STOP EXPLOITATION THROUGH TRAFFICKING ACT OF 2014

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2014 is another weapon in the bipartisan war against sex trafficking in this country.

I commend my colleagues, Representative Paulsen and Representative Moore, for introducing the legislation, which contains important victim-based initiatives to combat sex trafficking.

One of the initiatives, the national safe harbor law, is essential to making sure that child victims of sex trafficking are not treated as prostitutes and criminalized, but, rather, are diverted into Child Protective Services. Only 12 States have passed safe harbor laws for minor victims of sex trafficking.

Now, Madam Speaker, as my colleague has pointed out, there is no such thing as a child prostitute. Children cannot consent to any sex act; therefore, any sexual act involving a child is child rape.

As my colleague, again, has pointed out, paying for the sex does not diminish the crime. Children who are bought and sold for these services are not prostitutes, but are victims. Those adults who sexually exploit them should not be called johns, but instead be called what they truly are: child rapists. We should punish those who prey on the vulnerable, and we cannot continue to criminalize the victims.

In an effort to help this recovery, H.R. 3610 empowers victims with a national hotline to request help, and it empowers them with restitution grants and with the eligibility for Job Corps programs.

The bill leads to an annual report by the Department of Justice on the amount of restitution ordered to victims in these cases. It will also include information about the number of convictions the Department has secured under all statutes that criminalize sex trafficking.

It will provide important information on the focus of investigative and prosecutorial efforts. It will ensure that victims of sex trafficking are treated as victims across all geographical and jurisdictional boundaries. So, Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3610.