Bob Goodlatte

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I just have one speaker remaining, if the gentleman is prepared to close.

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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time. I join the gentleman from Virginia in urging my colleagues to support this important legislation. I want to congratulate Congressman Paulsen and Congresswoman Moore for their great work on this legislation. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, now it is my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Mrs. Noem).

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I have only one speaker remaining, myself, if the gentleman is prepared to close.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, at this time, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Holding), a member of the committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. It is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks).

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 3610, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. There is no more vulnerable segment of this country's population than its children. For far too long, jurisdictions across the country have failed to adequately protect and support minor victims of commercial sex trafficking by treating them as the criminals. This must stop. Unfortunately, according to FBI statistics, the commercial sex trade is the fastest-growing activity of organized criminal groups. The number of children facing sexual exploitation, rape, emotional trauma, and in many cases criminal prosecution grows every day. Despite the fact that Congress has long recognized that minor participants in commercial sex acts are victims, the majority of States maintain statutes criminalizing minor prostitution, directly conflicting, in many instances, with other State laws regarding statutory rape and child abuse. Acknowledging this conflict, the Texas Supreme Court held in 2010, that ``because a 13-year-old child cannot consent to sex as a matter of law, the child cannot be prosecuted as a prostitute.'' Further illustrating this inconsistency, one Dallas police officer observed that ``if a 45-year-old man had sex with a 14-year-old girl and no money changed hands, she was likely to get counseling and he was likely to get jail time for statutory rape. If the same man left $80 on the table after having sex with her, she would probably be locked up for prostitution and he would go home with a fine as a john.'' The bill before us today, H.R. 3610, the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2014, is designed to encourage the States to treat victims as victims. Recognizing the need for protection and support for the growing number of child victims of commercial sex trafficking, an increasing number of States have taken steps to establish so-called ``safe harbor'' provisions that either decriminalize minor prostitution or divert minor victims to the services and support needed for recovery. H.R. 3610 attempts to continue that trend by encouraging States, through preferential treatment in the grant-making process, to enact safe harbor legislation, ensuring that these victims are treated as victims, not criminals, and are directed to support services, not detention facilities. The bill also codifies a National Human Trafficking Hotline, ensures young victims are eligible for enrollment in the Job Corps, requires the Attorney General to report on sex offender convictions, and clarifies the authority of the U.S. Marshals Service to provide assistance in sex trafficking cases. The Judiciary Committee's Crime Subcommittee recently held a hearing titled ``Innocence for Sale: Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking'' in which we examined the effects of criminalizing minors under these circumstances. A victim of minor commercial sex trafficking, Ms. ``T'' Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, testified regarding her repeated traumatization at the hands of her trafficker and the criminal justice system: Isolated, tired, and helpless at the age of 15, the concrete box that represented my cell in the largest of the juvenile facilities in Las Vegas, Nevada, seemed no less invasive than the horror of the streets. It wasn't all too different than the mental confinement I endured from my pimp. The re-victimization of minors engaged in commercial sex trafficking by criminal justice systems must stop. Nelson Mandela once observed that: There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way it treats its children. This legislation demonstrates that we choose to protect and support our children. I would like to recognize the efforts of my colleagues, Mr. Paulsen and Ms. Moore, for the introduction of the original legislation, as well as the many Members who have signed on as bipartisan cosponsors. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Chairman Kline from the Education and the Workforce Committee for his support regarding the Job Corps provision of this bill. This bill is an important tool in the fight against the growing scourge of minor sex trafficking. I urge my colleagues to join me in support, and I reserve the balance of my time. Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, May 13, 2014. Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to confirm our mutual understanding with respect to H.R. 3610, the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2013. Thank you for consulting with the Committee on Education and the Workforce with regard to H.R. 3610 on those matters within the committees jurisdiction. In the interest of expediting the House's consideration of H.R. 3610, the Committee on Education and the Workforce will forgo further consideration of this bill. However, I do so only with the understanding this procedural route will not be construed to prejudice my committee's jurisdictional interest and prerogatives on this bill or any other similar legislation and will not be considered as precedent for consideration of matters of jurisdictional interest to my committee in the future. I respectfully request your support for the appointment of outside conferees from the Committee on Education and the Workforce should this bill or a similar bill be considered in a conference with the Senate. I also request you include our exchange of letters on this matter in the Committee Report on H.R. 3610 and in the Congressional Record during consideration of this bill on the House floor. Thank you for your attention to these matters. Sincerely, John Kline, Chairman.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3610) to stop exploitation through trafficking, as amended.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota, Congressman Paulsen, the chief sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the majority leader, and to thank him for his leadership on this series of bills that deals with this serious issue.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner).

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger).

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers, except for myself. We are prepared to close.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), the chief sponsor of this legislation and a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Marino), a member of the Judiciary Committee

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. 3530, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3530) to provide justice for the victims of trafficking, as amended.