Cornyn to Senate Democrats: Don’t Play Politics At The Expense Of Trafficking Victims

I was very glad to see finally we seem to be chipping away at the dysfunction of the Senate that we've experienced over the last few years, and in the new majority, given the opportunity for an open amendment process on a subject that we all agree needs to be dealt with, that we could work together.

So imagine my surprise when earlier today the same Democratic Leader said that the Democrats were going to filibuster this … anti-human trafficking legislation. And why in the world would they take a 180-degree turn? Why would they do such an about-face or flip-flop? Well, because they said there was language contained in the bill that they disagreed with.

Well, imagine my surprise to find out that the reason why the Democratic Minority is going to filibuster this anti-trafficking bill is because they object to language that has been the law of the land for 39 years.

Imagine my surprise when that very language was part of the bill that was filed in mid-January, and a month later was marked up and voted on in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and all Members of the Judiciary Committee – Democrats and Republicans alike – voted for it. They voted for it unanimously.

This idea that there has been some sort of an ambush is just preposterous. It's just not credible.

Democrats have supported legislation consistent with the Hyde Amendment for a long, long time. As I've said, it's been the law of the land for 39 years.

All the Democrats, every single Democrat, voted to support Obamacare, which contained the same restriction on taxpayer funding for abortions.

In other words, our Democratic friends have voted time, and time, and time, and time again for the exact same language they now say they're going to filibuster on the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Language they said they weren't aware of when they voted for it. They didn't read. Their staff didn't tell them about it.

My hope is this: that Members of the United States Senate will rise above this - this agreement, this posturing, this attempt to try to play gotcha at the expense of these victims of human trafficking. No Member should attempt to make this bill a debate about extraneous issues and policies that have been settled on a bipartisan basis for 39 years.