Hatch’s Legislation to Fight Against Human Trafficking Passes Through Committee
Washington, D.C.—Today, legislation to create a special human trafficking advisory, sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch—R-Utah, the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee—advanced through the Judiciary Committee and unto the Senate floor.
“Nongovernmental organizations and nonprofit groups like Utah’s Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) have done incredible work in fighting the scourge of human trafficking and bringing this critical fight to the forefront,” Hatch said. “I believe that with better cooperation and partnership with federal government agencies, they can do even more, and the key to that is coordination. This Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council will allow government agencies to draw from the unique knowledge and experience of groups like O.U.R., allowing us to leverage government resources to fight human trafficking around the world.”
“I am grateful for Senator Hatch’s leadership on this very important bill,” Founder and CEO of O.U.R., Tim Ballard, said. “Human trafficking is a critical issue, and to more efficiently eradicate the problem, nonprofit groups need increased coordination with the Federal Government. This bill establishes a way to share successful anti-human trafficking strategies between federal agencies and organizations like Operation Underground Railroad.”
Background
The Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council:
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Hatch Calls for Action Ahead of One-Year Mark of Joshua Holt’s Captivity in Venezuela
Washington, D.C.—This Friday marks one year since Utahn Joshua Holt was arrested on false charges in Venezuela. Since the day Josh was taken into custody, Senator Hatch has worked tirelessly to engage government officials at all levels in both the Trump and Obama administrations in an effort to have Josh released and returned home to the United States.
In a statement, Hatch said, “This Friday marks one year since Josh Holt was unjustly taken captive in Venezuela. This is an important time to remind Josh and his family that we are still anxiously engaged in the fight for his freedom.” Hatch has called on President Maduro to release Josh and Thamy and has asked for help from Utahns and local and national media to spread the word about Josh’s case.
(Video Excerpt of Senator Hatch’s Statement -- Via YouTube)
Full text of Senator Hatch’s remarks on video:
This Friday marks one year since Josh Holt was unjustly taken captive in Venezuela. It’s a devastating anniversary, but an important time to remind Josh and his family that we are still anxiously engaged in the fight for his freedom.
Venezuela is in the midst of tremendous civil turmoil, which has complicated the fragile diplomatic waters of getting Josh released.
From the time of his arrest last June, I’ve enlisted help from every level of government, and I’m confident our diplomatic efforts will pay off in time. I remain in regular communication about Josh’s case with Secretary of State Tillerson, Undersecretary Shannon—who I met with just this week—and officials at every level of government here and in Venezuela.
But at this time, I ask you to join Elaine and me in remembering Josh, his lovely wife Thamy, his parents Laurie and Jason, and the Holt family and friends in your prayers.
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Hatch: I Am Re-Committing to Civility
http://time.com/4835019/orrin-hatch-civility-politics/
An active shooter recently attempted to assassinate Republican members of Congress at an early morning baseball practice in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Days earlier, a man spewing anti-Muslim hate speech fatally stabbed two individuals on public transport in Portland, Oregon. The month before, protesters came to fisticuffs at dueling political rallies in Berkeley, California.
Events such as these add to the growing sense that something has broken in our politics. Something that once moderated our partisan feelings and bridled our baser instincts has gone missing in an era of unprecedented polarization. Something fundamental to our civic culture has been lost amid the chaos and disruption of the Information Age.
The question is, What has been lost?
In a word: civility.
Civility is the indispensable political norm. It is the public virtue that has greased the wheels of our democracy since its inception. Although nowhere mandated in our Constitution, civility is no less essential to the proper functioning of our government than any amendment, court ruling or act of Congress. Without it, little separates us from the cruelty and chaos of rule by force.
For decades, civility has acted as the levee protecting our society from its own worst impulses. But that levee now shows signs of strain as political passions spill over into open violence.
In the wake of the attack on members of Congress, I have reflected at length on the circumstances that led us to this point. While it may be difficult to trace the erosion of civility to any single factor, one thing is certain: Our nation cannot continue on its current path. Either we remain passive observers to the problem, or we endeavor to act, to make the necessary changes — in ourselves, in our families and in our communities — that will lead to a more civil, prosperous society.
