I want to thank our witnesses very much. As youre well aware, we have votes going on right now. But with the chairmans guidance, we shall continue here out of respect for your time. Well begin with my own questions, as other members roll in, well entertain those. But mr. Kutcher, and ms. Masanino, thank you for your leadership. This is such an important area. Were shining a National Spotlight on the importance of it. And im just so grateful for your efforts. Do you both agree, as you work on this issue, that the state departments annual trafficking and persons report is a valuable resource in your efforts to fight Human Trafficking, and the scourge of modern slavery . Yes. Yes, absolutely we do. I do. You cant solve the problem if you dont know how big it is. Thats exactly right. So presumably we want the report to be as accurate and comprehensive as possible. We do. Yes. These are called leading questions. Tomorrow i plan to introduce a piece of legislation called the department of state and United States agency for International Development accountability act of 2017. The legislations needed to provide this committee Greater Transparency regarding the more than 180 General Accountability Office recommendations for the department of state and usaid that havent been fully implemented. And among the recommendations are at least two or three recommendations pertaining to this very area, about which you and so many others are passionate. The legislation will nashl congress and this committee to conduct even more effective oversight, something we can always improve upon. It would require state and usaid a timeline for implementation of these antitrafficking proposals, as well as other proposals. And it would ensure that any gao recommendation that is not implemented, were certain as to why that is. Given some rationale for that. So given the large number of open recommendations, it would be my hope that most would be implemented, and we can get bipartisan support for this effort. So im inviting members of both sides of the aisle to work with me on this legislation. Well be dropping in tomorrow. Id like to ask both of our witnesses about the growing impact of sexual exploitation, forced labor, what we generally call modern slavery, here in our own country. Some of my thinking on this issue is informed by good work that has been done in my own state of indiana. With the leadership of the Indiana Attorney general, our former u. S. Attorney and now so many other stakeholders in our state, we have put together a report in our state, the 2016 indiana state report on Human Trafficking. Typically we ask for unanimous consent to enter this into the record. I consent to have it entered into the record. And i think this will be instructive to further your efforts, and those of others who are working on this issue. This was the product. This report, and the related initiatives, and my own state of indiana, a product of a Public Private partnership. To address the unique challenges that our state and others are facing. The report indicates that the coalition of Service Providers serve 178 trafficked youth in 2016 alone. 178 people in my home state of indiana. Of those youth under age 21 served by indiana providers statewide in 2016, nearly all were girls. 94 . As a father of three young girls, i feel particularly passionate about the need to address this. But i note that this is something that afflicts both genders as well. The report found nearly 30 of those impacted are 15 or younger. And more than 10 are between the ages of 12 and 14. All of my children are younger than that. In indiana, victims were as young as 7, when first trafficked. These statistics are, of course, heartbreaking. They speak to the broader challenges we face nationally and internationally. If you could each speak to whether the trend lines in the state of indiana are reflective of your findings across the country. With respect to with respect to sex trafficking. Ages, gender. Most studies have found that the average age of entry into sexual trafficking is 11 years old. I think most of the numbers that youre finding in your state are accurate. You know, relative to the legislation that you were alluding to earlier, i would like to ask, then what . So we measure it. We know its a problem. But then what . And what are the consequences if the reporting isnt there . And what is the consequences if they dont use the tools, the tools arent being used . Im just curious about that relative to that legislation. I would be happy to indulge that question. So working with the chairman and the Ranking Member and people on both sides of the aisle, i think we should make every effort to make sure that the state department has a specific concrete plan of action, comprehensive in nature, that would arrest this problem, internationally, since thats the focus of the state department. We also need to have a domestic range of solutions to this. And then we need to resource. We need to resource our action plans. At the state level, at the federal level. I know thats been a point of emphasis in your own testimony. Here on this committee, perhaps the first step is to see that members on both sides of the aisle continue to work to push an authorizing bill, something the chairman has really shown some leadership on recently, and to the extent we can include Human Trafficking and other things moving forward on that. Thats part answer to your question. Miss masadino, do you have any thoughts on the trend lines . I do. I do think those are reflective of what we see. I also want to say, i think its really important the state level focus on trafficking. You know, this, as i said, it is a big global problem, very complex and there are lots of different ways we need to tackle it. But its really quite important, that sounds like extraordinary