Sex Trafficking Bill, Ensnared by Politics, Is Left in Limbo by a Senate Vote

An amazing thing about Congress: Things can always get worse.

The Senate has now even found a way to disagree on a bill that would protect victims of sex trafficking. And in the process, that dispute has ensnared President Obama’s largely uncontroversial nominee for attorney general, Loretta E. Lynch.

On Tuesday, a measure that would create a victims’ fund, using fines collected from perpetrators of sex trafficking, failed to clear a procedural hurdle, leaving a bill that once had majority support in Congress in limbo.

The bill, sponsored by Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, would have prevented the fees from being used to pay for abortions for the victims. Democrats b