00:00Good afternoon, everyone. Latifah Simon from California's 12th District.
00:04Today, we had the honor of listening to extremely brave women who talked about
00:13the ongoing rape and sexual exploitation that they endured by the rich and the powerful.
00:24And for three decades, their voices have been ignored.
00:27These are young women who have been on record telling their stories.
00:35And yet justice has been denied.
00:39Justice has been denied to the young woman who talked about being groomed to go over Jeffrey Epstein's home where she was raped.
00:48Rape children leaving high school to be raped and left to go home alone to then go to school the next day.
01:00One of the things that I will tell you, the brave and courageous women today, what they did with both Republicans and Democrats,
01:09they sat before us at a round table and gave us their souls, believing that maybe this time they would get justice.
01:18Maybe this time they would be seen as children, not adultified by men who ravaged their bodies.
01:27Maybe then they thought today, if they testified in front of this hearing, that we as members of Congress would not only lift up their stories and seek justice,
01:38that we would hear the truth and the life of girls and young people all over this country who are continuously bought and sold, who never seek justice.
01:50Because they, too, like these women, fear retribution.
01:55If we are worth our names on our letterhead, we will not only seek justice and get answers, we will work to protect these women.
02:05We will work to ensure that every individual, every adult that had anything to do with their trafficking, their rape, that they are held to account.
02:17For over 30 years, I have worked with young women who have been moved through the trafficking channels of this country, and we rarely see them getting justice.
02:27Today, hopefully, will be a new day.
02:30Oversight Dems, we are working extremely hard with our colleagues, and we are so proud of our leadership.
02:37Now we have to move on, get answers, provide protection and support for these women so that more folks come through, come forward,
02:45and that the United States is looked upon, hopefully, as a country that protects children, that protects young women,
02:52that ensures that if you hurt one of our children, you will absolutely be held to the maximum, maximum levels of accountability.
03:00Thank you all.
03:01And I would like to actually introduce my colleague, Summer Lee, who you heard before, is the ranking member of the subcommittee,
03:08Oversight Dems, representing, of course, Oversight Dems in the subcommittee for law enforcement.
03:15Ms. Lee.
03:16Ms. Lee.