leadership at the state level, to be tackling these issues really kind of close to home. And, you know, one of the things that you hear you heard from both of us, is the importance of reporting is for the purpose of being able to measure to measur right, and to get data so you know what strategies are working. And one of the things that human rights first has been focused on is making sure that state and federal Law Enforcement have the resources that they need to go after higher up in the food chain, if you will, of these criminal enterprises that are exploiting people. Both on labor and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking cases are a much smaller percentage of the overall prosecutions that happen, but theyre a greater percentage of the victims in the labor trafficking area. They are much more complex and expensive cases to bring, but they are really important. I think that congress should pay particular attention to making sure that these Human Trafficking prosecution units are well funded, and they can work in coalition at the state and local and federal level Law Enforcement to integrate the solutions to those problems. You also mentioned the Public Private partnership piece. I did, and that is my next question, so thank you for anticipating it so i dont have to cut into chairmans time now that he has reentered the room, and maybe you can speak to the importance of that. Each of you. And i know that mr. Kutcher, you mentioned it in your testimony as well. My path is the indiana state report on Human Trafficking and the entity it created to help fight this scourge in our own state, its a notforprofit initiative. There are over 75 organizations statewide focused on collectively addressing this issue, and perhaps you could speak to the importance of these sorts of Public Private partnerships in addressing modern slavery, each of you. Thank you. Sure. Just to touch on the point that elise is making, and i think that another thing that should not be lost is the focus on the demand prosecution in this space. These are victims. You said it yourself. These kids are 12 years old, 13 years old. Thats not a criminal, thats a victim of a crime. If we are not prosecuting the buyers, if were not prosecuting the traffickers, not just for trafficking but thats statutory rape and it should be treated as statutory rape and prosecuted as rape. I dont think that we do a good enough job yet of addressing that issue in that way. Do either of you have thoughts on what we might do to bring more of these individuals to justice . To prosecute them . Its my understanding theres initiative under way currently that will address this within the judiciary system. I think the best thing that we can do is to support that initiative. Continue to support that. I think also making sure that these safe harbor provisions that have had so much bipartisan support here in congress that would protect, treat victims like victims, are very very important. The Public Private partnership aspect of this i think is absolutely key. Theres a lot the government can do and should be doing that all governments globally should be doing and collaborating together on this. But as ashton pointed out, the supply chain issue, the pipeline into slavery, we have to be looking at that. And so i would say that there should be kind of three ps in this Public Private partnership. It should be also the private sector companies. American companies in particular. When i talk about American Leadership on this issue, i dont just mean the american government. I mean all of us. In many places in the world, American Companies are the american brand. So making sure we enlist those companies, especially now that you all have passed legislation that amends the tariff act, which for decades allowed for this importation of child made and slave made labor through this loophole that was in existence, you have closed that loophole down. Thats a potentially transformational thing in the world of Human Trafficking. Now we have to make sure that it is enforced, that the department of Homeland Security enforces it, and that the Companies Understand what they need to do. And most companies dont want anything to do with slavery. But many of them dont understand what they need to do to look at their supply chains and make sure that there is no forced labor in there and no child labor. We have to come together to talk about that, and one of the things that you all could do, a report was due to you from the department of Homeland Security i think back in august on how they are implementing this very important new provision you have passed. And it has not been submitted yet. So i would urge you to ask for that, and we would love to come in and talk with you about it. Thank you. Thanks for the ideas and again for your counsel on this and we will continue to stay vigilant, even when the klieg lights are off and thats really the important thing with respect to our oversight role. