releases: http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409038
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| http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409038 | <span class ="kicker">Rep. Smith on NJ101.5 FM</span>Fighting to protect the victims--mostly woman and children-- of human trafficking | 2020-10-30 | 2020 | 2020-10 | Republican | Senate | NJ | Christopher Smith | S000522 | chrissmith.house.gov | legacy | WKXW 10/30/2020 8:11:59 AM: Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) was a live call-in guest on NJ101.5 today with host Bill Spadea. The following are excerpts of the show:Spadea: Please welcome myfriend Congressman Chris Smith back to the show... and he has some good news to share... Actually this week marked the 20th anniversary of something that Congressman Smith championed, it is the victimsof trafficking and violence protection act's 20thanniversary. This was designed to combat traffickingand fight against violence against women, and Chris Smith was the author and has been anoutspoken advocate... he's out doing his job focusing onconstituent service. Morning Chris, how are you? Smith: Morning, Bill, and thanks for having me on, appreciate it it. Spadea: So tell me about this bill and the realproblem human trafficking that is still going on in theworld... . Smith: Oh, without a doubt. It's still growing. It's a hugeproblem in New Jersey, throughout the rest of the country. And part ofthat is that during COVID-19 that's gottenworse for young kids who are online, and predators are trying to groom them to send inpictures of themselves and that leads to a whole horrible outcome. So parents need to be veryaware of that and monitor very, very aggressively the use of phones, as wellas the use of internetwith so many children and with so many predators trying tofind those kids to exploit them. So the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, all of which were my law. It was 20 years ago this past Wednesday, just a coupledays ago. It empowers a whole-of-governmentapproach. The prosecutors nowcan bring charges... they're prioritized. And there have been thousands of prosecutions, successful ones, that have putthose whomcommit these heinous crimes behind bars for longperiods of time. That [Keith] Ranier, the man that was partof the that horrible cult in NY just got 120 years and they used my law to prosecute him. Spadea: That's good. Smith: So, it really makes a difference. And then, Bill, we call it the three "Ps" ...a Prosecution of traffickers, Protection of the victims, which are primarily womenand children, and then Prevention strategies. Andmy most recent law just signed by President Trumpnamed after Fredrick Douglas... that one has come up with some very good curriculum for our students to make them situationally aware, so they are not lured into this terrible, nefarious international trade where women are turned into commodities for sale. So it's made a difference, both domestically and internationally. And it's right here, gangs and organized crime are the two principle drivers behind it... having met so many trafficking victims. A matter of fact, in the 1990s when I had a whole series of hearings I had women who had been trafficked tell their stories . I'll tell you, the pain and the agony of in their voices and in their eyes and in their hearts helped me get the bill passed. Because a lot of people didn't want to do it. They were either indifferent or they thought it was a solution in search of a problem, or they simply just said 'ah, let's do other things.' So it took a while to get this law signed. Spadea: Yeah, but you did it, you got it done. And you've been a tireless champion for those without a voice at so many levels in government. Smith: And Bill, just one quick thing. If people see something that doesn't look right, almost like with the mantra that we have with terrorism: 'if it doesn't look right, make a call,' call local law enforcement and let them know "Hey, this is going on, I think there might be something going where women are being forced into this horrible trade. It's modern reality slavery. Spadea: It's a reality. it's areality. Smith: We can stop it. Spadea: Thank you, thank you, Chris for your leadership. You take care. All right that was Congressman Chris Smith represents the 4th District New Jersey... . Spadea: I want tothank my yeah my friend congressman Chris Smith forcoming in. Yeah, he mentioned that one of his one ofhis bills protecting women and children is namedafter Fredrick Douglas. Fredrick Douglas is one ofthe greatfigures in American history. Thisis a man who escaped slavery in Maryland becamea national leader of the abolitionist movement. Hishistory goes back to being a young kid, learning howto read and then teaching other slaves, had read the Bible and one his great quotes I quote oftenis 'it is easier to build strong children than torepair broken men,' and I think it's especiallyimportant to understand that quote today... . The above are excerpts from the broadcast which aired live Oct. 30, 2020. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |