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[Page H245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMEMORATING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., and his life of service to our Nation.
Next week, on January 20, we will observe Martin Luther King's
birthday. We know that Dr. King was the most influential civil rights
leader in our Nation's history among so many great civil rights
leaders, such as our own Congressman John Lewis.
Dr. King's commitment to public service brought historic change to
our Nation, affected our entire country and society, and reshaped the
way we interact. So it is fitting that we observe the 25th anniversary
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as ``A Day On, Not a Day Off.''
It serves to remind us to ask ourselves: What are we doing for
others? Dr. King called this ``life's most persistent and urgent
question.'' What are we doing for others in our country?
As a public servant for the past 40 years, I firmly believe that
every individual has an ability and an opportunity to make a change.
Communities across the United States will host events to commemorate
Dr. King's achievements and give back to the community, including in my
own district in the San Joaquin Valley.
I will proudly participate in the Martin Luther King Day Community
March in Fresno and Merced, as well. My office will join the city of
Fresno at an awards ceremony to recognize individuals and organizations
for their outstanding service to give back to our communities in the
spirit of Dr. King.
I urge all Americans to find ways to help others in communities on
Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. You can find those options at
NationalService.gov, a way for us all to give back. Because in the
words of Dr. King: ``The time is always right to do what is right.''
Recognizing National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today also to recognize National
Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month to raise awareness about
this atrocity that plagues our Nation and the world.
There are estimated to be more than 40 million victims of trafficking
across the planet. It happens in all of our communities here, and
because of the geographic location that I represent in California's San
Joaquin Valley, my district sees a disproportionately high amount of
human trafficking.
The fighting of this atrocity requires all of us to be involved, and
we must do more. Every year, I work hard to secure additional funding
for the Crime Victims Fund and to strengthen our efforts to stop human
trafficking.
We were successful in getting an additional $2 billion to support
investigations and operations to prevent human trafficking and another
$2.6 billion to improve services for these victims in the spending bill
that passed just last month. This helps organizations like Breaking the
Chains in Fresno, which is crucial to survivors.
We must understand that these trafficking victims are just that; they
are victims of crime. We also need to bolster our efforts to prevent
this from continuing to occur, from supporting law enforcement efforts
to holding perpetrators accountable to educating our children about the
dangers, especially in this day and age, when the internet, sadly, is
oftentimes a tool for traffickers.
It is estimated that less than 1 percent of the survivors of human
trafficking cases are identified. That is an astounding number, I
think: less than 1 percent of the survivors of human trafficking are
actually identified.
Last year, as co-chairs of the bipartisan Crime Survivors and Justice
Caucus, which I helped found with Congressman Ted Poe, Congressman Pete
Olson and I introduced a resolution in the House to prevent, eradicate,
and raise the awareness of human trafficking as today's modern slavery.
It calls for the Federal Government to coordinate efforts to fight
human trafficking between agencies and with State and local governments
and other organizations that are out there trying their best.
Just yesterday, I met with John Cotton Richmond, the State
Department's Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons, both here and abroad, to discuss how we can work together to
fight this injustice.
I promise you, we must fight this injustice. As a member and a co-
chair of the Victims' Rights Caucus, for survivors of these kinds of
crimes, we will continue to put this among our highest priorities. The
Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus will continue to lead this
bipartisan fight to end modern slavery and human trafficking in all its
forms.
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