Maloney supports new anti-sex trafficking measures

Last week, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) voted to pass eight bills to combat sex trafficking. Maloney co-chairs the Congressional Caucus on Human Trafficking with Congressman Chris Smith (R-NY) and co-chairs the Trafficking Task Force of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues with Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO). For more than a decade, Congresswoman Maloney has worked to combat human trafficking internationally, nationally, and in New York City.

“With this package of bills, the House is sending a clear message that human trafficking is not a Democratic or Republican problem, but an issue that we as Americans have a moral responsibility to address,” said Maloney. “I am hopeful that the Senate will follow suit and pass these important bills. I also hope they will take up the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act – the bipartisan bill I cosponsored with Representative Poe. The stories from the women who are forced into sexual slavery are heartbreaking. Instead of treating survivors as criminals, we should go after the pimps and the johns that create the demand for sexual abuse and slavery. These bills are another big step forward, and I’ve introduced other legislation that can help.”

In May, Maloney held a press conference at the Capitol with Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) and Shandra Woworuntu, a courageous and inspiring survivor of sex trafficking, who now advocates in support of restitution for survivors of similar crimes. The trio spoke in support of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, legislation that passed the House later that week. Poe and Maloney also announced they were working together on new legislation, the Human Trafficking Fraud Enforcement Act of 2014, which would give the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) more funding and resources to go after pimps and traffickers for taxable income, as well as provide financial assistance and whistleblower protections to survivors.

Maloney supported the following bills, which passed the House last week:

H.R. 2283 – Human Trafficking Prioritization Act, as amended (Rep. Smith (NJ) – Foreign Affairs) – Maloney is a Cosponsor
H.R. 5135 – The Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act of 2014 (Rep. Noem – Judiciary) - Maloney is a Cosponsor
H.R. 5076 – Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims of Youth Trafficking Act of 2014 (Rep. Heck (NV) – Education and the Workforce)
H.R. 5111 – To improve the response to victims of child sex trafficking (Rep. Beatty – Education and the Workforce)
H.R. 5081 – Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014 (Rep. Bass – Education and the Workforce)
H.R. 4980 – The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (Rep. Camp – Ways and Means)
H.R. 5116 – To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to train Department of Homeland Security personnel how to effectively deter, detect, disrupt, and prevent human trafficking during the course of their primary roles and responsibilities, and for other purposes (Rep. Meadows – Homeland Security)
H.R. 4449 – To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to expand the training for Federal Government personnel related to trafficking in persons, and for other purposes (Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney – Foreign Affairs)