Goodlatte Floor Speech in Support of FOSTA

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017. Chairman Goodlatte: Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, and urge my colleagues to do the same. This legislation will finally make a meaningful difference in combating online sex trafficking. For too long, bad-actor websites have operated with impunity in selling young women and girls forced into the commercial sale of sex. They have, beyond any shadow of a doubt, profited off the misery of others. They have convinced courts to misapply the Communications Decency Act--a federal law that was originally intended to encourage websites to police content and rid platforms of illegal content. They have misused the Communications Decency Act as a shield to avoid criminal liability in state courts. Given the number of local websites that are deliberately selling women and children for sex, we must now take steps to allow federal, state, and local prosecutors to hold these websites accountable and dismantle these illicit, heinous online markets. H.R. 1865 will ensure vigorous criminal enforcement against bad-actor websites by creating a new federal law to prosecute these sites and explicitly permitting states the ability to enforce comparable laws. While the federal code does criminalize the knowing advertisement of sex trafficking, this statute is, unfortunately, of limited utility. Nearly all websites responsible for rampant sex trafficking advertisements host ads that rarely, if ever, state that the victim being sold is either underage or subject to force, fraud, or coercion. Therefore, this bill takes measures to target websites that are deliberately promoting and facilitating prostitution. Additionally, H.R. 1865 provides for an aggravated violation that applies to websites that promote prostitution in reckless disregard of the fact that sex trafficking is occurring on their platform. I want to highlight, Mr. Speaker, an amendment that will be offered to this legislation.  Though I applaud my colleagues’ dedication to this issue, and fully appreciate the suffering of victims, I have concerns about this amendment, which states that the provisions of the bill apply “regardless of whether the conduct alleged occurred, or is alleged to have occurred, before, on, or after such date of enactment.”  Had regular order been followed, Mr. Speaker, the Judiciary Committee would certainly have fixed this issue, which I believe could subject this legislation to a constitutional challenge under the Ex Post Facto Clause – a concern shared by the Justice Department. I hope we have an opportunity to fix this problem as we move forward with the bill, and I ask unanimous consent to include in the record a letter from DOJ highlighting these constitutional concerns. Nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, I will support this bill, since its strong reforms will allow state and local prosecutors to vigorously enforce the law against some of the worst criminals in society today. This bill will allow law enforcement to effectively dismantle this lucrative, expansive, immoral, reprehensible market. Our children and vulnerable women are not commodities to be sold.  This legislation emphatically affirms that fact.  It will truly make a difference. I’d like to commend my colleague, Ms. Wagner of Missouri, and her dedicated staff, for their work on this legislation and for their continued dedication to combating sex trafficking and supporting victims. I encourage my colleagues to support this important legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.