{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=FCABBB2D-3EF8-4710-92D7-6EE657B8AB57", "Bipartisan Senators Say New House Bill Won't Help Trafficking Survivors Get Justice, Echo Concerns Expressed by Victims Advocacy Groups", "2017-12-14", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Rob Portman", "P000449", "www.portman.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senate\u2019s Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act Helps Protect Women & Children from Online Sex Trafficking, Has the Support of All Key Stakeholders\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2013 U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John McCain (R-AZ), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) today issued the following joint statement on a new House trafficking proposal rushed through the House Judiciary Committee yesterday:\r\n\u201cHere in the Senate, we\u2019ve taken a thoughtful, deliberative approach to our efforts to help combat online sex trafficking, meeting with key stakeholders for months before ever introducing legislation.\u00a0 Our work together culminated in the Senate Commerce Committee\u2019s unanimous support for the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act \u2013 bipartisan legislation now cosponsored by 53 senators.\u00a0 We are pleased that this legislation has the strong support of major stakeholders in this debate, including victims and advocates, law enforcement, the civil rights community, faith-based groups, and the larger tech community.\u00a0 We are confident the full Senate will pass this proposal very soon in an overwhelming, bipartisan fashion.\r\n\u201cIt is disappointing that the House Judiciary Committee rushed through a new proposal after House members expressed concerns that it had not been fully vetted and was opposed by all of the leading organizations dedicated to supporting trafficking victims.\u00a0 Any legislative effort must ensure that trafficking survivors get the justice they deserve.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this rushed House proposal raises the legal standard and ensures that bad actors like Backpage continue to have blanket immunity.\u00a0Don\u2019t take our word for it; the victims advocacy groups have told us with a clear voice that the House Judiciary bill is harmful to our efforts to protect trafficking survivors.\u00a0\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re in this fight to help trafficking survivors who\u2019ve long been denied justice and ensure that state and local prosecutors have the tools they need to hold accountable bad actors that knowingly facilitate online sex trafficking.\u00a0 As this process moves forward, we will continue the dialogue with all stakeholders, but we\u2019re not going to enact a hollow proposal masquerading as a serious solution.\u201d\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=FCABBB2D-3EF8-4710-92D7-6EE657B8AB57"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2554160095751286, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}