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much for coming back and filling in that way, i very much appreciate it. I have had two, two experiences i guess that had a big impact on me. One was hearing the statement of someone in the audience, louie giglio speaking to his congregation saying if not you, who . I think we all know what that means and you know, we together who hear that message, need to be the people who involve ourselves in this. And the other was an experience of a group of about 20 young ladies in the philippines going to the Police Department there, and seeing what a u. S. Private entity was doing to teach them about prosecution. Seeing how this is a crime of opportunity. Some people think it is largely the mafia, and they have definitely been involved, but it is really as you know a lot of small businesspeople who are taking advantage and they have dominion over feeble people and they use it to make money. Part of it, part of the efforts, we need to measure it and end it and that needs to be the focus. Part of the effort also has to do with what we do with victims after they have been victimized. One of the efforts that to me was so impressive was seeing how these younger ladies who are 13, 15, and in the rural part of the philippines, and maybe a gentleman came by and said, hey, how would you like to go to manila for the day, and they found themselves in malaysia in a brothel for seven or eight years or they find themselves in a place that they cannot get out of. They also have to have a place to go. They have to have a place to be protected from people who otherwise would kill them for testifying against them. Theyve got to have a way of coming back into society. Can you speak to personal experiences there, and what we need to do as a nation working with others to address that component, also . Sure. This is the pipeline out. There are four or five organizations domestically that i think are doing extraordinary work. There is an Organization Called my life, my choice, journey out, courtneys house, Rebecca Bender initiative and gems. I have had the privilege to spend some time with gems and look at the organization and sort of assess the effectiveness of it. They do extraordinary work and recognize these victims as victims. They do the best they can to rehabilitate them. One of the things that we can definitely do is to look across the sector of ngos and pind the ones that are the most effective, and then try to assess what the best practice is of each one of those individual organizations are, and then replicate that and grow it. You know. As you said, as i said, i think there has to be accountability in our spending relative to this but there are some simple lowhanging opportunities within these organizations that i actually think the private sector can come in and be drastically supportive. I mean, the Administration Roles within these organizations are being done a lot of times on these kinds of books, and i think that there is Enterprise Software that they could be given away for free by Many Private Companies and that could create massive efficiencies inside of these organizations, but at the end of the day, you have to have a place to keep these people. You know, i was in russia, and the girls that were getting let out of the orphanages all get let out at the same age, and the traffickers were circling the orphanages waiting for the girls to hit that prime age where they could use them. So if people dont have a place to go, and if they dont have an environment of love and support, and then the expertise to help them with the Mental Health issue of the abuse that they have endured, they dont get better. I think Mental Health is a gigantic issue in this country in a lot of ways, and i think that we need to really look at this not only as a slavery issue, but as a Mental Health issue, ensure that the finances and the support is going into that arena as such. This is a problem globally as well. Its very similar, you know. We have worked closely with many yazidi women, we gave our human rights award last year to a yazidi woman activist who, she and her husband are rescuing women who have been abducted and are being held in sexual slavery by isis. And these women are so traumatized, they are now barred from coming here under this order but they have said if you cant save us from this, then just bomb us, because we cant survive this. One of the things that the United States could be doing there, they need Mental Health services desperately, and even if they cant come here to get them, and there is more that we could be doing to fund organizations that can provide those kinds of services to women who have suffered just unspeakable horror, many of them are children. Thank you. Senator menendez is back. He was the lead other sponsor of this legislation and has been my friend and certainly an advocate for victims and human rights. So i thank you, and i look forward to your questions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. First i would ask to submit into the record human rights firsts blueprint for congress, how to dismantle the business of Human Trafficking. Without objection. Mr. Chairman, first of all, let me say that my experience in the senate, i was speaking to senator young yesterday about the difference between the house and the senate where we both have served, is the fundamental difference is that one senator committed to an idea or an ideal and willing to fight for it can create change. You did that in the context of Human Trafficking, and made it a singular issue. You were focused on it like a laser beam. I am glad to have worked with you on it, but clearly, you deserve the credit, and it is the embodiment of what you can do in the senate when you choose to do so. So i want to salute you on that. I have listened to both of your testimony with great interest, and we are having a major caucus on russia right now but this is important. And so i have questions for both of you and i hope to get through it in my time. Maybe the chairman will be a little generous with the time. Take as much as you wish. I wont do that, but i do have a couple of questions. Ms. Massimino, there have been serious questions both on the Foreign Relations committee and Civil Society organizations regarding the integrity of the past two years trafficking in persons report. To me, that report is the gold standard, and i want to show why it is so important, and mr. Kutcher said that the reports are important but what do we do with them, and he is right. But the reports begin a template for how we judge the countries in the world. The amendment that i got into law which now denies a country who is in