WASHINGTON – After six weeks of dickering and delay that had nothing to do with the guts of the legislation, the Senate finally got around to passing a bipartisan measure aimed at providing assistance to those who have faced abuse as a result of sex trafficking.
The bill, offered by Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn, of Texas, breezed through in a 99-0 vote and now heads back to the House, which passed a slightly different version earlier. President Obama is expected to sign it once it reaches his desk.
Cornyn said passage constituted “a very positive step because what it demonstrates is that we have not fallen deaf to the cries of those who actually need our help, the victims of human trafficking.”
“This legislation will be instrumental in helping victims of sexual abuse and trafficking recover from a life in bondage and will provide stronger tools for law enforcement officials to track down and punish those who want to keep them in the shadows, who want to continue making profit from the pain and the anguish and involuntary servitude of typically young women between the ages of 12 and 14.”
Despite the near-unanimous support for the bill, it took a circuitous route to a final vote because of a dispute over a provision dealing with abortion.
Democrats initially wholeheartedly supported the original bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee without opposition on Feb. 26. But Democratic lawmakers subsequently discovered the measure contained a provision that prohibited money from a restitution fund from being used to pay for abortions.
Foes viewed the language as an unacceptable broadening of the so-called Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortions.
By the time Democrats discovered the language, which was attached to the bill from the outset, it was too late to stop it from being sent to the Senate floor. The caucus was placed in the unenviable position of either ignoring the alteration and proceeding to a vote or mounting a filibuster in hopes of negotiating a change.
They chose the latter and, in fact, foiled the efforts of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, to bring it up for a vote five different times.
Behind-the-scenes negotiations occurred over several weeks. In the meantime, McConnell announced that Senate consideration of the nomination of Loretta Lynch, of New York, to serve as attorney general, succeeding Eric Holder, wouldn’t occur until after the sex trafficking dispute was resolved.
That drew protests from Democrats, who noted that the Lynch nomination has been hanging around since Nov. 13, 2014, a longer waiting period than that experienced by the seven previous attorney general nominees combined, and was unrelated to the dispute.
“America continues to look on in disbelief as Republicans delay Loretta Lynch’s confirmation because they can,” said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada. “That is outrageous. I certainly hope this is not what we are to expect for the duration of President Obama’s term. I hope my Republican colleagues will demonstrate leadership and move the president’s nominees. It is not only fair, but it is their sworn constitutional duty.”
The agreement reached to move the sex trafficking bill, resulting from discussions involving Cornyn, Reid and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), appears fairly simple on the surface. The restitution fund that stands at the center of the dispute will have not one but two revenue streams – one from penalties levied on the traffickers and one from the federal government’s general fund. The money from the traffickers can be used to pay for medical procedures, like abortions, while the federal money follows Hyde Amendment restrictions.
“From the beginning of this debate Democrats have been very clear that this bill to help survivors should focus squarely on that goal alone,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We also felt this conversation was no place for a debate about restrictions on women’s health access. And while there are clear differences between the two parties when it comes to women’s health, I know that Sen. Cornyn and many others agreed with us that an effort to fight back against human trafficking in our country is without question no place for gridlock and dysfunction.”
The dispute “shouldn’t have taken this long” to iron out, Leahy acknowledged. But he expressed pleasure that the two sides were able to find “common ground and reach an agreement,” despite the fact that “this agreement isn’t perfect, as no compromise ever is.”
McConnell expressed pleasure that the Senate finally had an opportunity to provide help to those in need.
“These victims deserve the help the Justice for Victims for Trafficking Act would provide,” he said. “It’s a human-rights bill victims groups and advocates have called ‘the most comprehensive and thoughtful piece of anti-trafficking legislation currently pending,’ and one that ‘provides unprecedented support to domestic victims of trafficking, who are too often invisible and underserved.”
McConnell also expressed disappointment in the delaying tactics, asserting that there was never a “logically consistent rationale for the filibuster that held this bill up.”
“Thankfully, the filibuster is finally at an end — today is a new day,” he said, noting that the Senate now can “turn to consideration of the president’s nominee to be attorney general. It’s just what I’ve pledged we’d do, and it’s just what we will do.”
The Lynch nomination wasn’t the only business delayed as a result of the filibuster. Issues dealing with Iran, cybersecurity and education reform were likewise held up.
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