A good week in the effort to combat human trafficking

More than five months ago, President Obama put forth one of the most qualified and well-respected candidates ever to be nominated for the office of U.S. attorney general. There is bipartisan recognition that Loretta Lynch has been an exemplary U.S. attorney who has been highly effective in prosecuting sex trafficking, political corruption, terrorism, narcotics, and gang and Mafia cases.

Her confirmation is expected to move forward this week, more than a month after Senate Republican leaders tied her fate to debate over the JVTA, or Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (S. 178). The compromise reached by Senate negotiators on the JVTA not only clears the way for this important legislation, but also for one of our nation’s greatest advocates for trafficking survivors to become the attorney general of the United States.

{mosads}Lynch has done extensive work to combat sex trafficking and has been incredibly effective at putting perpetrators of this horrible crime behind bars. She was recently named one of “New York’s New Abolitionists” by the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition for her leadership in combating human trafficking. She has prioritized the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s anti-trafficking program, which, over the course of the last decade, has indicted over 55 defendants in sex trafficking cases and rescued over 110 victims of sex trafficking, including over 20 minors. In addition, through the work of the anti-trafficking program, 18 children, many of whom were being held by sex traffickers in Mexico, have been reunited with their mothers.

In one 2014 case, three brothers convicted of sex trafficking were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for running a trafficking ring that enticed victims, as young as 14 and 15 years old, to be transported illegally into the United States and forced to work as prostitutes in New York City and elsewhere. The defendants beat and sexually assaulted the victims to compel them to work and to punish them for not earning enough money, and forced them to turn over all of their earnings to the defendants. The defendants also threatened violence against the victims’ family members to prevent the victims from running away.

Combating sex trafficking unites Republicans and Democrats as few other issues do. Along with Texas Republican Rep. Ted Poe, I co-authored a bill called the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (H.R. 181) that passed the House by voice vote in January. This important legislation goes after the demand side of human trafficking, with stricter penalties for traffickers, johns and for pimps.

The broader Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (S. 178) now set to clear the Senate, includes new support and restitution for survivors of trafficking, which I strongly support.

Lynch is one of America’s most accomplished and respected U.S. attorneys. When she is confirmed, she will make history as the first African-American woman ever to serve as U.S. attorney general. But I believe she will also take historic actions to combat sex trafficking.

With Senate passage slated for later this week, I hope the House works quickly to pass the compromise Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and send this important legislation to the president’s desk. Let’s give our next attorney general the authority she needs to fight the scourge of human trafficking in the U.S. Her record shows she’ll put it to good use. 

Maloney has represented congressional districts in New York City since 1993. She sits on the Financial Services, and the Oversight and Government Reform committees.