Restoring civility to the public square won’t happen overnight — but it must happen.
The first step is to speak responsibly.
Our words have consequences, and in an age of retweets, viral videos and shareable content, those words often echo well beyond their intended audience and context. It’s incumbent on all of us, then — from the President to Congress on down — to be responsible for our speech.
I will be the first to admit to saying things over the course of my public service that I later came to regret. In the heat of an argument, it’s easy to indulge in irresponsible rhetoric. But we must avoid this temptation. Whether in town halls, casual conversations with neighbors or posts on social media, we must likewise refrain from dehumanizing, demeaning or unfairly disparaging the other side. And we must resist the impulse to frame every tiny policy disagreement as a zero-sum struggle for the soul of the country. We must restore sense, decency and proportion to our political speech.
The second step is practicing media mindfulness.
Just as the food we eat affects the body, the information we consume affects the mind. The daily consumption of media that presents only one political viewpoint — whether conservative or liberal —cocoons the mind in a safely sealed ideological echo chamber. An imbalanced media diet shrinks our perception of reality, which in turn limits our capacity for empathy and our ability to engage civilly with others.
To better understand how the other side thinks and feels, we must make a conscious effort to diversify our media intake. This exercise in empathy may not heal decades-old political divisions or usher in a post-partisan age. But it will at least help us break free from party groupthink and be better prepared to engage in civil debate with friends and neighbors.
The next step toward civility is to venture beyond the comfortable confines of our social circles.
Americans today are much less likely to marry, date or even live near people of the opposing party. Increasingly, we sort ourselves by ideology and lifestyle — a phenomenon that only increases polarization over time.
How can we expect to engage politically with members of the opposing party if we don’t even interact socially with one another? Like limiting our media consumption, only associating with those who hold our same values and opinions distorts our perception of the other side. It has an “othering” effect so severe that Republicans and Democrats — freedom-loving men and women who share the same country and many of the same values — increasingly see each other as enemies.
In the spirit of civility, we would all do well to make friends with members of the opposing party. I speak from personal experience.
When I first came to Washington, the culture of Congress was vastly different than it is today. There was a level of respect and congeniality among colleagues that was hard to find anywhere else. Some of my best friends were Democrats. One moment, we would be yelling at each other on the Senate floor; the next, we would be laughing together over family dinner. In those days, Republicans and Democrats locked horns often, but we also loved each other.
I worry that those special relationships have been lost today. In 2017, Republican and Democratic Members of Congress seldom socialize outside of votes and committee hearings. We used to break bread together; our spouses used to plan weekend trips; our children used to attend the same schools. But today, our families barely know each other — if they know each other at all. In the weekly race to return to our home states as soon as possible, we miss out on opportunities to share with one another the more intimate, humanizing parts of our lives. As a result, something vital has been lost. We now struggle to see the common humanity in the other side, and we increasingly treat each other as opponents rather than friends.
I’m grateful for the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who taught me that the bonds of friendship are stronger than any partisan pull. When I first joined the Senate, I thought Teddy would be an adversary. Instead, we became the best of friends.
Teddy and I were a case study in contradictions. He was born into privilege; I was brought up in poverty. He was an East Coast liberal; I was a Reagan conservative. He was a Catholic; I was a Mormon. Yet time and again, we were able to look past our differences to find areas of agreement and forge consensus. Had Teddy and I chosen party loyalty over friendship, we would not have passed some of the most significant bipartisan achievements of modern times—from ADA and RFRA to the Ryan White bill and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
My unlikely friendship with Ted Kennedy is but a small example of what our nation can accomplish if we choose respect and comity over anger and discord. Only by doing so can we look beyond the horizon of our differences to find common ground.
Today, I want to make a personal commitment to exercise greater civility in my day-to-day interactions with fellow Americans; I hope you will join me in doing the same.
Senator Orrin Hatch is the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate.
