachments and had nowhere to turn. We have to close the cracks in our system that leave a child feeling her pimp is the only one she can turn to or that she would rather be with a pimp than be bounced around from foster home to foster home. The system that is supposed to be designed to help vulnerable children should not turn around and victimize the children or allow them to fall into the hands of exploiters. Many of the young survivors we have met told us that, during the time they were being trafficked, they had numerous encounters with the child welfare system but that no one asked what was happening to them, especially girls in group homes. Pimps know this population is especially vulnerable. H.R. 469 will allow child welfare agencies across the Nation to develop State protection plans to outline provisions and procedures to identify and assess all reports of children known or suspected to be victims of sex trafficking. H.R. 469 begins to prepare the child welfare system for this population. A first step is to document the extent of the problem. Another step is to ensure that each State has a plan to train social workers to identify and address the needs of this population. Arresting these children should not be the way we provide services. Arresting them treats them as criminals, and one has to question if jail is ever an appropriate place to provide the type of services these children need. H.R. 469 also requires that, within 1 year, the Department of Health and Human Services report to Congress on the prevalence and type of trafficking they have encountered. The report will assess State practices used to identify and serve trafficking victims and Federal laws and policies that might, in fact, prevent States from supporting these victims, including the absence of trafficking in the Federal definition of ``child abuse and neglect'' under CAPTA, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. I am encouraged by the momentum that has been created to reform our child welfare system and to ensure that vulnerable children are provided with the resources they need. I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 469, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act, and to continue to work together in Congress to combat domestic minor sex trafficking.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 246, a bill to improve the response to victims of child trafficking. First, I would like to commend my colleague, Representative Joyce Beatty, for her commitment to transforming the language that we use to discuss child victims of sex trafficking and for taking the lead on this important legislation. After all, a child cannot consent to sex, so a child cannot be considered a prostitute. And her exploiter should never be called a john; he should be called what he is, a child molester. While trafficking advocates and organizations have worked tirelessly over the years to ensure that the framework and language we use to describe child victims of trafficking recognizes that they are, in fact, victims, we still have a long way to go. These children have gone through enough trauma. They do not need to continue to hear language that places the blame on them for a crime that an adult committed. Phone hotlines and cyber tip lines operated by organizations throughout the country are critical to ensuring that individuals have a means to report these incidents of human trafficking and child exploitation. Under this legislation, reports of domestic minor sex trafficking to the CyberTipline of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children would be classified as ``child sex trafficking'' and no longer as ``child prostitution.'' This change would reinforce the fact that the children are victims and not criminals. Representative Beatty's bill is another critical building block to transforming the framework and dialogue around child victims of sex trafficking. I look forward to continuing to change the conversation and urge my colleagues in the House to support this important legislation.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize and celebrate the designation of January 16, 2015 by the City of Los Angeles, California as Dr. La-Doris McClaney Day, in honor of the noteworthy career and remarkable generosity of La-Doris McClaney, Ph.D. The McClaney family has risen from the humblest of roots: Dr. McClaney's mother, Eula McClaney, grew up picking cotton with her sharecropper parents in Orion, Alabama and was self-educated after the sixth grade. Nonetheless, a powerful drive to succeed, personal discipline, strong faith, and a talent for entrepreneurship built a real estate business that allowed Mrs. McClaney and her family not only to thrive but also to lift others as they climbed. La-Doris McClaney and her late sister Burnie McClaney worked with their mother to expand both their business and their philanthropy across six states, donating buildings and money to improve the lives of others. Dr. La-Doris McClaney shares both her mother's aptitude for business and her deep commitment to charitable works. Over her 40-year career in real estate and philanthropy, Dr. McClaney has contributed 10% of her gross income to charities large and small, amounting to many millions of dollars. She gives of herself as well, writing, and lecturing, assisting families in need, and mentoring African American college students and sponsoring their tuition. Dr. McClaney holds a masters degree from Pepperdine University and a doctorate degree from Bethune Cookman College, and the themes of education and health research emerge from a brief review of those receiving her charitable contributions: American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Bethune Cookman College, The Christian Broadcasting Network, City of Hope, King Drew School of Medicine, Save African's Children, and the United Negro College Fund, among many others. Dr. McClaney has been recognized over 500 times with commendations, awards, resolutions and honors for her many good works. I congratulate her and I commend the City of Los Angeles for celebrating her many contributions.

