Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D., Nev.) preferred successor in the Nevada Senate race is touting her efforts to crack down on human trafficking despite Reid’s repeated moves to stall a Senate bill earlier this year that would help combat the practice.
After announcing that he would retire from the Senate earlier this year, Reid indicated he would back Catherine Cortez Masto, a former Democratic attorney general in Nevada, to replace him. The endorsement likely means Masto will benefit from Reid’s vaunted political machine in the closely watched race.
In a recent email to her campaign supporters, Masto noted that Congress had passed legislation to impose harsher penalties on sex traffickers and boost support for victims. "But there’s still so much more we could be doing," she said in the email.
"I know what it means to make this a priority," she said. "As attorney general, I cracked down on sex traffickers and fought for legislation to better provide resources for victims—and I intend to take that fight to the Senate."
"I need you on our side now though if we’re going to keep making progress: Will you join me in calling for an end to human trafficking?" she continued.
In March, Reid led Senate Democrats in blocking the anti-human trafficking bill multiple times. Democrats objected to a provision in the legislation that they said would expand the Hyde Amendment—a law that prohibits federal funding of abortions—by barring a victims’ fund from receiving federal money for abortions.
However, Democrats admitted that they did not fully read the bill when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it. Republicans said they did not believe the provision was controversial because appropriations bills are typically subject to the Hyde Amendment.
The Senate eventually passed the anti-trafficking legislation in April by dividing the victims’ fund in two—fines from perpetrators would be directed to non-health care services while federal money for community health centers would still be subject to the Hyde Amendment. Victims could obtain abortions in cases of rape due to exemptions in the law. President Obama signed the bill into law the following month.
The Masto campaign did not respond to a request for comment.