Ms. BASS

Ms. BASS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5081, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014, and I would like to thank Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller for their support and collaboration on creating momentum for this policy that will be a critical step towards preventing child sex trafficking. I appreciate both their insight and assistance in bringing this bill to the floor today. I also want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Representative Marino. He has been a tireless advocate for children in the foster care system. Mr. Marino, along with the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth cochairs, Representatives McDermott and Bachmann, all served as original cosponsors of the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act, and their continuing commitment to transforming the child welfare system has brought national attention to the intersection between child sex trafficking and the child welfare system. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that more than 300,000 children in the country are at risk of sexual commercial exploitation and trafficking each year. These are 300,000 too many, and tragically, this number shows that a comprehensive and aggressive response is needed in order to combat child trafficking throughout the country. In my city, the Los Angeles County Probation Department reports that 61 percent of identified trafficking victims are foster youth. The Los Angeles STAR court is a specialized collaborative courthouse designed to serve commercially exploited youth and reports that 80 percent of these girls have been previously involved in the child welfare system. As cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I have had the opportunity to travel throughout the country as part of our nationwide listening tour. Unfortunately, the stories I have heard from advocates and youth is that children in the child welfare system continue to be preyed upon by traffickers who use their vulnerability as an opportunity to exploit them. The stories that emerge are those like Caroline's, a young girl who grew up in a household where she was physically, sexually, and emotionally abused. When Caroline was just 13 years old, a 35-year-old man attended a sporting event at her school and deceived her into believing that he loved her and would give her the attention she craved. Instead, this man began to sell Caroline to numerous men for sex. Throughout this time, she had many encounters with the child welfare system, but no one picked up that she was a victim of trafficking. The social workers did not have the training or the proper tools to assess that she needed specialized services. Our bill would ensure that children like Caroline do not slip through the cracks, as State and county child welfare departments have protection plans that will outline provisions and procedures to identify and assess all reports of children known or suspected to be victims of sex trafficking. State systems do not currently have the proper protections, services, or protocols to adequately serve those in the system who have been victims of trafficking. States also lack such support for victims who enter the child welfare system. In fact, during a site visit recently on the Foster Youth Caucus listening tour to Missouri, a law enforcement officer told us that he had no other option but to arrest the girls, to ensure that they receive the proper services. In Los Angeles, the child sex trafficking unit of the county probation department specifically addresses the needs of child victims, and it is the only such division in the country. I commend their critical work and commitment to ensure the trafficking victims receive the resources they need. We must not continue to arrest these children in order to provide them with these services. Our bill will be a first step toward ensuring that there are policies and procedures in place to connect child sex trafficking victims to public or private specialized services. Last year, in a meeting with children in the child sex trafficking unit of the Los Angeles County Probation Department, the girls all echoed the same sentiment. While they were grateful to have the resources they needed to begin to deal with their trauma, they felt stigmatized by having to be arrested in order to receive these services. Our bill would ensure that each State has a training plan for child protective service workers to appropriately respond to reports of trafficking, so that trafficked children would be provided the same resources as youth in the child welfare system and be classified as victims of crime, not as criminals. We have story after story across the country of children being raped and sold as if they were little more than objects, but we do not have the concrete data to help them find the appropriate services. H.R. 5081 requires that, within 1 year, the Department of Health and Human Services report to Congress on the prevalence and types of trafficking they have encountered. Many advocates believe that labor trafficking is also a critical issue with children in the child welfare system. The reality is we need hard data to evaluate what is happening to the children, so that proper resources can be allocated in the future. Our bill also allows States to establish the same policy and procedures for children if they are victims of labor trafficking. The report will also assess State practices used to identify and serve trafficking victims and Federal laws and policies that may prevent States from supporting these victims, including the absence of trafficking in the Federal definition of child abuse and neglect under CAPTA, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. These critical steps to reforming our child welfare system will help ensure that victims are provided with the same resources and access as other children. I strongly urge my colleagues to support our bill and continue to build momentum to combat domestic child sex trafficking. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington State, Mr. McDermott. (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York, Ms. Yvette Clarke.